Pocahontas star herald. (Pocahontas, Randolph County, Ark.) 1907-current, 1910-08-26

nave always reserved myself the
right to do my own thinking on
public questions, and the right to
express those opinion freely, wheth
er they agreed with the declaration
ot any party or not, and | see ne
reason why | should now permit
my opinions to be controlled by
the action, either well or ill-advlsed
OF any political convention.
Regarding the principle of the
Initiative and Referendum, >
itself would say that l have no
great objection to it; l have never
seen it in operation, and it may be
that it will accomplish all that its
frieuds claim for it. We have
embodied in onr constitution the
principles which experience has
shown mai lin and protect the
fundamental rights of the citizens
and the proposed amendment may
prove valuable in the safeguarding
of these rights; the objection which
have to tie amendment, in the
form in which it is proposed, is to
the very language, the wording, the
effect of the amendment.
Oregon has adopted and now has
In force an amendment along the
same lines. The proposed Arkansas
amendment is a copy Of the Oregon
amendment, except that in the
Arkansas amendment the words in
capital letters are added. They do
not appear in the Oregon law. So
that the vital, essential difference,
between the two consists in the
fact that in Oregon the people in
the whole State may vote on amend.
ments to the constitution, vote on
proposed laws, or propose laws for
adoption, and not the people of
"each municipality, each county,
and of the State" as is proposed
by the Arkansas amendment.
In my service as a legislator,
have consistently opposed special
laws, believing that general laws
In most cases, will meet all just re-
quirements. The legislature of the
state In recent years, has giver
more attention to the enactment Of
special acts, for all imaginable pur
poses, than they have to needed
general legislation. An examina
ton of the printed acts will con.
vince the most skeptical that thu
special act business has been large
ly overdone. But if the proposed
amendment is adopted the Legisla
ture wont be in the running will
the legislation that that will be pro
posed by the electors. The peopl,
OF each county, under the reserved
powers, could propose an amend
ment to the constitution, which
when adopted by the people of tn
county, would be effective as to tn
county. 1t could do away will
payment of taxes to State; coulC
abolish offices, create new ones
could make the criminal laws mop
erative in the county; and in shor
the people of each county coult
propose and adopt any laws they
wanted, and if the people in eacl
county exercised their reserved
powers we would have, instead O
general laws applying to all tn
State, IS different sets of laws
each applying to the county only
Certainly no one who gives tn
matter thought, could desire such a
condition of affairs, but such a con
dition could occur under the pro
posed amendment. Laws should b
uniform throughout the State ant
no county should have the right t,
set at naught laws which experience
, has shown to be in the interest O
society. Under proposed amend
ment, any county or municipalit!
can legalize gambling, horse racing
prize fighting, or any of the othe
things which the best judgment o
the people Of the whole state con-
denim as injurious and demoralizing
Another obiect,on wh,cb uro