Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 239, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 October 1914 — THE CHANGES OF 63 YEARS IN INDIANA [ARTICLE]

THE CHANGES OF 63 YEARS IN INDIANA

Mow They Have Made Our State Constitution Unequal to the Demands Put Upon It. It is no accident of polities or legislation that the question of calling a constitutional convention is upon us at this time. The present demand for a new constitution is a wholly natural expression of the expanding progressive sentiment in the stale and in our local communties. Our first constitution, adopted tn 181®, was discarded at the end <4 thirty-five years because outgrown to a generation of progress, and ow present constitution, adopted in 18SI, made to satisfy the needs and conditions of the middle of the nineteenth century. Now shall wo of the second decade of the twentieth century show less courage and progressive spirit in meeting the conditions that confront us? What fundamental changes have been wrought during the past 88 years of epoch making history may well give the people of Indiana occasion for profound thought. Our population has more than trebled. We have developed from an agricultural people to a cosmopolitan commonwealth, largely industrial In 1861 our largest city was New Albany, with only 7,786 inhabitants. Madison was second with 7,714. Indianapolis had 7,68®. There were only nine cities of more than 3,008 people. Today most of the counties of the state can boast a matropoUs greater than these frontier towns, and almost onehalf of our entire population is in towns and cities. The city of to dianapoUs contains about onedhMd the entire population of the state when our present constitution was ■adopted. This tendency from conn try to city Is rapidly increasing. From IMO to 19M ogr dty population 'increased 30.5%, white our rural population decreased 5.5%. * During those 83 years our factory laborers have increased from 14,483 to over 218,000; our annual manti factoring output, from 818,082,555 to 8570,000,000; our investment in manufacturing plants, from 37,750,403 to more than 3350,000,000. The so-called plants of 1861 consisted principally of small individual shope and mills. The total state tex levied at that time was >450,481.78. It now exceeds 8®,350,000. The 812 miles of railroad which existed in IMO, 134 miles of which had been constructed the preceding year, have expanded to a network of steam and electric lines threading every portion of the state. Indeed, the past 83 years hare taken us from the realm of the stage coach and the tow-path canal, and the accompanying simple life of that day, to a highly complex state of society, ‘calling for adequate machinery of organisation to direct it Our immeasurable progress in education, science, inventions and wealth has wotted problems that could not haM -been foreseen to Mil. The iMvttbWe logic of growth and Change hge compound goveromoat to nwintep > self with the mogt thtiiikto and MO- - rtiationn of bmmjm! and peep toty rights. Ttrnra W » Mtoftol M public utilities then, ft is a mod MM one MV. Wo wore Ml trunk-

led with toe floating foreign vote, and the machinery of elections was Mmparatively simple. Our present bffed of safeguarding the suffrage eauid net have been foreseen. Our antiquated general property tax, which was then fairly suitable to toe Sitoflle property forms of that day, is wholly inadequate now. The problems of city government, then of little moment, concern us tremendously today. These and other vital matters are Involved In the matter of calling a constitutional convention to bring our constitution up to date. We shall have toe opportunity this fall in voting for a constitutional convention to register a demand for modern forms of government

We want every lady and girl over 10 years of age to register at our store. You may in that way and at no cost ; whatever get that beautiful little Malleable Range in our*win-dow.—-E. D. Rhoades & Son. Order your Galling Cards at The Republican office

Lafayette Germans forwarded IL' 000 in cash Tuesday to the German ambassador at Washington to be sent to the fatherland for the relief of wives and orphans of the European war. The society announced that another SI,OOO would be sent in a short time. Money was raised by popular subscription.