Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1910-09-08

diately-It would put in the power of the people to correct it immediately
 When you take into consideration that so many of the people want to construe this act as we do, it would not do to reject a thing which, if in fault in any manner, can be so easi-
 ly remedied. I have asked your governor if this act carried if he will ask that any defects be immediately remedied, and he has publicly stated he will If court makes any con- struction upon the amendment as the
 opposition insists they will, then l
 will come back to Arkansas and
 canvass for it's change at my own expense, but l have no fear that it will be so construed.
 How many lawyers are there in
 the state? Twelve hundred I have
 been told but 1 will make it one
 thousand and be conservative. Out of this number 40 have signed a pro-
 test against the amendment, but I am told 100 will do so. When it
 comes to a vote the constitution pro- vides that a majority must be cast
 for the amendment for it to carry.
 Where no vote is cast it is construed as a vote against it. If you will
 invoke this same rule against, the lawyers, then I will say the other 300 favor the Initiative and Refer endum.
 If all the lawyers in the state would say they are against the hi tiative and Referendum, then I would not be willing to leave this matter to them, nor I any other class. I have been brought up to let all the people vote to decide on all matters pertaining to them. Find these men who do not believe in the Initiative and Referendum in its present form and l will show you those who are against the principle. I find this in the statement sent to me by lawyers of Arkansas who do not favor the amendment in it's present form. I don't take my case to the man. I know is against me.
 Tt is not right that the most sac red thing in the state should be, in the hands of the constitution. The hardest constitution to change is the oldest, that of the United States. It requires three fourths of the states to change this constitution. We are not experiencing sample of this now on the Income Tax. There is not a tax dodger in the United States but who is trying to defeat this law, and he hopes to do it by keeping little over one fourth of the states from voting favorably. <
 If we had such principle as this nationally now, the people would have made the changes in the con- stitution long ago, and the income tax would have been one of the first of these. It would take the big bur den off the poor man and put it where it belongs At the present time the government has, in the time of war, the right to place it's hand upon every man, but not upon his property. It can take the father. the husband or the brother and place him before the fire from the gun of the enemy. but the country in it's greatest peril could not lay it's hand upon the wealth to defend the government that it portects. If we could have amended this by majority it would have been done long ago, and the burden taken from the back of the poor man.
 Direct election of United States senators is another thing We would have had long ago. The House has asked this by resolution five times and would like to have seen it come long ago, but we are still waiting.
 "The Initiative and Referendum places the constitution in the hands of the people. It is a growth in the spirit of Democracy and ability of the people, The lawyers don't be- lieve the people can act for them selves and want 10 senators and 20 representatives to propose the pro visions of the amendment. If U special interest is opposed to refer ring the matter all it has to do is to control enough of the senators to re- fuse to sign the petition and the pur- pose is defeated. No state where the Initiative and Referendum is in force has any such a clause in it's law. This would not make it rep- resentative of all the people. It would be like the legislature and the governors veto. What we want is for the action of the whole people.