Joiner, Charles W.

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Providence CollegeDigitalCommons@ProvidenceJournals of the 1964-1969 ConstitutionalConvention of Rhode Island Special CollectionsApril 1965Address to the Rhode Island ConstitutionalConvention by Charles W. JoinerCharles W. JoinerFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.providence.edu/constitution_64-69This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Special Collections at DigitalCommons@Providence. It has been accepted for inclusion inJournals of the 1964-1969 Constitutional Convention of Rhode Island by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Providence. For moreinformation, please contact mcaprio1@providence.edu.Joiner, Charles W., "Address to the Rhode Island Constitutional Convention by Charles W. Joiner" (1965). Journals of the 1964-1969Constitutional Convention of Rhode Island. Paper 73.http://digitalcommons.providence.edu/constitution_64-69/73ADDRESS TO THE RHODE ISLAl:JD CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION APRIL 12, 1965 by CHARLES W. JOINER ASSOCIATE DEAN - UNIVERSITY OF MI CHIGAN LAW SCHOOL The e xpe r ience wi t h a c o n s t i t u t i on a l conve n tion i n my state l e a ds me to p r edict that y our c onven t ion will produce two major a chievements fo r y o u r state: 1. The ma chinery of gov e r nme n t will be improved and will be brought, to a degree at least, up to the needs and expectations of your citizens. 2. A dialogue about government will o c cu r among y our delegates a nd with your citizens and in the p r ess and on radio and t. v. t hat wi l l prov e to hav e lasting good r e g ardless o f whe t h e r your do cument is ra t i f i ed . Please l et me speak to each of these briefly. If I us e e x amp l e s or make suggestions it is me rely to illustrate this the sis in light of y ou r experience . I am not a carpetbagger. To put these ma t t e r s in perspe c t i v e let' s r eview, what I am sure we a g r ee on, t he basic rea son s for a s ta t e constitution. I emphasize state as disting­uish ed from National , for the state has the res idual powers of government and does not obtain power from a c o n s t i t u t i o n , whereas the national government' s power comes from its constitution. So they must be different " A. A State Con s t i t u t i on provides for t he d i s t r i bution of state power among t he agencies c re a t e d b y the c on s t i t u t i on to exercise that power. B. A State Con s t i tu t i on put s limitation s of v a r i ous sorts on the exerc i s e of state power for the protection of the people who liv e in the stat e and others. These two ide a s emb r a c e wha t is a state c ons t i t u t i on . It need not grant powe r - it distribute s and limits its use. Sometimes the limitations are on the government itsel f as in the "Rights" section of the c on s t i t u t i on . Some­times the limitations are upon the various agenc ies of gov ernment as to how the y are to exercise their powers. It stands to reason that t he e x i s t e n c e o f a n umb e r o f fac t o r s wi l l in­fl uenc e the intell i g ent j udgment of how this sta t e power sh ou l d be distributed amo ng wh a t agencie s a nd wh a t kind of limitations are needed. As these f a ctors ch a nge , ' s o will ch a n g e the d istribution of power , so wi l l c h ange the a ge n c i e s needed to e xercise the state power , and so wi l l cha ng e the l imitations on the exe r cise of powe r. Address .. .. Dean Joiner Page 2 The kind of factors I am talkIng about are these, most of which are con­stantly changing. The number of people in the state . How close people live together. The economic background of the stat.e. The heritage of a state's people. Their education. Their wisdom. Their courage. The kinds of economic activity and institutions that produce the state's weal t.h , The wealth of t.he stat.e. The size of the state. All of t.hese factors and more should influence the judgment of thoughtful intelligent men in deciding on how the state power should be distributed and what limitations should be placed on its use, What I am r e ally saying at thIS point is that a constitution must be written in light of cu r r ent conditions and conditions that are likely to arise in the futu re. I t must be a documen t of principle but it must be a working document that fi t.S the particular -s t.a t.e and ItS people. As good as is our constituion in Michigan . I would not urge you to adopt it. You, as delegates to the Rhode Island and Pr o v i d e n c e Plantations constitutional convention must truly face up to your problems and ma~e decisions in light of them. Again, what T am really saying is that just as those delegates In 1843 faced the problems of the state at that point in history and gave you a good document to govern you under those conditions; so a group challenged to write a constitution for a state today must face up to the problems of the state today, I st.ress this perhaps unduly because the Michigan experience leads me to the conclusion that it is very easy to run away from problems, even in a constituional convention. The delegates t.O an unlimited convention are not sent to that convention to run away or Ignore, but to analyze and decide. Our delegates on some matters took the easy way out. Our people in these areas were disappointed. What the problems are in your state, you surely know. I haven't studied them and would be presumptuous to try to give a detailed catalogue But surely they include 1. Apportionment - perhaps on several levels of government. 2. The problem of the governmental needs of more and more people living closer and closer together yet becoming more and more individually mobile and having greater and greater ability to communicate with one Address ... . Dean oiner Page 3 another as well as to be reached instantaneously through the mass media. 3. Th e problem of how government. can e f f e c t i v e l y provide quality education for your children and young adults. 4, The cost of government. Of course there are man y more , but wh~tev er they are , a group of Con­stitution wrlters will fail if they don' t keep their sights high and focused on basic government structure that will permit the solution of the problems facing the citizens. Decision of such a group, if it is to carry out its mandate, and if it. is to be r e c e i v e d with favor by the public, must be based on the facts of today and tomorrow and not of yesterday. This isa lesson of the Michigan experience. Such a group fails if the decisions are not bold. Timidity brings scorn. The authorization for a Con s t i t u t i o n a l c onve n t i o n is a mandate, not necessarily to change the con s t i.t.u t i.on, but. a mandate to carefully examine the basic gov­ernmental structure that affects the solution to any problems now facing the c itizens or which can be foreseen. Where would we be today if Adams and Jefferson had not been bold, had improvised instead of created? Sample questions that were raised in my state, the answers to which helped develop answers to problems of government were these: Compared to 1908 - with yo u it should be compared to 1843. Is the state largely agricultural , industrial , or both? Is there a shift? Will it likely cont inue? Are their problems of government connected with this? Are new institutions needed? Are some existing institutions now archaic? Could we get along without some of the government institutions? Are there limitations on power and its use that should be changed in light of the answers? Or, What is the level of education among our citizens today compared with 1908 - or with your 1843? Has t .he system of pub l.f.c schools and colleges , radio! television and the press brought more understanding to people - developed more wisdom ­provided more sophistication? What implications on government structure will this have? Or, What are the implications, the full i mp l i c a t i on , that could be felt on government structure as a result of being able to drive across my state in three hours and being able to talk t .o anybody instantaneously? Those who elected the delegates to our convention wanted them to ponder all these wonders and to create constructive changes in the constitutional law as it relates to government structure and the limitations on power that Address ....Dean Joiner Page 4 may affect the ability to solve today's problems. You have the same great opportunity to provide for government that will be able to govern more wisely, m.ore responsively and at lesser cost. We did not completely succeed but we made some progress. You especially have a challenge in this respect because of your size. How fortunate you are to be 1200 square miles instead of 56,000; to be 900,000 instead of 9,000 ,000 - a family in a cottage instead of an assembly in the Michigan Stadium. Just because you are what you are, you could well choose to demonstrate, that in light of changes in transportation, communication and education, much of government could be eliminated. Duplication of governrn.ental functions today is one of the great economic wastes of our time. Much of it has come about because government structure has been frozen by constitutional restrictions or provisions when changing conditions called for new devices and agencies. So we add but we cannot subtract. Because of your size and the nature of your community, your leader­ship in eliminating all sorts of duplication might prove to be as important as was the idea of initiative and referendum or home rule 65 years ago. The pressures are great on a constitutional convention to be mediocre and it takes courage and strength to overcome. The delegates to our conven­tion achieved greatness in this respect, only in limited areas. Our citizens were disappointed that they did not achieve more. To achieve more means bucking powerful groups. It means saying "We are the delegates and We must decide ." In our convention when our delegates took this attitude and did not yield to pressure from the legislature, the governor, the political parties and other pressure groups, they overcame and the product was good. The dis­appointment in our document usually can be traced to yielding. If your people are anything like ours, they expect you to look forward and up. They may not say so till the convention is over, but if you don't provide, for example, for the machinery to permit great bodies of people such as you have in the Providence complex, and which could well embrace your whole state, to move forward with services economically, getting rid of excess and useless government as new agencies are created, your voter will want to know why, and you'd better have some good answers. A constitutional convention itself, however, is an invitation to greatness. It is a one shot affair. It has sex appeal. I t attracts as delegates thought­full significant people. Being a one shot meeting, it is not necessary to straddle fences to get re-elected. All in all, it provides machinery to produce great and bold results, if the machinery is used by the delegates. Ours was only partially so used and the product produced, tho an improvement, was not what had been hoped for. Address .... Dean Joiner Page 5 Let me talk to you now about the other great result of our convention which probably will be a result of yours. The convention is and should be an educational experience in government for the whole state. Constitutional convention delegates are teachers of government to the state. The newspapers, television and the radio are the text books. As delegates you are conducting a serious seminar in government. This will have long lasting affirmative affects, lasting long beyond the period of your convention. 1. Our people were made more conSClOUS of the problems of state and local government. 2. Our people became to have a better understanding of the difficulties involved in responsible decision making, and of course such an understanding is a prerequisite of a republican form of government. 3 " Many more non-politicians became interested in government and politics, and the government of the st.ate now is sprinkled with outstanding people who became interested through Con-Con. Our governor is a good example. This dialogue or seminar in government must be more than a sterile exercise or you will look foolish. At the risk of being accused of injecting my nose where it doesn't belong, let me again allude to the problem of urban­ization, to use that as an example of how this dialogue could work. Suppose that one of your committees, prodded by one or two articulate and effective delegates, decides that the cost of state and local government is excessive because of duplication and overlapping, and also that in many parts of the state services are poor. In light of this it proposes that there should be a radical redistribution of state powers in light of growing population and the need for expanding services and the development of rapid transportation and communication. But what radical change? It might be suggested that one way of cutting out duplication and providing services throughout the state would be to combine all state and local government. It could be argued that an area of 1200 sq. miles and 900,000 people really needs only one level of government arid that much money could be saved and that services c6uld be provided more effectively throughout the state. Such a proposal would probably immediately be attacked by the mayors and councilmen and the members of the legislature and it would be easy to yield to such pressure. But whether or not the proposal should be adopted should not turn on the vested rights of various groups but on decisions that are made by you based on facts. If you were to get the facts and conduct a good discussion I am sure you would be surprised at the favorable reaction you would receive by non­Address .... Dean Joiner Page 6 politicians. The dialogue will help marshal support for far seeing programs that may step on a few toes. Your very size and locations leads me to believe that, of all states, a break through in this area might be accomplished. Remember - A Constitutional Convention is called by the people because they believe that there are problems needing attention. The discussion will crystallize these thoughts and the results, if like ours, should be good. Before I leave you let me caution you about one thing. If your citizens are like ours, you will be criticized if you do or if you don't, on a given proposition. It's no answer to a proposition that there will be criticism. You will be judged however you respond. And your product will not be perfect. Ours was not. And people will make snide remarks about it. Ours did. But you will be able to live with yourself without apologies if you argue principles in light of today and the future. And if you don't underestimate the knowledge of needs and the wisdom of the ordinary citizen - the very people who called this convention. I am sure the citizens of this great state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations are as bright as the citizens of my state. Our convention did not go as far or deal as boldly with the problems as our citizens would have preferred. We had a great experience! however. 1. Our constitution is better than before. Our government is improved because of the debates in the convention and the educational process of the convention. 2. Citizens of significance ! who were not politically motivated before the convention, are now participating in government more than ever before, largely as a result of the dialogue on government that was the convention. I wish you well. 

Address to the Rhode Island Constitutional Convention by Charles W. Joiner

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Address to the Rhode Island Constitutional Convention by Charles W. Joiner

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