The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-11
CONSTITUTION FOR
 STATE OF ARIZONA Basic Law Is Called Progress sive and Radical POWER WITH PEOPLE
Initiative and Referendum Are Elm, bodied in the Document Which
 Must Be Presented to Con- gross for Action

stitution, which was drafted at conven-
 tion held the early part of December.
 It has been ratified by the people, and
 will be duly certified and hurried to
 Washington for congressional action.
 Should Congress reject it Arizona will find
 herself in her old position of an outcast,
 for the enabling act makes no provision
 for a second attempt at drafting con-
 stitution. If it Is approved 1t will be sub
 mitted to the President for his signature,
 after which Arizona will be officially de-
 clared full-fledged state
 The enabling act creating the states of
 Arizona and New Mexico. which. passed
 during the last congressional session,
 provided that when those territories had
 their constitutions of1icered by vote of
 the people. these should be presented to
 Congress during the next session there of'' If Congress approves these consti- tutions. well and good. If Congress fails to act either way the President has but to affix his signature to create these states.
 It will be impossible to present the
 constitution of Arizona to Congress until
 late in February, even though 1t has been approved by the people 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 President interprets
 the meaning of the enabling act to refer the Congress that meets next December. the matter will go over another year,
 and the election which will put two ad-
 Congress will be deferred.
 Progressive Document The provisions of the constitution for the new state are, in every sense of the
 word, progressive, and some might be in-
 clined to term them radical. Senator Bourne of Oregon never tires of pratsing the progressive laws of his state, but Arizona has gone a step further and her constitution.
 | The first important matter which the constitution takes up and provides for | is the initiative and referendum. This clause states that 1.-The people reserve the power to propose laws and amend
 ments to the constitution, and to enact or reject such laws and amendments at the polls, independently of the legisla- | ture; and they also reserve, for use at | their own option, the power to approve or | reject at the polls any act or item. sec | tion or part, of any act of the legisla- | ture."
 tThe first of these reserved powers is | the initiative. Under it ten per cent of | the qualified voters may at any time I 0nd cent may propose an amendment to the | constitution.
 Power of Referendum
 l The second of the reserved powers Is | the referendum. It provides that five per i cent of the voters may demand that any measure passed by the legislature | be referred to a popular vote before it | Incomes 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 90 days after the ad- | journment of the legislature.
 | The method of applying either the ln- itfative or the referendum Is through q petition signed by the requisite number | of votes Any measure approved by a majority of the voters at one of these special elections is exempt from the veto power of the governor. The authority | to use the initiative and referendum is given to all incorporated cities. towns and counties, and may there be applied | to local affairs. In these cases. however, fifteen per cen of the voters are re- ouired to initiate measure, and ten per cent are required to propose the refer endum on any measure already adopted. Election of Officers
 Tn the election of officers the con stitution provides that, for the purpose of A ascertaining the wishes of the people. the legislature shall provide for placing the names of candidates for United states senators on the official ballot at | the general election next preceding the | election of a senator by the legislature. meets after the admission of the state, l to draft a direct primary law, provid- | ing for the nomination of all officers in | this way.
 1 The constitution makes provision for | the recall of officers with whom voters are not satisfied be they elective or ap- pointive. A petition for the recall Of an officer must be signed by one-fourth ot | the voters of the district from which he was elected. After the petition is filed a | ticket is prepared for a special election. Upon this ticket is printed the charges | gainst the official, his answer to the charges, his tame and the names of cau- | didates to succeed him. Unless he gets | the majority of the votes cast he is recalled, and the candidate getting the highest number of votes is declared elected. This recall applies to judges of | the supreme court, judges of the superior | court, and all other judicial officers. Greatest Innovation
 Probably the greatest innovation of the constitution of Arizona is its pro- | vision for corporation commission.
 This commission is to exercise all the
 powers of railway commissions as es- l this it is given all the power of public
 service corporation commissions, such
 as that inaugurated by Governor Hughes regulate the operation of all public serv- will also have authority to inspect books
 and examine into affairs of any corpora l tion which offers stock for sale. It has
 the sole power to issue certificates of in- l corporation to companies organizing
 These are the particular measures in | the constitution of the new state that are
 novel and, therefore, attract attention. | Otherwise it's stipulations are such as
 are duplicated in many of the well-gov-
 erned states.
 The desire of statehood amounts to almost a passion with the people cf | Arizona. They want 1t above all things. and when the Presidents proclamation
 admitting Arizona into the union is issued
 1t will mean the realization of their fond
 est dreams.
 l A