First Vice President must have a sense of
fairness and objectivity. Those of us who
served on the Commission know that when
Mr. James as President of the Senate ap-
peared before us, there was a sense of de-
tachment, he spoke with objectivity with
detachment and with a good deal of schol-
arship in terms of the requirements of our
Constitution.
He must be one who is firm, yet fair,
and any who have watched him in the
legislature know that this is certainly true
of him. At no time does he advocate his
own opinions. He has them fairly and
firmly but he does not force them upon
others. He has this sense of detachment
which is important in this work. He has
carried it on within that frame of
reference.
The First Vice President must have a
sense of organization. It will be important
in terms of his responsibilities as a mem-
ber of the steering committee as one who
helps to select committee members that he
know how to marshal the forces that are
here. This we know he can do. He knows
how to use the resources of the Convention
and he knows how to integrate ideas into
a fullness and a firmness of the matrix
that is desirable for this Convention.
A First Vice President must have a sense
of inspiration and this Mr. James has. He
tends to inspire people to create, to give
them latitude to create and at the same
time he does not impose his own will upon
individuals. He is highly respected as he is
because of his writings, because of his work
in the legislature, long time work and in
Harford County his colleagues, this is one
way to check, respect him highly through-
out the entire state as they do. In a very
quiet way, he has a way of getting things
done though often he gives the credit to
others.
Finally he must have a sense of vision
which is perhaps more important than any-
thing else. Mr. James is familiar with past
Constitutional Conventions. Indeed in the
coming year he brings to us all of the other
four Convention views. Those of you who
are familiar with his writings in these
areas know he can marshal facts imme-
diately with regard to any aspect of the
Constitution. He will bring inspiration to
us, he has a sense of what other states
have done so he will have a sense of geog-
raphy as well as time, so if we are dis-
cussing any particular issue, he would
know what has been done in other states,
particularly in terms of the frontier of |
ideas, what has worked and what has not
worked.
In conclusion, I would say he has a sense
of the future and knows the urgency re-
quired in terms of the future. He blends
the best of the past with the requirements
of the future. It is in my way of thinking
highly important that we have side by side
with Mr. Eney one who can complement
the strong assets he has. These are the
chief characteristics of William James.
Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate William S.
James has been nominated as First Vice
President of this Convention. Is there a
second?
DELEGATE BUZZELL: Mr. President,
fellow delegates, I am honored to second
the nomination of Delegate William S.
James as First Vice President of this
Convention.
DELEGATE CARSON: Mr. President,
fellow delegates, it is with pride and pleas-
ure that I second the nomination of Wil-
liam S. James. Bill James is a close per-
sonal friend of mine and a fellow and emi-
nent Harford Countian but it is not for
those reasons that I rise to second his
nomination. Rather it is because I think he
is most qualified and eminently so to fill
this position and to work side by side in
harmony with our newly elected and always
respected President, Mr. Eney. Therefore,
I second the nomination of Mr. William S.
James for First Vice President of this
Constitutional Convention.
THE PRESIDENT: Next delegate to be
recognized for purpose of making nomina-
tion is Delegate Herbert R. O'Conor, Jr.
DELEGATE O'CONOR: Mr. President,
fellow delegates, in view of the fine nomi-
nating speech which was made this after-
noon in behalf of the Delegate from How-
ard County, I will not attempt to sum-
marize his biographical data. I feel you all
know him well, you heard today the things
that are generally listed in his pedigree.
Two things which occur to me which have
not been touched upon, one happens to be
personal, I apologize for that, but we all
look at things like this, make our judg-
ments from the standpoint of our personal
experiences with people.
The first thing which is not at all sub-
jective is the fact that this gentleman was
chosen by the ladies and gentlemen of the
press two or three years ago as the out-
standing legislator in Annapolis. |
