The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1910-12-24
MR.. DOUGHERTY's
VIEWS ON THE
CONSTITUTION
Some Good Things in the
Constitution Are Pointed
Out and Adoption Strong
ly Urged.


submitted to them, viz. the adoption or
rejection Of the constitution. Some pa.
pers aud spcak ers are attempting to
make this n party issue, and in this !
do not agree. All citizens, whatever
their political belief may be, will, if the
constitution is adopted, be compelled
To live under it aud conform to its
provisions; therefore, to my mind, it is
aud one which each individual voter,
after the most careful consideration,
must determine for himself.
1t is almost needless 10 say that the
submitted document presents no one
man 5 ideas, nor can any constitution
ever be drafted which will be the pro.
should not be, as the Judgment of a
number of men il much better han that
of any one. II anyone believes that n
territorial form of government is bet.
ter than Il state, then of course no con.
stitution could ever bc drafted which
would meet with such u person s views;
but ! assume that the vast majority of
us are fully fitted for statehood aud
that We most earnestly desire it, and
that. il the document submitted is of
u character that they can conscientious.
~ vote for, that they will do 80. 1t is
IN this night that desire to briefly
discuss certain provisions and direct
attention certain parts, and the best
manner Of dong this is by taking the
proposed constitution aud calling atten.
tion To those particular parts.
Before doing So, it might be said that
this constitution has IA defect which
many of us think the majority of the
people Of New Mexico desired incorpo.
rated in il, viz, that of direct legisla.
tion; however, it j. II mater of history
not get this provision Incorporated
therein. But | do not think we should
be- tied 10 any one idea. Direct lcgis.
lation is OF that character that within
the next few years, in the opinion of
those OF MS who believe it to be the cor.
rect theory of government, it will So
progress M To create III the proposed
new state an overwhelming sentiment
which will demand that this feature
bc written into the constitution, aud
this may lac don" by AN amendment ut
L .ttI.V th, frat ZAP "a unI,aa.nnnt N,n.t
ing of the Legislature.
But one state in the union was ever
admitted which had written in its consti
tuition the feature of direct legislation,
viz, Oklahoma. Therefore, while to
my mind the omission is n serious one,
still this constitution, if otherwise a good
one, should not be- rejected.
Some criticism has been advanced
against the manner of amending the
constitution, aud it has been stated that
it is almost impossible to amend it. This
is not true. The manner as originally
submitted for the amendment of the
onstitutiO is what is known AS one OF
the easiest methods of amendment.
1t is "A method which has been adopt.
ed by AN overwhelming majority of the
last states admitted into the union, viz,
two.thirds of the legislature submitting
the question o the vote of the people,
The older states had "A far more dill
cult method of one Legislature, by "A ma.
iority vote. submitting the proposed
amendment Ia the second legislature, and
after being passed by n majority vote,
the second legislature then submitted it
to the vote of the people. Oregon had
this method of submitting amendments
ewhn they voted in the direct Legislature
feature in their constitution.
At the last moment this method of
amendments was relaxed and made cas-.
Ter by permitting the second lcpisln'
ture aud every eight years thereafter
n majority If the legislature to submit
constitutional amendments To the PEG
Pile, 50 il can he seen that il there is n
sentiment demanding amendment of the
constitution To incorporate direct legis'
lHtion or any other matter, that il can
be accomplished ms easily as in most
any state in the union, and easier than
IN the vast majority,
4 few of the provisions Of the cousti-
tuition which occur to me as being. paI
ticularly good and as being safeguards