Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1911-02-10
Republicans Join With Dem
ocra S to Garry Arizona
Constitution
4 THREE TO ONE VOTE
People Evidently Have Made Up
Their Mind That Il Is What
They Want.

! H. g. Out bI Zh,VDU fDlt6 Cast d. yes
itorlavs election for the approval Of
the constitution, less than 1000 are
! against it. One of the remarkable
! features Of the ballot is that Repub-
| licans joined with Democrats in en-
dorsing the remarkable document
Only One County Against.
! Phoenix. Ariz., Feb. 10.-Hopes OF
! the anti-constitutiOnists that the vote
/ to ratify the constitution would not
! be more than 60 per cent of the whole,
were dashed when returns from the
principal towns of nearly all the
fourteen counties of the territory in
dicated a favorable vote that frequent
i Iy ran as high as to l.
Only one county voted against the
proposed constitution. according to
the available returns which are re
garded as practically conclusive. This
was Apache county, in the north
eastern portion of the territory. 1t
returned a negative majority Of 113.
Pima county, which sent solid re-
publican delegation to the constitu'
tional convention and was regarded
as a stronghold of the anti-constitu-
! tionists. voted overwhelmingly in fa-
vor of ratification.
Tucson, the largest city of the ter
ritory and situated in Pima county,
voted 1860 for adoption of the consti-
tu+ion and 2I0 AGAINST
The vote was light, due 20 tne fact
that ratification was simply a ques-
ton of majority. In Phoenix, where
| 2,047 votes We're cast for delegates
to the constitutional convention in
September, the total number of bal
lots today was 1,6tl, Of which 1,O29
were for ratification and 1872 for rejec-
ton. The sixteen principal precincts
of Maricopa county returned 2,037
votes for approval Of the constitution
and 654 against.
Phoenix Gives Big Majority.
Phoenix, Ariz, Feb. 10--Pht eni2
cast 1909 votes for ratification of the
state constitution and 432 against
Phoenix, with Temple and sixteen 9th
er precincts of Maricopa county, poll
ed 2,057 for and G54 against the con
stituuon. This vote indicates tina
the constitution has been ratified by {
tremendous majority.
In Republican precincts, the proper
ton Of the votes favoring ratifica
ton was even larger than in Demo
cratic precincts.
! May Go Over to December.
1t will be impossible to present tht
constitution of Arizona to congress
until late in February. That viii
leave congress little opportunity tC
act. One view taken is that this ses
sion is "the next regular session,
and that the signature of the presi
dent 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
to the congress that meets next De
cember, the matter will go over an
other 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 praisiug 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 amendments to the constitution
. and to enact or reject such laws ant
amendments at the polls, independ
emily of the legislature; and they alst
reserve, for use at their own option
the power to approve or reject at tht
polls any act or item, section or part
of any act of the legislature"
The first of these reserved power:
| Is the initiative. Under it 10 per cen
a of the qualified voters may, at any
time propose any measure, and Is pei
cent may propose an amendment Il
. the constitution.
p The Referendum.
|, The second of these reserved pow
! ers is the referendum. It provides
= that per cent of the voters may de
mand that any measure passed by
the legislature may be referred to s
, popular vote before it becomes opera
, tive. There are certain emergenc!
: measures that are excepted from thu
a operation of this provision which pre-
vides that no measure shall go init
effect until 90 days after the adjourn
ment of the legislature.
The method of applying either tn
r initiative or the referendum
= through a petition signed by the re
n quisite number of voters. Any meas
n ure approved by a majority of the VIC
S tiers at one of these special election
e is exempt from the veto, power of tn