Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1910-12-22
\. NJ. DOUGHERTY
ON CONSTITUTION
Like a Host of Other Demo
cratic Leaders He Is
For Ii
.COGENT REASONS ARE GIVEN
Method of Amending the Funda
mental Law Is Compare
lively Easy.

SoCoIfO. y. M, Dec. 22.-Ihe peO-
pie OF this territory are soon to com
init themselves upon the most import
ant matter which has ever been sub
. mitted to them, viz, the adoption or
rejection OF constitution. Some pa
pers and speakers are attempting 10
: make this a party issue, and in this
u do not agree All citizens. whaiev-
er their political belief may be. will,
iii the constitution is adopted, be
compelled TO live under it and con.
form to its provisions: therefore, TO
my mind, it is purely a question of
! general welfare and one which each
individual voter, after the most care
tul consideration. must determine for
himself
1t is almost needless to say that
the submitted document presents no
one mans ideas. nor can any consti-
itut'on ever be drafted which will be
the product of one man. and it is
veil that it should not be, as the judg-
ment of a number OF men is much
better than that Of any ore. If any
one believes that a territorial form
OF government is better than 4 state,
then OF course no constitution could
ever be drafted which would meet
with such a PERSONS views: but | as
sumo that the vast majority believe
us fully fitted for statehood and most
earnestly desire it, and that if the
document submitted is of charac
ter that they can conscientiously vote
for that they will do so. 1t is in this
! light that | desire to briefly discuss
certain provisions and direct atten-
! tention to certain parts. and the best
manner of doing this is by taking the
proposed constitution and calling at
| tention TO those particular parts.
| Before doing so, it might be said
that this constitution has a defect
which many of US think the majority
! of the people of New Mexico desired
incorporated in it, viz, that of direct
| Legislation; however, it is matter of
history that those of rs who believe
III II NCdIu liOl SEI llIlS IiONlSIUu III
coTpotated therein. But l do not
think we should be tied to any one
idea. Direct legislation is of that
character that within the next few
Years, in the opinion of those of us
who believe it to be the correct the
ory Of government, it will so pro-
g1ess as to create in the proposed
new state an overwhelming sentiment
which will demand that this feature
Re written into the constitution and
this may be done by an amendment
at either the first or any subsequent
meeting of the legislature
But one state in the Union was
ever admitted which had written in
its constitution the feature of direct
legislation, viz, Oklahoma. There
fore, while to my mind the omission
lis a serious one, still this constitu-
ton, if otherwise a good one, should
not be rejected.
Some criticism has been advanced
against the manner of amending the
constitution, and it has been stated
that it is almost impossible to amend
Iit, This is not true The manner as
originally submitted for the amend
ment of the constitution is what is
known as one of the easier methods
of amendment. It is method which
has been adopted by the overwhelm-
ing majority Of the last states admit.
ted into the union, viz, two-thirds of
the legislature submitted the ques-
ton to the vote of the people The
older states had far more difficult
method of one legislature, by a ma
Jority vote, submitting the proposed
amendment to the second legislature
and, after being passed by majority
vote, the second legislature then sub
mitted it to the vote of the people.
Oregon had this method of submit
ting amendments when they voted in
the direct legislature feature in their
constitution.
AT the last moment this method
OF amendments was relaxed and made
somewhat easier by permitting the
second legislature and every eight
years thereafter a majority of the
legislature to submit constitutional
amendments to the people so it car
be seen that if there is a sentiment
demanding amendment of the consti.
tuition to incorporate direct legislation
or any other matter, that it can be
accomplished as easily as in most
any state in the Union, and easier
than in the vast majority.
A few of the provisions of the con-
stitution which occur to me as being
particularly good and as being safe
guards which we have not in the or
eanic law, or any act of Congress,
are as follows:
1t places all officers on salary
basis and abolishes the fee system.
Article X, Section l.
Prevents county officers, with two
exceptions from succeeding them.
selves and from holding any other
county office for a period of four
years after the expiration of their
term. Article X. Section II.
Prohibits the change of compensa-
tion of any officer during his term.
Article w. Section XVI.
Fixes the number and nav of the