New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-12-15
.ARTzONA's CONSTITUTION.

Our enterpriSing contemporary The
Arizona Republican of last Saturday is
at hand with the full text Of the con-
stitution just drafted by the Arizona
constitutional convention. The Demo-
Gratis in the convention with one excep-
tion signed the constitution. The RepuD-
licans with one exception refused to sign
it. The critics of the constitution de
nounce ii as socialistic and predict that
1t will never be approved by President
Taft. They call upon the people OF Ari-
IONA to defeat it at the coming election
on the ground that its acceptance at the
polls and its disapproval by President
Taft would endanger the statehood OF
Arizona, while its rejection would SIM
ply involve another meeting Of the con-
stitutional convention. The constitution
will be submitted to the electors Of Ar1-
IONA on February 8. 1t will be interest
ing to see whether the fear Of endanger-
ing Arizona's prospects OF statehood pE
making necessary. in the event OF MI
Taft's disapproval, new application TO
Congress will cause the rejection of the
constitution or whether the people will
uphold the Democratic majority Of the
convention In their radicallSm.
The constitution Is unquestionably
radical. but radicalism is what is to be
looked for in the newer and indeed In
many Of the older communities OF the
West The particular feature of it which
is novelty and which it is predicted
will cause its rejection in Washington is
the recall provision. This applies 70
every elective office, consequently to 1u-
diciaI Offices The recall has been so
widely adopted in the West that Its ap-
nearance in a new constitution should
not occasion surprise but no state has
vet made its Judges subject TO recall.
States have preferred first to test the re-
call as applied to other officers. But
though only a couple Of recall elections
have ever been held in the United States,
Arizona is ready to apply the new device
to offices which by general consent nave
hitherto been kept removed from public
clamor. Perhaps the recall would never
be abused, but its application to judicial
Offices certainly seems q dangerous and
utterly uncalled for experiment.
Outside of the recall provision the
constitution is not strikingly radical as
COMPARED with other Western constitu-
tions Its provisions In regard to cor
porations are drastic; how drastic may
he seen from Section 4, Article Is, which
begins:
The corporation commission and the
several members thereof shall have
power to inspect and investigate the
property, books, papers. business, meth
DDS and affairs of any corporation whose
stock shall be offered for sale to the
public and of any public service corpora
ton doing business within the state
1t goes on to say that for this purpose
the corporation commission shall have
the power of court of general jurlsd1c-
ton to summon witnesses, take tesu-
mony. etc. Not merely public service
corporations, but every corporation
which offers stock for sale may have its
affairs thus inquired into. Such in
quiries are not mandatory, and presuma-
bly, excessive use of these inquisitorial
mowers would not be tolerated in state
where nearly everybody is interested in
some mining corporation. But drastic as
are these and some of the other pro-
visions regarding corporations, the con-
stitution will probably stand or fall with
the Arizona electors and in Washington
upon its application of the recall to jul
dicial Offices. Only in this respect does
it seem to have gone Oregon and Okla
homa one better.