Arizona republican., 1913-08-30
Never leave that till tomorrow what you can do today.
 Benjamin Franklin.
The Governors Plan

The Governors Plan
 The report from Denver few days ago that Governor favored state govern ment made up solely of the chief executive and cabinet" appears to have been either distortion or d misunderstanding of the governors plan of reform any rate such d government IS not advocated by him in his read before the con ference of governors. in which suggested small legislative body, a single house, consisting or as few members as would fairly representative of the whole state. is perhaps such body that was referred to in dispatches as a cab met"
 The idea of a single house of the legislature is not a in Arizona. It was subject ol discussion in the constitutional convention and again legislature there was a resolution pro posing the abolition of of the houses.
 The governors plan is attractive one, the creation a small compact body made up ot not the representatives of parties but the people. The very snalness of the body would probably give each of it's members a larger sense of his respon- sibility to the people Our legislature is un- necessarily large It is unwieldy. The expense .of maintaining it with the of clerks and attaches is burdensome but that is the least Of Its e'lls' The greatest the enactment of unnecessary laws Also in a large body there apt to be propor- tonately more obstacles useful and needed legls- Iation would be encountered in a smaller anu more closely watched body
 We are not prepared. however, to agree with the governor a legislature of single house is desirable happens that the check afford ed by each the houses upon the other IS an oo- stacle in the way of bad legislation. Fuller con- sideration is given measures than they would re- cefve in a single But our own legislature as well as those of most other would be greatly improved by a very material reduction of the mem bership both houses.
 Governor Hunts suggestions for governmental or legislative reform the fruits of his own eX- perfence with the legislature which he I.-i0a blt on teriorated with age. Tn paper, think that in some of the instances of inefficiency he cited he misnterpreted the acts of the legislature as un- responsive to the popular will The governor espe- ciav dweIt upon the hostility of the legislature 10 the anti-capttal punishment measure and to prison reform legislation.
 Rut it cannot be said that in either of these matters there had expression of the will Of the people. effort had been made to incorporate in the constitution anti-capital punishment pro- vision but it failed by overwhelming majority. If was not even given serious consideration And 1t must be admitted that the constitutional conNen- ton was the most progressive body that ever as sembed in Arizona and probably more thoroughly represented the people than any other.
 Since then the platform of party which was represented in the legislature has contained rec omrendation for d change of the law with respect to capital punishment The legislature, therefore In defeating the anti-capita punishment bill had the rigbt to assume that it's action responsive to the popular will and from such expressions as nave been given by individuals, by newspapers by pubic speakers and by the action of the Federation oI 1t,oar. cIubs We believe that sentiment in the state is most overwhelmingly against abolition
 Likewise legislature was unen1ghtened as to the popular attitude toward the governor prison reform policy which had been vigorously and' m many cases unjustly, criticised by melnoerS oI ilS own as well as O other parties Much of the cilu- cisro was doubtless based misrepresentation of his policy which therefore. whether justly so or not might have been assumed by the legislature lo "e unpopular and against will of the majority