CHAPTER XIII.
THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION AND ITS LABORS.
The constitutional convention was set for July 4th, 1903 at Co-opolis. The election was held two weeks before that time. Few individualists were anxious to become delegates because the honor was unaccompanied by compensation, and for the further reason the majority of Co-operators was now overwhelming. The result was that the same proportion of Co-operators obtained in the convention as in the Legislature and it was evident that the progress of the Co-operative Commonwealth would be carried out. When the convention met it was called to order by the Governor, a portion of whose address on that occasion is well worthy of repetition. After tracing briefly the history of Co-opolis and the Brotherhood of the Co-operative Commonwealth, in glowing language, he took up the question of the Co-operative Constitution and said:
“Gentlemen: You are the men in whose wisdom the state of Idaho confides and upon whose action here the fate of unknown generations hangs. I would not presume to advise you with regard to your all-important mission, but I shall ask permission to offer, with the greatest humility and with all respect for your high intelligence, a few simple suggestions.
“The burden of all I have to say can be aptly phrased in the somewhat homely language borrowed from the street. Do not put your state in a ‘strait jacket.’ Do not think it necessary to prohibit, restrict, define and dogmatize when you come to make your constitution.
“When you have provided a system of state government and made clean and emphatic the boundaries of executive, legislative and judicial power, consider that you have completed your work. Do not undertake to guard the inalienable rights of man by introducing details, methods and systems into your constitution. Leave all that to the common sense and common justice of the people. Let your Legislature dominate both the executive and judiciary. That body is designed, or should be, to express the popular will. The judiciary is designed to interpret that will as expressed. The executive is to carry that will into effect.”
The Governor’s address did not advance further into the province of the convention. He spoke, for the most part, in a merry vein, as if he felt that even if the success of his work was not yet achieved it had nearly passed the stage of experimentation, and when he concluded the convention, while impressed with the importance of its great mission, appeared to share in their leader’s satisfaction.
The convention continued in session one week. The result of its work was a constitution, brief, clear and simple. It provided for executive and legislative departments. No judiciary was provided for. It prescribed the duties of the executive department and provided for its branches. The first Governor of Idaho was to hold office for a period of three years and all Governors succeeding for seven years each. He was the chief executive of the state and his duty was to see that the law was enforced.
There were to be a Secretary of State, State Auditor, State Treasurer, Attorney-General and Secretary of Co-operative Industries. The duties of these several officials were such as ordinarily attached to such officials, except that of Secretary of Co-operative Industries. It was the duty of this official to keep a full record of all Co-operative Associations in the state, their rules and by-laws, and to use his best endeavors to bring about a complete union of all under one head. He was also to be the active general of the militia of the state and superintend all operations of that body, subject to the order of the Governor. The Great Council possessed all legislative and judicial power. The legislative power could not be delegated, but was restricted and controlled by the people as follows: When twenty per cent of the voting population of the state should petition to have any law, whether on the statute books or not, submitted to popular vote, the Governor’s duty was to submit it at the annual election held in October of each year.
A majority vote was sufficient to enact or repeal such law.
It was also provided that if twenty per cent of the population should petition the President to remove any official from office the question of such removal should be submitted to the popular vote at the next annual election, and a majority vote was sufficient to retain or remove such official. In case such officer was removed by popular vote the Governor was to appoint a successor to hold until the next annual election, but the person removed could not hold the office again until one full term had intervened. The Legislature had power to delegate its judicial functions in such manner as it saw fit.
When it was desired to remove the Governor the petition must be submitted to the Great Council and in case of his removal the vacancy was filled by that body.
When the convention adjourned its labors had produced the briefest written constitution in force in any of the states of the American Union. In my opinion it was the best. It not only made the legislative body the most prominent of the people’s servants, but it provided a plain and simple method for the exercise of such control. It provided a strong executive to execute the laws and made him the commander-in-chief of the militia of the state, both industrial and military, but it gave him no veto or pardoning power. It was, however, his province to recommend to the Great Council the pardon of persons sentenced by the judiciary to punishment, and few instances are known to our history where such recommendations were not acted upon favorably. It contained one brief provision which expresses all that is best in modern civilized government in a few words. That provision, under the head of Co-operation, is as follows:
“The Council shall provide for the government ownership of all the sources and machinery of production and the operation of the same, to the end that no person within the state shall be idle or needy. It shall cause all railroads, water rights, mines and cultivated or uncultivated lands to be purchased by the state as speedily as practicable and shall levy an army, to be known as the Industrial Army, to work the same. The state shall never sell, grant or alienate any of its property so acquired. No property shall be taken from any person or persons by the state without paying just compensation therefor.”
All the laws in force at the time of the adoption of the new constitution, except such as were inconsistent with it, were to be continued in force until amended or repealed. All officials, except those whose offices were abolished by the new constitution, or should be abolished by the Great Council, continued in office until the next general election.
The constitutional election was held the third Monday in August, 1903, and resulted in the adoption of this new instrument. By its terms the old system of legislation being abolished, the Governor was authorized to convene the first session of the Great Council the first Monday in January, 1904. An election was called for November, and at that election the Great Council, consisting of one hundred and ninety members, representing as nearly as possible one for each one thousand voters, were elected. All but thirty were Co-operators. There was no doubt now that the new state and the new system were, for a time at least, established. The machinery of government was in our hands and the future rested with us.
The world beyond Idaho did not apparently concern itself with us or our system. The defeat of the opposition which had, in the election of 1902, attacked us with bitterness, resulted in that opposition subsiding into silence. The great dailies, magazines and periodicals simply refused to recognize us, and our system received no notice from the capitalist world. This was annoying to some of the Co-operators, both in and out of Idaho, because we felt that we were ignored and that our merits ought to be proclaimed. I remember some of our members of the Great Council expressing dissatisfaction because of this fact in the presence of Governor Thompson.
“Merits!” exclaimed he; “what merits have we? We have simply shown the world that for five years we could work together and produce wonders. Let us see what we can do as lawmakers. Let us show what we can do with a state after we have captured it. If we make some blunders you need not flatter yourselves that you are unobserved. If you build a strong and substantial state you need not fear that the world will overlook that fact. The truth is that all the capital, intellect and classes of America are watching for signs of disagreement and dismembership. They will be disappointed if they do not find them, but when you are on a solid basis then they will proclaim your system a wonder and philosophers will come to observe and study it. We ought to bear all this in mind as we proceed to the work of making proper laws for the regulation of this state. Our history is just begun and it rests with us whether it will continue.”