The courier-index., 1917-11-23

son to address the convention, but as it was so near adjournment they were invited to speak at the recon vening of the convention.
 It was explained by President Me haffy that the committees would consider not only such proposals as might be submitted to them from the reference committee, but any other proposals from any source.
 Gov. Brough, upon invitation, ad- dressed the convention. He said that he considered it the ablest body assembled in the state in recent years, and that all over the state he had heard the most cordial ex- pressions of regard for it's personnel. He reviewed the conditions that pre- vailed in 1874, when the present constitution was adopted, and said that at time there was a wholesome suspicion of all public officials, which does not exist now. He said that he considered this an opportune time to draft a new fundamental law, and while it was out of place for governor to dictate what the conven- tion should or should not do, he wished to give them an idea of some of the things he thought should go into the constitution
 The. governor favored the same guaranty given to rural property owners as to city property owners in the Ievying of Improvement taxes.
 He decried the growing evil of special legislation, and declared that 80 per cent of 2,223 pages of law passed by the last General Assembly is local and special legislation. This should be checked by some manda- tory provisions of the constitution
 He said that under the interpre- tation of the courts the creation of offices and boards is permitted in violation of the letter of the constitu- tion, and this should be remedied.
 He made an argument in favor of a change in the constitution to per- init counties and cities to issue bonds for necessary internal i'm prOvements, declaring that Arkansas is the only state in the Union that has an inhibition in it's constitution.
 He said that the improvement dis trict laws which exempt personal property from it's part of the burden of taxation is travesty and a farce.
 He advocated a rural credits sys- tenn
 He declared that elections are too frequent. that members of the legis- lature should be placed on a salary. that tenure of office be increased to four years and they be made ineligible to reelection and that it might be well to have quadrennial sessions of the legislature
 a for public officials, especially the ju- dietary, and declared that it costs governor $2.000 year more than his salary to live in Little Rock.
 He approved the plan which he understood the special committee would recommend for adjourning the convention until next July, and said the convention should then meet and adopt constitution to be submitted In detail rather than en bloc. In his opinion it would be impossible to secure the adoption of any proposed constitution in it's entirety. Ohio submitted constitution in 4, pro- visions, of which three were de- feated and Elihu Root was quoted as saying that the New York consti. tuition was defeated because it was submitted as a whole.
 He expressed his unaltered oppo- sition to submitting the constitution to a general election, which would involve 1t in politics. The saving of S3O,0OO would amount to nothing since the value of a constitution is not to be measured in dollars.
 Gov. Brough touched upon the war, and said that in the opinion of mili- tary experts it will last until the fall of 1919, or later.
 Germany, in some respects. is stronger than ever before," he said. and If 1t were not for the interven. tion of the United States the out