Arizona republican., 1911-06-22
The Administration View of the
 Arizona Constitution.

Inc address dellNered by Attorney General Wickersham to the gradu- ating law class of Yale university on
 Monday night was chiefly notable for its forcible expression of the admin istration's opinion of the Arizona constitution-for it must be taken for
 granted that the attorney general, in
 this carefully prepared address, stated
 the settled views of President Taft
 and his cabinet
 Speaking of the peculiar features
 of the constitution which has been adopted by the people of this terri
 tory, MT Wickersham stated that it was "an abuse of language" to call
 such a scheme of government "popu-
 lar" inasmuch as it provided for
 government by the minority. He
 then proceeded:
 "It is an attempt to create a gov ernment of all the people. by a mi
 nority of the people for a small mi nority of the people. To adopt it
 would be to substitute the institu-
 tions which are the growth and the
 evolution of centuries of American
 experience, with the devices of the
 French revolution and Swiss social
 ism. While a free, enterprising and progressive people will not reject i'm
 proyements simply because they are new or untried. yet thoughtful Amer
 jeans must ever consider any radical changes in their government. state or national. in the light of Washing
 tons warning to rest with care the spirit of innovation upon the prin- ciples of the institutions of the Unit ed States, lest alterations in the forms of our fundamental structures of government impair the energy of the system and undermine what can not be directly overthrown."
 Mir Wickersham declared that less than 27 per cent of the voters and 6 per cent of the total population of the territory had voted for the Ari- zona constitution.
 Congress may well consider. he said, what territory. in which only 35 per cent of the qualified electors exhibit sufficient interest to vote upon the adoption of the funda- mental law on which it seeks ad- mission to the Union. gives as evi- dence of that capacity for self-gov- ernment which is so essential to the of free institutions.
 "The advocates of the so-called scheme of popular government em- bodied in the Arizona constitution have vigorously opposed the approval of New Mexico's constitution as re actionary and have as strenuously asserted the republican character of the plan proposed for Arizona" he said.
 Tt is an interesting paradox that the whole tendency of modification in the established forms of republican government advocated as accomplish ing a greater popular participation in the government is to confer power on a small minority of the people to control not only the making of laws but of constitutions.
 Under a scheme of government such as proposed in the Arizona con | stitution, a small minority of the i qualified electors organized to accom- | plish any particular purpose can mold 1 the laws. or even the constitution, to | accomplish their purposes before the great majority of the electors are aware of what is going on.
 The propositions submitted to the | electors under the scheme of initiative l and referendum are fixed and put | before the voters without the advan- tage of the examination. discussion | and debate which has been, through | put the whole history of the English | speaking peoples. the crucible in | which legislative projects have been -ried out before enactment into law"
 Notwithstanding these vigorous of the administrations objections to the constitution, it does not necessarily follow that the presi- lent would disapprOve the house resolution which is now pending in he senate This resolution, our eaders will remember, provides defi- liteIy for the admission of Arizona, nd merely requires that there shall ,e vote at the first state election n the question of including in the onstitution a provision for the re- all of the judiciary. This vote. whether affirmative or negative, would not affect admission. It is possible that the president would ap- rove this resolution, solely on the round that sooner or later the peo- le of the state would have the con titution they want anyhow, and hat to disapprove the resolution -ould do nothing more than delay he adoption of the objectionable lauses. ; Es.o.,oc oo1 Moebo ofc f