The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-08-27
The Fifty Million Amendment.

y The Fifty Million Amendment.
(. The State Constitution in Article VII.
), makes minute provision for the regula-
ton Of the States power to contract
! Indebtedness. Its second section pro-
4 vides that debts not to exceed $1,000, 900
/, may be incurred ito meet casual def
(. cts or failures in revenues Section
I, 8 grants authority to contract debts
Ito repel invasion, suppress insurrec-
ton, or defend the State In war The
j. fourth section is in part as follows:
Except tho debts specified in Sections and
;Uf this article. no debts shall be hereafter con-
Iracted BY or behalf OF this State, unless such
debt shall be authorized by law. for some single
/ work OF object to DO distinctly specified therein:
! and such law shall impose and provide for tho col
4 lection Of direct annual tax 70 pay and suicent
70 pay, the interest such debt as It falls due, and
:. also 70 pay and discharge the principal Of such
debt within eighteen years from the time OF tho
contracting thereof. No such law shall take effect
until It shall. at general election have been sub
mltted 70 the people, and have received ma
3oty Of all tho votes cast for and against It at such
4 election. No such law shall be submitted.
TO be voted within three months after Its passage
or at any general election when any other law.
or any bill. any amendment to the Constitution
shall be submitted to be voted for or against"
4 The intent of the trainers OF the Con-
stitution, Endorsed by the people when
they adopted it, is set forth plainly in
this section. It was deemed unwise to
empower the Legislature alone to in
crease the States Indebtedness except
in time of great emergency, and it was
/, written in the fundamental law that no
statute authorizin., the contracting OF a
7 debt should become effective until it
had been Endorsed at the polls by the
voters. So important was this held to
be that the provision was inserted that
no law authorizing the contracting Of
\ a debt should be submitted to the people
I'm year when other measures were
slaoed before them for their action.
1hus, in 1903 the law Chapter lat, Laws
lof 1909 authorizing the State to con-
Etract debt of SOL 100000 for the sim
9provement Of the Erie Canal, the Os-
ykwego Canal and the Champlain Canal"
Ras submitted to the people, and no
ther questions were put before them.
he object of this was, plainly, that the
pters' attention might be directed
eelely toward the one question Of the
adyisability of mourning debt for the
object described, and not distracted by
other and perhaps more technical ques-
tions involved in amendments to the Con-
stitution. 1t is wise provision and pro-
. hibition, with the principle Of which no
one can disagree.
1t is apparently too wise a prohibi-
ton to suit the wishes Of all. For years
agitation has been continued for State
aid in highway improvement. This agi-
tation. holding out alluring promises
to the taxpayers of fine roads through
out the rural districts of the State, built
: at low cost to the benefited taxpayers,
resulted in the adoption by the Legsla-
ture elected in 1902, and by the Legsla-
ture elected in 1904. Of the following
proposed amendment to the Constitu-
ton OF the State, designed to repeal, for
the benefit of the highway improvement
cause, the closing sentence of Section 4 Of
Article VII. of that Instrument:
a debt or debts Of the State may be authorized
I by law for the Improvement of highways. Such
highways shall be determined under general laws.
which shall also provide for the equitable appor-
I tionmcnt thereof among the counties The ag-
gregate Of the debts authorized by this section
shall not at any one time exceed the sum of $780,
100000. Tho payment OF the annual interest on
such debt and the creation OF sinking fund Of at
4 pef per IN
principal AZ maturity shall be provided BY general
laws, whose force and effect shall not be dimin-
ishcd during the existence OF any debt created
Hereunder. The Legislature may. by general
laws, require the county town or both 10 pay to
the sinking fund the proportionatc part of the
. cost of any such highway within the boundaries
z OF nuch county or town. and the proportlonate
part Of the interest thereon. but no county shall
81 any time for any highway be required TO pay
] moro than thirty 1--WE -hundredths of the cost
OF such highway. and no town more than fifteen
hundredths. None of the provisions of the fourth
section Of this article shall apply 70 debts for the
I Improvement OF highways hereby authorized
This proposed amendment to the Con-
etitution. which excerpts a highway
debt OF $50 900 900 from the operation of
.'.o safeguards thrown around all other
& debts. is to be submitted to the people
for their action at the general election
Nov. 7, with six other proposed amend
msnts, making seven propositions on
which the electors must vote yes" or
q NO. On the official ballot the cues
ton to be answered will appear thus:
Shall the proposed amendment 10 Article VII.
Of the Constitution, relating to Improvement of
s highways be approved"
n In that form the voters must answer
. question involving the creation Of a
debt half as great as that proposed
|; for the announcement, Of canals and