The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1912-02-09
Mississippi
Legislature
AGAINST new CONSTITUTION
POSSIBILITY FOR CONVENTION
SEEMS TO HAVE ENDED.
senator burkitt Would Request State
committee to Order Primaries to
Select Candidate for President.

Jackson.-Thc question of holding a
presidential primary election in Missis-
siPPi became a live issue in the legisla,
ture. Senator Burkitt introduced a res
o'ut'oh Ill the senate requesting the
democratic state committee and the
county committees to order primaries
lor the selection of delegates to the
Democratic national convention at Bal
timore and to express a preference for
a candidate for president. Senator Bur-
kits resolution went to the committee
on registration and elections and will
come up for action in the senate as soon
as the election committee passes upon it.
The senate adopted the house concur
rent resolution inviting Congressman
Oscar W. Underwood of Alabama to adj
dress the legislature on national poll.
tics, IN a date to be fixed by Mr.. Under
wood.
The legislature will not call a consti.
tutional convention during the present
session. That fact was made plain by
the senate. That body refused to pass
the Mounger constitutional convention
Dill by the decisive vote OF nine yeas to
twenty-four nays. The issue has not
yet been tested in the house, but no
matter what action the house may take,
The vote of the senate blocks the consti-
tutional convention plan for this ses-
sion.
The senate adopted a resolution in.
Gnrttnu intn xh, ,n,1.xsz --
ment adopted by the people providing
that all amendments to the constitution
adopted by the voters shall be inserted
into the states organic law at the next
session OF the legislature held after the
election. The old provision in the con-
stitution requires a residence of one
year.
The senate debated the age of con-
sent bill this afternoon and finally re-
committed it to the judiciary commit
tee.
IN" fact was revealed in the house
that 1t plan is being worked out for
an equitable distribution OF the public
school iund throughout the state, pro-
vided the scheme proves to be constitu-
tional when tested in the courts. For
many Years some OF the counties in the
state have complained bitterly about the
unequal distribution of the school funds.
Under the constitution the school fund
is allotted to the counties on a basis
OF the scholastic population. This had
the effect of sending large sums of money
to the counties where the negro children
predominate, and enabled the schools in
these counties to run eight and nine
months in the year, while in some of
the other sections of the state, where
the white children are in the majority.
small sums were allotted, which kept
the schools going only four or five
months each year. Under the operation
OF this system the white people have
been paying to run negro schools eight
and nine months, while schools of their
own race in certain counties could not
operate over four or five months with
ont especial taxes to keep them going.
The constitution always blocked the
path.
A resolution introduced by Mr.. Sim
mons OF Smith county revealed the fact
that members of the legislature and the
attorney generals department. have put
on foot a plan that may surmount the
obstacle in the constitution and at the
same time not violate the organic law,
Mr.. Simmons resolution providing for
a supplemental appropriation for the
public school fupd in addition IN thn roo.
ualr school appropriation.
The house passed the public school
appropriation bill to defray the expense
OF the schools for 1912 and 1913. This
will be joyful news to hundreds of school
teachers in the state. In some of the
counties the teachers have not received
their salaries since November, because
the appropriation OF the last legislature
had been exhausted.