The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1910-12-02
NEW MExIco's CHARTER.


New Mexico's constitution is OF
the old fashioned, safe and sane,
charter of the fathers kind, female
suffrage in school elections, a mod
fled referendum and a corporation
commission being about the only
variance from the stereotyped con-
situations of the older states.
New Mexico starts well, though
we could have wished for, at least,
a provision for the popular pri-
mary, and one or two other back
to the people" clauses, though 1t
savors infinitely better on the whole
than the millennial dispensation
that Oklahoma presented to the
world just before she elevated Has
kell and his gang to the seats OF
the mighty.
New Mexico paid particular at
tention to education, providing for
a permanent school fund, resulting
from the sales of certain lands,
escheats, fines and forfeitures, be-
sides a state tax and local revenues.
New Mexico's school system now
ranks high; every county having
not less than one High school and
some of the valley counties a doz-
en-; her rural buildings being brick
and concrete, and her cities and
towns paying a minimum of $50
the month TO public school teachers.
Contrary to general opinion, her
valleys are settled for the most part
with western farmers, and the per-
centage of illiteracy among the En-
glish speaking population is, per-
haps, as low as that of any state in
the Union.
1t may surprise many people to
know that the following educa-
tional institutions, already in exist
ence and supported by the terri
tory. are adopted by the new state
and provided for: The University
of New Mexico at Albuquerque, the
New Mexico College of Agriculture
and Mechanical Arts near Las Cruces.
the New Mexico School of Mines at
Socorro, the New Mexico Military
Institute at Roswell, the New Next
co Normal University at Las Vegas,
the New Mexico Normal School at
Silver City, the Standardization
School at Ell Rito. the New Mexico
Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb at
Santa Fe, and the New Mexico In
stitute for the Blind at Alamogordo.
Spanish blood is to be no bar to
admission to the public schools, and
ooroafnl oft IL % he 90
teaching English to Mexican child
rem. For 20 years all laws are to
be published in English and Span
ish, which assures the prosperity of
the free press of the new state for
two decades, anyway.
The referendum provision of the
constitution says:
The people reserve the power to
disapprove, suspend and annul any
law enacted by the legislature, ex-
cept general appropriation laws,
laws providing for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safe
ty, for the payment of the public
debt or interest thereon, for the
creating or founding of the same,
except as in this constitution other
wise provided, for the maintenance
of thepublic schools or state institu-
tons, and local or special laws. Pc
titions disappearing any law other
than those above excepted enacted
at the last preceding session of the
legislature, shall be filed with the
secretary of state not less than four
months prior to the next general
election. Such petitions shall be
signed by not less than ten per CEN
tum of the qualified electors OF
three-fourths of the counties and in
the aggregate by not less than ten
per centum of the qualified electors
OF the state as shown by the total