Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1911-08-29
SAYS MEMBER OF THE LAST sen.
ATE DID NOT ACT FOR THE IN.
TERESTS OF THE PEOPLE OF
ARKANSAS.
REVIEWS FINANCES
Defends the Turner-JacobSOn Bill Says
Good House Members Were in the
Maiority.

1J1lllc IA, Alk.. Aux. ZS.=l0 an Ill
tervieW given out today by Gov. G. w.
Donaghey upon the efforts which he
being made to refer the Turner-Jae
OLSON revenue bin to the people IN
der the Referendum, the chief eXecu-
tive of Arkansas severely arraigns The
members of the last legislature in
timating the members Of the Senate
did not act for the interests Of the
people while they were in Little Rock
the first hall Of This year.
Speaking Of the States financial af-
fairs" said Coy. Bohaghey. THE situa=
ton is extreme. There is, and has
existed for some time, an emergency
An emergency session Of the legisIa-
ture was called to remedy this situa=
ton A law was enacted by the legis=
lature in response 10 this emergency
call. That law is the Tnrner-1aeob-
son. It's enemies now want to delay
1t action for Il year or more under
the prctensc OF wanting the principle
of the Referendum applied to il. Now,
If | was paid police, standing ON
guard. and see a burglar taking off
my employers property would | wait
until the Grand Jury meets before Civ
ing the alarm2 Or If am hired to
a farmer to look after his interests
during his absence from home. and |
find a lot Of brecehy stock eating up
his crop, shall | Wait for his return
before driving them oui OF tie field
The originator of the Initiative and
Referendum crowded Tor this prin-
ciple, and in every country under the
sun where il hats been u Il, the emer=
gency clause has been made part Of
1t. But traitorous legislatures, which
are jealous Of their own power which
the Initiative and Referendum does
restrict, are ever ON the lookout for
chance to stab this enemy 10 their
dealing methods So when bills are
passed which they do not want the
people to vote OIL, they invariably at
taeh the emergency against their will,
and when the interests are against
said laws. the legislatures proclaim
their approval of the Initiative and
Referendum and refer such matters to
the people to be voted upon. This
gives the interests another chance to
defeat the laws which people demand,
For instance, at the last session of
our legislature were PASSED that did
not have the emergency clause attach
ed to them? Our legislature passed
hundreds Of bills, including both local
and general, but out Of all these. |
think there were only Two which they
were willing 10 trust 10 the people
to be voted on. These We're the Fur-
ner-Jacobson bill and the bill proVid-
ing for heating the Capitol during the
session of the legislature. The legis-
lature WAS willing for the people to
vote on the law appropriating money
TO pay for warming them all winter
after they had made use of ii until
summer came and an adjournment
was forced
If the Turner-]aeo OLSON bill had not
offered more fruit for the promoters.
it is probable these promoters would
have spent their efforts in trying to
refer the heating bill. But Why could
not the legislature let the people vote
on the 100000 appropriation that it
spent for its own use, half Of which
was thrown to wanton waste9 A hun
dred Or more other important mat
ters which the people would have
quickly referred. We're shut away from
them by the use of the emergency.
Now, practically the same bill as the
Turner-Iacobson measure, after hav-
ing been studied for three months by
the Judiciary committee of the House,
and all the Objectionable features eli
minated, was passed by the House
with only seven dissenting votes. but
when 1t reached the Senate there was
iOuu OUJeCllOu. oUJcCtlOuS lTOtu Sill
ators who had never taken pains to
read the bill All they knew about
it was that they were opposed to it.
Many suspicious were rumored and it
grew so tense it was openly charged
on the floor of the House that Sena-
tor had been offered and refused
$500 to vote against the bill Now,
was it the small taxpayer that was
using the money to defeat this bill
providing for just equalization OF the
burdens of taxation, or was it the far
mer that was putting up the money to
have it done? While the emergency
clause was not attached to the Tur-
ner-Jacobson bill, the legislature did
not order it referred to to the people
i could not have done that, for ma