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voting age, but I do not think that lower-
ing it to nineteen suits our purpose and
suits what we are meant to do here.
The principle involved here is one of
responsibility. The age when someone be-
comes responsible to his government and
someone becomes responsible to himself is
involved here, and I submit that that age
is eighteen, not nineteen.
It is at the age of eighteen, not nineteen
that a man is required to register for the
draft. It is the age of eighteen, not nine-
teen, that a person is considered old enough
to work without the consent of his parents.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hutchin-
son, I regret to inform you that through
misadventure your words are not being re-
corded. We will stop a moment.
Delegate Gallagher.
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: Ladies and
gentlemen, while off the record, may I state
it appears at least technically speaking that
being twenty-one is not being the magic
age.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hutchin-
son, if you will repeat about the last two
sentences, I think you will be fully re-
corded.
DELEGATE HUTCHINSON: Thank
you, Mr. Chairman.
As I said, at the age of eighteen, not
nineteen, men are required to register for
the draft. It is at eighteen, not nineteen,
that a person is allowed to work without
the consent of his parents. He is working,
paying income taxes, and, therefore, as Mr.
Schloeder told you, more than one-fifth of
the total population of eighteen-year-olds
is paying taxes. It is at the age of eighteen,
not nineteen, that the government heaps
upon individuals many added forms of
legal responsibility.
I do not believe that the old cliche "old
enough to fight, old enough to vote" is
necessarily a valid argument. However, I
do believe that if we can tell a person at
the age of eighteen that he must join the
service, that he must serve his country and
his government overseas or anywhere, and
that if called upon he must g-ive his life for
his country and for his government, then
I submit to you that he should have the
right to say what governmental officials
should send him overseas.
THE CHAIRMAN: You have one-half
minute, Delegate Hutchinson.
DELEGATE HUTCHINSON: You may
ask why not lower the voting age to some-
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thing lower than eighteen. I said any age
is arbitrary, but the age of eighteen is the
age where you can combine education and
maturity and one's responsibility to himself
and to his government and at that age,
eig-hteen, a person should be able to vote.
Ever since I have been down here I have
heard many times that we in state govern-
ment, are allowing the federal government
to encroach upon state duties.
THE CHAIRMAN: Your time has ex-
pired, Delegate Hutchinson.
DELEGATE HUTCHINSON: I submit
one of the duties of the State is to take
care of the voting age. This we have not
done. We have allowed thirty-seven mem-
bers of the House of Congress, thirty-seven
members of the U. S. Senate, to try to
lower the voting age to eighteen.
I submit to you that we should do it
and we should do it now.
(Applause.)
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any delegate
desire to speak in opposition?
Delegate Koss.
DELEGATE KOSS: Mr. Chairman, fel-
low deleg-ates, I will just ask your indul-
gence for a short statement on behalf of
the Committee.
The Committee did consider setting the
voting age at eighteen and rejected it. The
Committee felt there was a distinction that
could be made, and indeed the Committee
made it, between eighteen-year-olds and
nineteen-year-olds.
Most nineteen-year-olds are out of high
school. They have either joined the labor
force or they have gone on to college. In
both of these roles they are assuming the
responsibilities that we are apt to asso-
ciate with adulthood. For that reason the
Committee agreed upon nineteen, and I
would very much urg-e your rejection of the
amendment now before you.
Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any delegate
desire to speak in favor?
Delegate Dorsey.
DELEGATE DORSEY: Mr. President,
I am unable to understand the attitude of
this Convention. The Hamiltonian theory
which was stated last week •••-•-•-
(Applause.)
The electorate of this State won a voice
in the election of attorney general, comp-
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