There are some available. Any of you who
feel you really want to have a locker, please
let Mr. Martineau know.
We hope to get a sufficient supply of file
cabinets, not so that each delegate may
have one, but so that each delegate may
at least have one drawer of a file cabinet
for papers which he will be accumulating.
Each of you will have the desk in the
chamber, a desk in your committee room,
and the file drawer for that purpose. Each
of you is entitled to receive a telephone
credit card for use to the limited extent
permitted to you as a delegate. If you will
stop at Mr. Martineau's office, you may pick
it up. You can make long distance calls on
that card only within the confines of the
State of Maryland.
Copies of the final report of the Consti-
tutional Convention Commission, which is
in the same familiar blue cover, but is a
little more than twice as thick as the in-
terim report, have been distributed to your
committee rooms. Each of you should have
one. If you do not find it there, please let
Mr. Brooks know.
A number of delegates have asked
whether dictating equipment will be avail-
able. We have a problem with stenographic
help. We cannot possibly get sufficient steno-
graphic help to have an abundance for all
the delegates. We would not have the money
to pay for it if we could get it. We antici-
pate that some delegates completely fa-
miliar with the use of dictating equipment
would prefer to do so. We have rented
some equipment. We do not want to rent
more than will be used. If you will be the
user of dictating equipment, please let Mr.
Martineau's office know.
Forms for proposals can be obtained
from the office of the Chief Clerk. The office
of the Chief Clerk is the corner of the De-
partment of Legislative Reference room at
the desk occupied during legislative sessions
by Dr. Everstine. That is the location of
the hopper. The Clerk will be glad to assist
any delegate in preparing proposals for
submission. Under the rules, you will file
the original and five copies of each proposal
with the Clerk. He will arrange to repro-
duce it immediately, and copies will be dis-
tributed at once to all delegates, to the
press, and to the public.
Keep in mind that in accordance with the
procedure discussed by the Chairman of the
Rules Committee at the last meeting, it is
possible for you to submit proposals other
than in the precise language which you
want to see adopted in the Constitution.
In other words, you may submit what has |
been termed idea proposals. They need not
be in formal language. You may submit,
for instance, a proposal that the Constitu-
tion provide for a secretary of state. That
would be simply an idea proposal. Nothing
more is needed. You may submit any kind,
any number of such idea proposals. They
will be referred to the appropriate com-
mittee, and if the committee favorably acts
on the proposal, it will embody it in formal
language in a committee recommendation.
This procedure is adopted in order to
facilitate the flow of ideas from the dele-
gates to the committee in orderly manner.
We hope that the procedure will be used
very freely.
Many of you have asked about locks.
Locks for the desks in the House Chamber
are being made. They were removed from
the desks when the desks were being re-
finished. I understand they will be available
shortly.
Those of you who are not familiar with
the legislative practice and the electrical
board should familiarize yourselves with
the switch on your desk. I call your atten-
tion to the fact that under the rules adopted
by this Convention, it is a serious offense
for any person, delegate or not, to operate
the switch which controls the voting board.
In the center of that switch is a white
ribbed circle, which you can, with your
finger, pull forward and back. That oper-
ates the signal for pages. If you want a
page, flip that center button back and forth
several times. It will light a light at either
side of the rostrum and a page will come
to your desk.
I think the procedure for the operation
of the rest of the lights has by now been
determined by nearly all delegates. I might
add that the one fortunate part of this de-
vice is that the presiding officer can abso-
lutely control because until a switch here
is turned on, you can flip the button all
you want, and it has absolutely no effect.
The procedure in formal voting, in any
case where a roll call vote is called for,
will under the rules be by the electric vote
callboard. The procedure in each instance
will be for the presiding officer to throw
the switch, which rings a bell just in front
of the rostrum. That is your signal to vote
even though you do not hear the presiding
officer's announcement. Before the record is
taken, the presiding officer will ask if
everyone has voted, and will ask if any
delegate desires to change his vote, giving
an opportunity for delegates to change
simply by pushing the other button. After
reasonable opportunity, the presiding officer |
