The herald., 1898-10-12
Constitutional Amendments
sr ABsor KINNEY

D.
demned blythe courts. 1t is q bad measure
in itself and vicious precedent to set. The
mourning of public debts IL none too care
tully guarded now. Claims against the peo-
pie, unlawful In character. often corrupt
m detail and condemned and outlawed by
the courts should surely not be legalised
against a city by q state vote. The strange
thing Is that q legislature could be induced
to pass such an act when II had to be sub
mitted to the people Incidentally the value
Of the referendum Is illustrated. Vote no.
No. 2 provides that counties may deter
mine their own local government. nx sal
aries and amend the same. This amend
ment will give counties the same power In
this matter that cities now have In making
charters
Senator Bulla opposes this amendment
on the ground that 1t gives the county
board Of freeholders power to ''prescribe
the manner and method by which all cleo
tions by the people shall be conducted;
and may In addition determine the tests
and conditions upon which electors, poll
teal parties and organizations may parti-
cipate In any primary election"
Senator Bulla thinks that this Is danger
Gus because a county might do away with
the Australian ballot law. This danger Is
fanciful 1t has no real existence. First,
because county could only repudiate the
Australian ballot law as to county officers.
State and congressional elections would
continue under state law. Second. because
such county charter power Of govern
ment as proposed Is too well guarded to
allow of the overthrow OF popularly In
trenched system like the Australian ballot.
The board Of freeholders must first be
elected by the voters OF the county. Then
the board prepares and signs the plan of
county government. This is submitted to
the county electors. II these approve It
must then be adopted by majority OF each
1aOtCIRtlrA uyA M ho
possible for so rank q proposition as the
repeal OF the Australian ballot law to pass
such gauntlet. I worked long and hard
for the adoption Of the Australian ballot
law in this state. I am more Its friend now
than ever. I would approve nothing to en-
danger It, The legislature alone at the
present time can abolish the Australian
ballot law. Under the amendment such
proposition would have to pass a body Of
freeholders, the voters Of the county and
the legislature as well. There Is In fact
less danger to the Australian ballot with
this amendment than without It.
The advantages of the amendment are
great. The constitution now provides that
only general laws can be passed on county
government. The varied interests of the
counties of the state have forced q classi-
f1cation Of counties which has put each
county either into class by itself or with
one or two others. The fact now IL that the
couHties OI CauIOrhla are governed Dy
special acts. The constitution has been
nullified- Every one recognizes that its
spirit and intent have been violated and 1t
Ia hard matter to keep the courts from
declaring all the county government laws
unconstitutional. The situation II ridicu-
lous as we'll as serious. No change can be
better than to give the counties home rule
This will end the everlasting lobbying be-
fore the legislature by the office-holding g
class for increased salaries. fees, ETC., or
to prevent the reduction Of these when citi-
zens seek to remedy such an abuse, for
instance, as an officer drawing fifteen
thousand dollars year in salary and fees
In this county. No man acquainted with
the affairs Of this county and possessed Of
sound sense but knows that a government
can be framed for It far more efficient and
economical than the present. 1t 10 not that
all salaries should be reduced for some may
need raising, but that the system and
officers drawing high salaries are installed
In office who never perform any service to
the people. Besides this the prevailing
political methods put a great pressure on
heads OF departments to appoint deputies
both IN excess OF any public need and upon
grounds entirely foreign to their capacity
for the performance Of duty. There "
neither protection for the public against
poor service and waste nor protection for
the officer from the political pressure. I'm
der the present system both officer and
public depend on the force or backbone OF
the officer for decent administration.
Comparatively few men have the strength
to go through politics and withstand the
pressure of political hangers-on, bondsmen
and contractors. The entire system OF
county government can be and ought to
be simplifed. Offices IN several cases
should be consolidated and all duplicate
and confusing methods should be done
a. vr,ith "A al III
amendment provides that q county can
establish primary law for Itself.
I am personally opposed to the primary
system in toto and advocate entirely diff
ferent and simpler methods OF ending poll
tical corruption. The primary exists in no
other free country and did not exist here
until recent times. But that Is another
story. Vote yes on amen dment two.
No. provides for a court of claims to
have exclusive jurisdiction over disputed
claims against the state. 1t will cost the
people no extra taxes. It will remove the
claims lobbyist from the legislature. The
legislature will have sort Of final juris-
diction over claims favorably passed by the
court from the fact that appropriations to
pay such judgments can only be made by
the legislature. Vote yes.
No. simply protects San Francisco
against the nuisance and injury of special
legislation. The best citizens of that city
ask IOr II. IneTe IL 10 pOsSlDie ODJecuOn
to 1t. Vote yes.
No. gives the elieutenant-governor a cast
ing vote only in the senate and provides
succession to the governorship in case of
death or disability. This succession is
Eeutenant-governor, president pro tenn
pore of the senate and then speaker of the
assembly.
No objection has been pointed out to this
amendment.
No. 6. This is an amendment to the
school provision of the constitution. Some
have thought that this amendment would
affect the normal schools. 1t will not.
These are established by the legislature
and supported by appropriations and not
by the state school fund.
This fund is now devoted exclusively to
the primary and grammar schools and is
apportioned according to the number OF
children of school age In each county. The
anne ndment changes this by providing that
In school districts or unions Of school dis
tricts with over one thousand Inhabitants
the grammar school can have imposed upon
II the duties Of high school at the general
expense. The apportionment Of the school
fund will thus be changed and no longer be
upon the number of children only. new
kind Of high school in competition with
present high schools will be created with
teachers unprepared for such duties and
the primary and real grammar schools will
he weakened and their support diminished.
This amendment Is defective at every point.
1t has been unanimously condemned by
teachers Institutes notably by that OF
Southern California on March 31st and by
that of Alameda few days ago. The pr-
mary and grammar grades are the schools
LII - - ~ ~. l. L.