Bisbee daily review., 1915-03-02
PENSION LAWS FLAWS SHOWN
 BY COURT
Judge Crosby in Written Opinion Enumerates Rea- sons Why the Act Is Void and Imperative

court tOH H. ils Ni'1NAf iNNN' 'l lh1 superior court of Apache county. but sitting as superio riudge in Che Mar icora county court rendered the opiu. ion sustaining the attack made upon the old Age and Mothers Pension law by Fennemore & Ryan, counsel for the State TaxPayers' Association. In effect tine ueusIon declares that the law as adopted through the iui- tiative action of the voters at the last general election is void and iu- operative and further that under the provisions made in Che state constitu- tion for institutions Co be established and concerning state charities and
 he proposed abolishmeut Of county poor farms. is unconstitutional Four of the points raised by the applicant out of ten submitted were sustained
 In part the decision reads as fol- lows
 "The plaintiff gives nine reasons against the law The court will not ice but four Of these and of the four two will be considered together The lplainun maintains that under Section of Article TX of our Constitution the ! lurovisions that Neither the State. nor the county. city. town municipal. l ity. or other subdivision of the state shall make amy donation or grant, by subsidy or otherwise Go amy individu- tal' The pensions cannot be granted
 A grant is gratuty tas is given by a person or a state Go another u rather a permanent manner and us- lually upon the iutercessiou or petition of the one who receives the srauily. lWithout cnlargirq upon tne definition lcf a grant she Court is satisfied that Ithesc pensions are unquesuenably | grants and they may also Doe dona- l uous and the fact that they are ! small and that they are given in place lof other money that has been spent | largely through our almshousea does not change he fact that they contra.
 vene this provision or Che Coustitu- Ition. The Court personally i be. Inever i'm these pensions and has u1 apology to make for doing SO, yet tHe Constitution will have 10 b. . changed before this syalam can be put into vogue in our tate
 4 The lu as it passed ly ,re cIao .tors. says tua. it is made 'u order t lcare for aged people and people n IcapatIa or ,amua livelihood b,
 reason of physical m.rna,.as an.
 widows or wives wlose husbands ar. Jim penal institutions or insane asy. 7 |rus they being mothers cI ra.dro.
 who are under the 0ae o s.Ele.D Iyears. This is evidently an attemp Ito comply w.h 1c mandatory pro | visions of Section l5 of Article XXI of tbe Constitution of Arezona, whic. reads
 .Refolma.ory and penal institution and institutions for thc benefit Of th D ineansc. blind deaf and mute an' s such other institutions as Che pU1h good may require, shall be establish 70 ed and supported by the state in suc d manner as may be prescribed D. ? law
 II a law undertakes to do this e
 any other duty ttat is required b e the Constitution. 1t will have to do O in such manner as 10 comply wit s Section 13 of Article II of the Const
 uuon which reads
 @ No law shall be enacted grantn e to any citizen. class Of citizens c 10 corporation other than municpa
 privileges Of imMunitios which. uno
 the same terms. shall not equally ' e. 'Ioug to an citizens or corporation ,f "The old Age and Mothers Pa a. sion bin certainly does uot live
 To ire requirements of this sectio ' When the state has assumed the cu 8 and by the Constitution has made n. mandatory for che law making powe . to take care of the unfortunate meI
 .ters of society the law in Quesll 's has, ey auemptiug 10 abolish o ls almshouses, and then to give it's grs
 uues to part of che uufoclunates Vt
 need the help and deny t 10 so mm '9 others who are equally worthy Of th fe help. has certainly violated Secti
 I13 It has left out an the men a
 women who are objects Of charity
 der sixty years Of age; it has left O
 an the children of deserted wives nc Che wives of invalid or crippled h0 ,p bands and SO many others thai cour. cannot allow thc law to stal Ne Then. too. it is i'm strict violation 'u- the spirit of tho 18th amendmoni ma the Constitution of the United stat ,,- It's, classification is oll too arbitra
 and too unjust
 "The plaintiff also urges Chat [ am Hle Of ths bin Is not sufficient fla, der the provision of Section l' mo Article " or the state constiiuti'
 Let us look at the title of the bilL ere reads An act providine for old
 and mothers pensions and making