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and I am telling you members of the Con-
vention that this is a very serious vote and
a vote to keep this clause out of the Con-
stitution could conceivably defeat the Con-
stitution. I am just urging you to vote for
this provision.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Kosakow-
ski.
DELEGATE KOSAKOWSKI: Mr. Pres-
ident and delegates of this Convention:
What is a legislator for if not to bear
pressures from people? You speak about
pressures. What has happened right within
this Convention? If it is the will of the
people, the will shall speak.
I think we all have a responsibility here.
Do not let anybody tell you the old bugaboo
of Mafia and gamblers running all over
the State of Maryland. That type of a
statement is a scary one.
When I asked for a division of this sec-
tion, Mr. President and my fellow dele-
gates, I did it not to delay this Convention.
All I wanted as my right as a delegate
here is to be given the last consideration
on a vote. We are not voting for or against
lottery. We are voting for the principle of
whether or not this provision should be in
this Constitution. And as the votes were
taken yesterday, today, and many other
days, I have seen delegates change their
mind. Do not let anyone scare you or
threaten you with the old bugaboos.
I guess I, like anyone else, get emotional
on some issues as others have shown. I
guess you cannot help yourself, but I ask
the delegates here in all fairness and with
your good judgment and wisdom to con-
sider this. I see here in this assembly at
this Convention, Mr. President, some of the
best minds of this State and of this nation.
I cherish that I am a delegate at this
Convention, and I was willing to go out
and sell this Convention whether or not
I got my lottery bill, and I will still do it
regardless of the outcome of this vote, but
we all speak of fairness. Do not become
mesmerized any longer. Please vote your
conscience.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Ulrich.
DELEGATE ULRICH: Mr. President
and ladies and gentlemen of this Conven-
tion, I implore you to leave this in the
Constitution. I am a resident of this
county. It is a gambling county. The gam-
bling in this county has been a cancer on
our growth. I sat in the balcony the night
the slot machine bill came up for a final
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vote. I know who was in the balcony.
Delegates on this floor were afraid for
their lives when they voted to phase out
the slot machines. Since the phaseout bill
there has been watering down, and, believe
me, ladies and gentlemen, I will believe
that those slot machines are gone when
they are gone. They are supposed to be
gone by the first of July of this year. I
will believe it when they are gone, not
before.
I implore you to leave this in the Con-
stitution.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Johnson.
DELEGATE JOHNSON: Mr. President
and ladies and gentlemen of this Conven-
tion, I am neither for or against a lottery,
but I am unequivocally opposed to putting
a ban of this type into our Constitution. In
my very humble opinion, this Constitution
is in trouble in certain areas of the State
because we do not know what it is going
to cost. We are aware of the fact that it
is going to cost a «-reat deal, and in my
opinion if we would delete this section
from the Constitution, we would pick up
far, far, far more votes than we would
lose if we would leave it in. Let us keep
the issue as clear as we possibly can.
This section, if we leave it in the Con-
stitution, neither prohibits nor permits
slot machines. It has not a thing to do
with slot machines or gambling of any
type. The only thing it prohibits is a state-
operated lottery. It just prohibits the citi-
zens of this State to possibly raise the
necessary funds in the future, in the distant
future I submit, to pay for this Constitu-
tion and to pay for the provisions of this
Constitution.
I earnestly urge you to delete this sec-
tion from the Constitution.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate James
Clark.
DELEGATE J. CLARK: Mr. President
and members of the Convention, I rise to
ask you to keep this provision in the con-
stitution. I would like to emphasize and
underscore the statements made by my
colleague from Harford County here. He
has been around a long time, and what he
has said I know to be true, and I think if
we delete this provision at this time, we
are playing Russian roulette with this
document. I think it is too great a chance
to take, and I beg of you to keep this
provision in the Constitution.
THE PRESIDENT: Does any other
delegate desire to speak in opposition?
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