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There is a battery of stenogTaphers avail-
able who work in seven-minute shifts.
Each stenographer will stand next to the
man or woman delivering the speech at the
moment, work up the Gregg shorthand on
a pad, take it to a room after seven min-
utes, where it is placed on a tape or given
to a stenographer who in turn does the typ-
ing. Later that same day the rough draft
is delivered to the speaker. The speaker
either approves or makes changes and
that evening, that night, through the night,
the United States Government Printing
Office works on the final print. This then
gives us a twenty-four hour schedule in
which this thing is done.
If we have that kind of money and that
kind of manpower, perhaps we could then
go into the real validity, but just on the
question of cost most of us should give
pause.
My understanding is that the allotment
here at this Convention is $110,000 for the
transcript which I suggest to you would not
even touch both houses of the legislature
where many persons would give speeches
that were never delivered, merely put into
the record so they could be sent out to
constituents.
One thing I should make clear more than
anything else, is that where necessary a
letter of intent attached to a bill where de-
sired or necessary so that there is no ques-
tion of the intent in this legislature of
people who are voting in Committee and on
the floor for a particular bill, would make
it so that the question of intent is never in
question where the request is made. There
are other points I had hoped to touch on.
There will be approximately 2,000 bills sub-
mitted each year, nine major committees.
I will close with the one statement I remem-
ber from college work on this question. Re-
member that a legislature in committee is
the legislature at work. What happens on
the floor contrary to what we have seen
here in the Convention is not nearly so im-
portant as what actually happens in com-
mittee. The next step before us would be
provision for day to day transcripts in each
of those nine committees. The thing can get
out of hand even as the cost on the floor.
THE PRESIDENT: Does any other dele-
gate desire to speak in opposition to the
amendment? Delegate Roger.
DELEGATE ROGER: Mr. Chairman, I
am not sure I am right, but I would like
to support the remarks of Delegate Miller.
THE PRESIDENT: You may speak in
opposition to the amendment.
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DELEGATE ROGER: First of all, I have
three reasons why I think the cost of this
thing would be justified. First is the quali-
ty of the statements by legislators. I be-
lieve the average person here, knowing that
the remarks he makes will be on the record,
will perhaps add more quality, or greater
effort, to make his remarks a little bit
better and will try to prepare himself when
he speaks so he will not ramble on.
Number two, I think the person should be
held responsible for the quality or, you
might say, should be held responsible for
his remarks. I have heard various people
here make quite a lot of statements that
sometimes I do not think are exactly
correct.
The third reason is the accuracy of re-
marks. Usually all we have to depend upon
for the news of what goes on in the legisla-
ture is the newspaper. We know just about
half. Sometimes concerning some meetings
we have had here, I have had quite a bit of
difficulty finding out if they were the same
meetings I attended just by reading the
newspaper. While I hope you will not neces-
sarily hold me completely responsible, I
do not think they have always been re-
sponsible reporting.
I suggest if we had transcripts of our
meetings here we would know more about
what was going on, it would be much more
accurate, and would certainly justify the
cost.
THE PRESIDENT: Does any other dele-
gate desire to speak in opposition to the
motion for reconsideration in favor of the
amendment ?
Delegate Storm.
DELEGATE STORM: Mr. Chairman, fel-
low delegates, if this is going to be just an
old fashioned transcript, I do not want to
reconsider it. But if this is going to be
a modern record in accordance with my
Amendment C, then I would certainly be in
favor of reconsideration. I do not know if
any action was taken on Amendment C
the other clay or not.
THE PRESIDENT: It was not offered,
Delegate Storm.
DELEGATE STORM: Is there any way I
could have Amendment G considered first?
I want what is provided for in Amendment
C. Then there is something really to vote
for, then there is something to really have.
Just an old-fashioned transcript I would
be against.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Storm, it
seems to the Chair that there are two possi-
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