The Forrest City times., 1910-08-26

by the politicians. That was getting too near To them. Perhaps some of them. or some of their oflice-holding friends feared that it might some day l be called into requisition and applied l to themselves or ttheir friends afure- said
 Several weeks ago Judge Y. w. Norton, of tLis city, who k president of the Arkansas State Bar Association, who is held in high esteem by all who know him, and whose sjudgment and opinion and universally sensible con- struction or interpretation of all matters pertaining to law is gen. erally conceded to be of the very greatest depth and value. delivered an address before that body upon this very subject, which we have had the pleasure to read, and which we wish every voter in the county would read before casting vote for this measure, which is the greatest pro- prosed revolution of modern times in Arkansas
 Judge Norton takes the view that the proposed amendment Is great revolution and dangerous. He says in one place: Il find a portion of it reads as follows: The people of each municipality, each county, and of the state, reserve to themselees power to propose laws and amendments to the constitution, aud to enact or reject the same at the.polls, ,..and also, |" etc.
 ]" It looks like this provision might lead to the greatest confusion. It seems to be quite broad enough to au- thorize a municipality, or a county, to propose a general law which should have effect all over the state, if any where. and it further seems that the adoption of the measure might be had in one county or municipality, and not in the next. It would be an un- fortunate condition of things to have the state with different regulations in different localities upon subject which should be of uniform applica- tion If worthy of existing at all. As the proposed amendment is written 1t also looks like it would be possible for a measure to be carried in a mu- nicipality and fail in the county. The portion of the amendment above quoted might be construed to have application only to local measures, but 1t does not read that way, and the : fact that it includes amendments to the Constitution, seemingly would forbid that construction
 The desire of the people of a mu- nieipality or county to have certain rule of action prevail with them does not make it a local question. For ex- ample, if a county preferred a certain rule of action as to larceny it could hardly be said that the larceny was thereby made a local question
 This proposed amendment pro- yides that a petition signed by per cent of the legal voters shall be sui fcient to propose measure: and that a petition signed by per cent of the legal voters shall be sufficient 10 cause l legislative act To be referred to the voters.
 When one remembers the facility with which petitions are signed, it looks like the per cent required in each of these instances is altogether too low. X law passed by the Legis, lature, and every way meritorious, could under this provision be suspend ed by a petition signed by per cent of the voters. Interests affected by such a law could very easily secure the signatures necessary to suspend it's operation
 In another place Judge Norton says.
 "Lincoln'S explanation of the great number of the common people-that the Lord loved them ana for that req son made So many of them-has always been satisfactory to me. Nothing is more admirable than their honesty, their good intentions and their independence in matters with which they are familiar ] want no better tribunal for the disposition of contentious, with two proyisos, First, the question submitted to them must in it's nature be common; and, second. they must be allowed to vote while possessed of their everyday common sense and without having their minds inflamed.
 When l say that the question must in it's nature be common, l mean that it should be one in which All men have common interest. or al any time might have. It must be re- membered that voters will not, and are not expected to, qualify them selves to vote; they have something else 10 do and for that reason any scheme is indifferently planned which l0Oks fn fha SisbfnfScsn, of