The Carlisle independent., 1915-04-01

the municipal bond amendment be- cause it failed to secure a majority or all votes cast at the election, means that it will be next to impossible to ever put the bond amendment" over, is generally admitted by friends of that issue. They say that such a re- quirement is practically prohibitive, in the face of the fact that in all such elections great number of people are never interested one way or the other. and hence do not vote. Yet, under this construction of the constitution, they virtually vote against an amend ment
 This fact was one thing that induced friends of the bond amendment to in sist that the provisions of Amendment No. 10 repealed the constitutional re- ouirement of a majority of all votes cast. They urged with much force that 1t is unfair and unjust to saddle a re- striction of this sort upon the people of the state, under modern conditions; that, if a solid majority of the people affected by the amendment as was the case in the municipal bond amend ment, favored it, the constitution should be changed accordingly.
 They urged, for instance, that since the matter affected cities only, with cut putting any obligations one way or the other upon rural sections, it ought to be left largely to the cities; ha{ ,,1 ~eco s4 1l as..I. he, as the voters of the rural sections, not interested in the matter, would not bother themselves to vote for it. To allow their votes to be counted against it would therefore, be unjust and, in all probability, be as much against the intention of the voter as to count it for the measure
 It was on this account that friends of Amendment No. IA contended that the initiative and referendum had re- pealed the archaic provision of the constitution requiring a majority of all votes cast, and had made the organic law fit more sensibly the industrial and development conditions of the state; that when Amendment No 10 said that "any measure referred to the people" under the I. and R. Amend ment should receive a majority Of those voting thereon it should become effective, it meant constitutional amendments as well as bills. Other wise, the amendment made absolutely no provision for the adoption of meas. ures initiated by it, whether bills or amendments; for there is not one sin. gle reference in the first section of Amendment No 10 as to what major ity shall govern.
 The Supreme Court in passing on the bond amendment virtually said that Amendment No. 10, when speak ing of the majority necessary on any measure referred, applied only to bills passed by the Legislature and after wards referred to the people, and did ! not apply to measures initiated.
 Leaving all these pros and cons for the delightful entertainment of read. CTS at more leasurely hours when they may want to peruse the full opinion of the court and do their own refecting over it's conclusions, it is interesting to note some of the possible effects under the courts decision.
 Will the ultimate effect be to great ly retared public improvements?
 At first blush, the friends of the amendment, who are, in fact, largely the friends of public improvements oln of ,. state, felt that the whole scheme Of municipal progress had been derailed. With over two million dollars worth of improvements in the various cities of the state in process of formation, in some cases elections have been order cd, it looked rather gloomy. All such elections, of course, had to be called | off The decision of the court estopped any further proceedings to issue municipal bonds. A few of the big bonding companies talked of leav- ing the state. Numerous big contrac- tors, attracted to the state by the keen interest in proposed improvements, l felt like shaking the dust of Arkan- sas from their constructive heels and taking the next train out of town. 1 Several cities where improvements had been planned were inclined to give t up, and their first impressions were that the scheduled Improvements were knocked on che head"
 In less than week a tremendous change had come in sentiment, and to 1 date, only two cities that had planned extensively under the proposed bond issue are not now planning just as vi gorously to go ahead under the former l improvement district plan. One city proposes to make its improvements by donations from the business men If not through the district method Everywhere there is buoyant feeling and certain signs that a little thing | like a Supreme Court decision will not be allowed to stand in the way ol 1 needed and reasonable developments.
 The secret is merely this Under | the impetus and tonic of the antici
 pated bond issue, cities throughout the