El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-02-08
ARIZONA WILL VOTE
ON CONSTITUTION
THURSDAY
If Adopted Congressional
: Action May Be Deferred
to December.
CBy Hon. Ralph H Cameron. Delegate
in Congress for Arizona.)

in Congress for Arizona.)
Washington. D. c, Feb. S.-Tomor-
row the inhabitants of Arizona will
cast their votes for or against the new
constitution. which was drafted at a
convention held the early part of De-
cember If it is ratified by the people.
1t will be duly certified and hurried
to Washington for congressional &C
ton. Should congress reject it Ari-
IONA will find herself in her old posi-
ton of an outcast, for the enabling act
makes no provision for a second at
tempt at drafting a constitution. If 1t
is approved it will be submitted to
the president for his signature after
which Arizona will be officially de-
clared q full fledged state.
The enabling act creating the states
of Arizona and New Mexico. which
passed during the last long congress
sional session. provided that when
these territories had their constitu-
tions differed by vote of the people
these should be presented TO congress
during the next regular session there
Of" If congress approves these consti-
tutions well and good. If congress
fails TO act either way the president
has but to affixlhis signature to create
these states.
May Go Over to December.
It viii be impossible to present the
constitution Of Arizona to congress IN
til late in February, even though there
is no hitch in its approval by the peO-
pie of that territory, That will leave
congress little opportunity to act. One
view taken is that this session is the
next regular session" and that the
signature Of the president may, early
in March. complete the formality of
the admission of the state. If the presi-
dent interprets the meaning of the en-
abling act to refer to the congress that
meets next December, the matter wiz
go over another year, and the election
which will put two additional senators
in the upper house of congress will be
deferred
The provisions of the constitution
for the new state are, in every sense
of the word. progressive, and some
might be inclined TO term them radi-
cal. Senator Bourne, of Oregon, never
tires of praising the progressive laws
OF his state but Arizona has gone a
step further and Incorporated these
same measures in her constitution.
The Initiative Clause.
The first important matter which the
constitution takes up and provides for
is the initiative and referendum. This
clause states that The people reserve
the power to propose laws and amend
ments TO the constitution, and to en-
act or reject such laws and amend
ments at the polls, Independently Of
the legislatures and they also reserve.
fer use at their own option, the power
to approve or reject at the polls any
act or item. section or part, of any
act Of the\ legislature"
The first of these reserved powers is
the initiative. Under it 10 percent of
the qualified voters may, at any time
propose any measure, and Is percent
may propose an amendment to the
constitution.
The Referendum.
The second of these reserved powers
is the referendum. It provides that 5
percent of the voters may demand that
any measure passed by the legislature
may be referred to a popular vote
before it becomes operative There are
certain emergency measures that are
excepted from the operation Of this
provision which provides that no
measure shall go into effect until go
days after the Adjournment of the
legislature.
The method of applying either the
initiative or the referendum is through
a petition signed by the requisite num-