Arizona republican., 1912-08-19
MACHINERY 0F
 REFERENDUM
It Seems to be Breaking Again and Nobody Has Any Lubricant. Fears That Supreme Court
 Grease Would be Worse

A pamphlet has been issued bv the secretary of state and is now ready fo, 1 mailing to each voter whose name is lound on the great register, carrying the text Of five proposed laws that are to be passed upon by the people in No Vember all constitutional amendments TOUT Of them proposed by the legisla ture and one equal suffrage hv tha people through the filing of petitions The proposals of the legislature are. state the right to engage in industrial pursuits; the limiting of the bonded indebtedness of school districts: and the amendment of article II of the con- stitution permitting a change in the tax system.
 II will be noted that none of the laws in respect of which the referendum has been invoked, are included in this lis. The law required the publication of the pamphlet mentioned at once and it was not within the secretary's province to delay publication in order to see if anX -referendum petitions were going to be filed Therefore if the seven laws concerning which referendum petitions have been filed are carried through TO vote, it will be necessary for the sec retary to get out a second issue of his valuable publication, and the wasting of another stamp on each voter in the state. Also it will make a total of twelve laws on which the people are to pass in addition to the election of presidential electors. representatfve committeeman etc, and as there will be five sets of these gentlemen the ballot is not likely to be so small as O be mis- laid even if candidates for county and precinct officers do fail to get thei" names on it.
 It may be inquired why the if is used in connection with the laws on which a referendum is desired. as though there were any doubt about the getting before the people. And that is the interesting part of the story for there is a possibility tha if anybO ly desires o take the initiative, action on two years more. The supreme court these laws may be held in abeyance. for its decision to the effect that county and state officers should not be elected d this year, did not pass on he direct question of whether the November election will be a general election. but the inference is that the court would hold that it will not be a general elec- tiOn.
 Now the section of the constitution which provides for the submission % a referendum of the people when they desire it. of all laws not passed under an emergency. says that such consider ation by the people shall be given at  if anyone interested in the thwarting of the five bills known as railroad leg islatiOn. the one providing for a semi monthly pay day and the one providing for liens on mining property. will bring an action in the supreme court and make it stick restraining the sec retary of state from proceeding with the submission of these bills on the ground that the November election will not be a general election. those laws could not be referred to the peo- pie until two years later and would Tie dormant until that time.
 The secretary of state says that the only interest he has in the matter ia that if such action is taken he woui like to have it done before he prints the second edition of his book ana goes to the expense of mailing 1t to everybody in Arizona.
 There is another interesting phase to this question. The proposed suft- rage amendment comes up cleanfy from the people as initiative legislation and the amendments proposed by the leg islature are submitted this year beyopd question, for the bills providing for them state specifically that they are to be submitted at the election in Novem Der of his year. without regard 10 whether it be general or special. But if the supreme court holds that the election this year is not general, as 1t would seem that it must, then the peo- pie are barred from their constitutional rights for two years in passing on the measures in question, while the men they elected to represent them in the legislature, could pass any old thing they pleased and take it before the pecole this fall. Can the authority ot the legislature in this matter be great CT than the authority of the people who conferred it? Verify it seemeth that it can