The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-04

ment Of educational qualifications for
voters or proportional representation
in the Legislature for the adherents OF
various political parties will be APP
proved by the convention which In
about to begin debate OF the various
propositions submitted during h three
! months of its life.
For weeks the committees have
worked day and night, and now the
views OF delegates are beginning to
| crystalline, so It is possible to get an
| idea Of what amendments to the Con-
stitution actually will be approved.
President Root. Majority Leader wick
ersham and the chairman Of impor-
tant committees. like Henry L. Stimson-
Herbert Parsons. william Barnes.
Frederick c. Tanner. Jacob Gould
schurman and Louis Marshall. refuse
TO make any statements. but from talks
with various members II can be said
that the convention will approve q
number Of the reforms advocated for
the administration Of the State gov
eminent.
For instance. the Tanner committee
on Governor and State officers Is ex-
pected to report favorably to the con-
yention a scheme Of government under
which the 1b9 State departments,
bureaus and boards will be CONSOLE
da ted and shifted about so that there
will be system in the State government.
Where departments now overlap ana
duplicate the work Of others there Will
be consultations and abolitions'
Like Federal systeE.
The leaders hope to be able to pre-
sent In the Constitution n broad general
outline Of the government, with tne
duties Of each division laid out along
the lines followed In the Federal GOV
ernment-where nine great departments
are constituted. New bureaus and de-
n rtments hereafter created would havs
to fall into one great group or announcer
40 no other spiderlike creation such as
the present State government could
grow up.
There is a wide divergence OF opfn,
ion on the short ballot. The general
imnress,on seems to be. however. that
when the convention adjourns 1t will
have given the Governor the power
OF appointing all State officers except
the Lieutenant-Governor Attorney
General and Comptroller or Auditor. -.
A budget system will be approved, II
ia declared. This will give either the
Governor or a budget committee, OF whi,h
he will be a member, the power to make
nm the State budget-containing all the
appropriation bills-and transmit II to
the Legislature. which would nave the
mower to lower but not to increase this
budget.
The issue OF serial bonds hereafter.
instead OF Ions term bonds for whose
payment sinking funds must be created
also will be approved by the convention.
IL is thought. The finance committee. OF
which Mr.. Stimson Ia chairman, Is said
TO be about ready to submit It's hnal
report recommending the serial bonds,
and also recommending a REIMBURSEMENT
of the sinking funds to prevent the ac-
emulation OF a greater surplus thar
now exists in the funds. .
wiped Out In Three Years.
Provision will be made for the use OF
this surplus In lieu OF the annual con-
tributions to the funds until 1t Is wiped
out. which will be In less than three
years. 1t is thought. The sinking fund
payments will be made a first lien on
the revenues OF the State. provision
being made TO have the Comptroller or
Auditor make the necessary contribu-
tons from the first revenues that come
to hand II the Legislature fails TO make
appropriations for these funds.
There will be a new taxation article
under the terms of which the Legisla-
ture will b. able to make important re-
forms In the State tax system. The
! amendment will follow these general
lines:
All taxation shall be imposed by
general laws and for public purposes.
All property, rights. franchises
and privileges shall be subject to tax
alton unless expressly exempted by
law.
The Legislature shall prescribe the
manner n methods OF the assess
ment OF taxable subjects. but the power
OF taxation shall never be surrendered.
suspended or contracted away.
Laws granting exemptions from
taxation shall always be subject to
modification or revocation and here
after no exemptions shall be granted
except by general laws, and only by
a two-thirds vote of all the members
elected in each house OF the Legisla-
ture.
Laws relating to the supervision.
equalization and review of assess
ments shal operate alike upon all tho
civil and political subdivisions OF the
State"
Home Rule Of Some Sort.
Home rule in some form will be
granted 10 cities.
Seth Low. chairman OF the cities com
mittee. in an interview to-day declared
that he thought the committee would
decide to submit an amendment which
would give the cities the power to init
ate whatever legislation was desired. but
reserving TO the Legislature the right 10
annul such laws II the Legislature
deemed them contrary to State policy.
The prisons committee. of which Mr..
Clearwater is chairman, will report an
amendment providing for the creation OF
a State board OF pardons. This is
viewed with much interest because of
the situation which arose when Gov,
Whitman had TO pass On the case of
Charles 4. Becker, whose conviction for
murder he himself brought about. The
proposed pardon board would relieve the
Governor of the duty OF passing on APP
plicltions for clemency.
Provision will be made that II a sen
tence Of death IL commuted the prisoner
never shall be pardoned except upon alb
solute proof of his innocence of the
crime for which he was convicted.
There will be no radical amendment
OF the judiciary article by the judiciary
committee, of which George W, Wicker
sham Is chairman. The question OF APP
pointive Judges will be beaten, and 50
will the proposal to create a court OF
criminal appeals, The committee like
the suggestions for combining Surro-
irl tp'1 md pthar cnnrta Nyith thn Cupra,n.