this great document, and all of the other
hard work that many of our committees
are placing upon this document.
I think this issue is of such significant
value that we ought to consider it very
carefully, and 1 strongly urge each and
every one of you to vote for this amend-
ment. Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair recognizes
Delegate James to speak in opposition to
the amendment.
DELEGATE JAMES: Mr. Chairman,
fellow delegates, first I would like to say
that all of the arguments 1 attempted to
mobilize this morning, are equally applica-
ble to the particular proposition this after-
noon.
1 happened to serve as Chairman of the
Committee on Legislative Reapportionment.
It was a soul-searching experience. I had
this difficult job for a period of two years,
and I can tell you that the legislator is in
an extraordinarily difficult position in pass-
ing upon this particular subject. He has
two problems. One problem is that he has
his own selfish interest at stake, and to
buttress that selfish interest is the fact
that his people at home, generally speak-
ing, want him to do the thing which is in
his own selfish interest. He is therefore,
handicapped both by the fact that his
people want him to fight for the status quo
and his own selfish interest requires him
to be for the status quo. The ultimate
result of the adoption of this proposal
inevitably will be a spiraling upward of
the size of both houses, and this will mean
going down the tunnel of a long hall to
inefficiency.
Certainly the lower body, the large body
inevitably becomes less legislative in charac-
ter. To glorify the committee, you concen-
trate your power in the leadership, and in
the control committees, and you minimize
the benefits of open debate and persuasion
on the floor. I say to you that all hope is
lost for an efficient legislature if you take
the ceiling off.
I would like to conclude with those re-
marks, but let me plead with you not to
take the limit off, because it will be a
disastrous blow to the efficiency of the
legislature.
THE CHAIRMAN: Is there any dele-
gate who desires to speak in favor of the
amendment?
Delegate Malkus?
DELEGATE MALKUS: Mr. President,
ladies and gentlemen of this Convention, 1 |
listened with interest to what has been
said here. As you know, 1 represent one
of the real, real, real rural sections and
in times gone by I said upon this floor that
when your great metropolitan areas take
over, I hoped that they would be as kind
to us as we had been to them.
You may snicker all you want, but we
are fighting for our very life. It is not a
question of county lines. It is a question
of community of interest. I am one of the
very few bona fide farmers in this honor-
able body. There are several. Well, if you
are going to cut this thing down, as the
President of the Senate has said, so that
it is efficient, our voice will be so small,
Mr. President, it will not be heard.
Now, I have heard in glowing terms the
great progress of the 1966 session of the
General Assembly. That was the reappor-
tioned session of the General Assembly,
142 and 43. It was not to my liking, Mr.
President, but I defy anybody to say it
was not workable. With a legislature of
that size, we will have a chance in the
next ten years to have some voice in what
is going to happen ten years from now,
Mr. President. You do not know; neither
do 1. We may all have helicopters by then
and we will be living in a land of truly
pleasant living rather than in the metro-
politan areas.
Mr. President, I hope, I do not care
how you do this, and there are other
amendments to follow this, but 105 and 35
cuts us to the very bone, which may be
fortunate in one way and unfortunate in
another. We had a little gathering on the
Potomac River. They called it the Capital
of the United States. That has overflowed
into Maryland. I suppose except for the
possibility of Virginia, that we are the
only one that has such a situation as that,
and I look with interest on those people
who are here in this honorable body whose
heart and bread and water is in some
other place.
1 called them one time, Mr. President,
sundowners and moonlighters, and bed-
room citizens, and the Washington papers
tore me to pieces, but as I look through
this list of business offices, just casually,
of course, I find not eleven here in this
body make their living in Washington,
D. C.
Mr. President, we who come from the
real, real, real, rural sections, not only
live there, we work here, we raise our
families here and make our living here. |
