Arizona republican., 1912-07-16
IA NEW QUERY
 F0R THE COURT
May Be Called Upon Next to Define the Meaning of the Much Talked of Term, General Elec- tion."

The election question in Arizona is getting a good deal like the story of the house that Jack built Just listen.
 Here are the people that chose a convention that wrote constitution that provided for a governor that called a legislature that wrote an election statute that went to the su- preme court-and got it in that part of the anatomy that is locaed just between the shoulders and the ears
 Thus reads chapter the first.
 Chapter two starts off with a question:; and the question is, what is a general election. and when and why?
 Maybe the question sounds foolish but it isn't. Just try to 'give a de- finition for a general election your self and you will find it is not nearly so easy as it seems. It is so hard in fact, that there is a strong prob ability that we shall soon have a judicial utterance on the subject.
 And there's q reason, as they say in Battle Creek. The reason is that the suffrage amendment and the Kin ney bill are both to be submitted to the electorate at the next general election; and if you don't know what a general election is, how are you going to tell when these questions are to be submitted? For if you don't and can't define a general cleo tion you wouldn't know a general election if you saw one, would you And if nobody is certain what a gen eral election is how can we tell when we are to have a chance to vote on this constitutional amendment? And if We can't tell when We are to vote on the amendment how are we to find out if the feminine contingent are to be given the privileges of the ballot or not? In short, until this matter is decided how are we going to tell anything about it at all?
 Now, it doesn't look nearly so easy, does it?
 The first man who has had to an- SWer the question of what d general election is is Sidney P Osborn, sec retary of state. He is the man to whom all these petitions and things go Moreover he is the man who has to send out the call for the primary; which he did yesterday. This call informs the supervisors that we are to have an election the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November next; and the supervisors are warned to get ready for the election of presidential electors, d represntativ in Congess. and pre- cinct committeeman There will be no others. That has been decided by the court of last resort
 There are also three amendments that will certainly be submitted
 One of these provides for the re- call of the judiciary (where have we heard that term before)?
 The next provides for giving cities the right to issue bonds to the ex- tent of fifteen per cent of their as sessed valuation of property.
 And the third declares that the state and various towns. having at tained their majority, have the right to go into business if they feel so inclined.
 All these propositions contain pro- visions that they shall be voted on at the general election to be held next November; but if no election be held at that time. then they shall ye voted on at a special election which is fixed for the same date.
 So these proposed amendments are safe enough
 But the suffrage amendment and the Kinney bill do not happen to contain both these provisions. In fact they contain just one of them. They contain a provision that they shall be voted upon at the next general election.
 So, if there is no general election in November they cannot be voted on in November. That's easy
 But what is a gneral election? Is it an election at which no state of ficer. no county officer, and no pre- cinct officer shall be voted for? people say so.
 But the courts will be asked to decide it is said In fact it is said the machinery has already been oiled and will be set in motion soon to find out just what is general cleo tion
 As already minated, it came up to Secretary Osborn first
 50 far as I am concerned this will be q general election" MT. Osborn said yesterday. T am going to pro- vide for voting on these propositions, anyway It would seem a queer pro- cdure if the amendments proposed by the legislature can be voted upon and another amendment initiated by the people of this state cannot be voted upon merely because it does not contain that formal clause
 So, there you are. If you want to keep the Kinney bill off the ballot or the suffrage amendment off the ballot you have got to go into court and ask that that be done