The Sentinel=record., 1914-10-04
PRESIDENT SHAVER
 ON NEW CONDITIONS
HEAD OF BAR ASSOCIATION AT CONVENTION HELD HERE DIS
 GUESSED COMMISSION FORM.
Believes That Cities Should Have the Right to Legislate For What Is Best For Their Individual interests.

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 When the Bas Association of Arkan. sas held its annual meeting in this city during May of 1913 President James D. Shaver of Mena made an an nual address that is recalled with much interest now by members of the local bar and others President Shaver discussed the necessities of the development of the state and par. ticularly the cities of Arkansas mok- ing the suggestion that a more gen eral system of home rnle" be given the cities of the state.
 The address in part was as fol lows:
 We can at least bring about some plan of practical working In matters pertaining to local affairs by bringing the people into closer touch with con ditions as well as giving them more control over them. We are In the midst of period of reconstruction, face-toface with a really serious con dition in our social and industrial life We hear the voice of the people de. manding a better administration of af. fairs, and it should be our mission to find out what they want in the way Of reforms. and. instead of waiving them aside as whims and fancies or per haps theories Of fanatics and agitators. give ear and brain to their many p1 Ntrith their solution. The press of the coun- try, the great barometer Of the public mind, has seen the handwriting on tho wall and given warming. We are liv ing in the most progressive age of the worlds history; business and indus trial methods have been revolutioniz ed: the developments of the past few years have been wonderful It Is a day and time of endeavor. of expert. ment and of change. It is nearly forty years since our present system of state government was established; 1; 1t was the best possible for that age. was as near perfect as any human institution could be. 1t met all the needs and requirements and was ad- anirably suited to the conditions then existing and will ever stand as a monument to the intelligence and virtue of those who gave it birth But time. which knows no man, and re spects no master, has wrought won drous changes Steam and electricity have been domesticated and made tC furnish much of the active force 1T our industrial life Scientific methods and improved implements and machin cry have greatly increased our agrf cultural productions. New people from our sister states have added largely to our wealth and population The old things have given place to the new; the OK cart, with the tar buckle and creaking axle, has been supplant ed by the locomotive, the electric mo tor and the automobile; the goos, quill, by the typewriter and the add ing machine. The railroads. the tele graph and telephone lines have mini mixed time and discounted distance These with many other inventions and modern appliances have stimulat ed our entire world to wonderful ac tivity. Meanwhile. our laws and in stitutions have remained in substanc, unchanged. For many years past oui legislatures have devoted much O their time to the enactment of law, of an entirely local character at al enormous expense Many of these are of value to but few, because, hay tion. they are of no importance to the people at large. There seems nc prospect of an abatement in the volume or character of these meas obstruction to the wheels of legisla tion, for they interfere with the proper consideration of those of a general nature This trouble will b. more pronounced in the future when we think of the short term now al lowed a legislative session. Twas never intended by the framers of our present constitution to take from the people the power of local self-govern rent and vest it in the legislature On the contrary. they were prohibit ed from enacting special local laws except under certain express condi- lions. But our Supreme Court con struing this provision of the consti- tuition, held that the legislature was the soie judge of the existence Of