Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1917-01-11


home by business, AID emergency
cases on election day justifies the
passage Of law permitting all bona
fide citizens of the state holding poll
tax receipts to vote in all state ana
rational elections. provided the law
is guarded by adequate provisions re-
During absolute identi 'ication Under
the present conditions, hundreds of
our best citizens are virtually disfran-
chised by conditions, over which thev
have no control and thousands are
put to great and unwarranted ex
pense on election day ny being com
PEELED TO return to their legal resi-
dence. Colorado, Iowa. Kansas, Michi-
gan, Minnesota, Miss ouri. Nebraska
North Dakota. Oregon South Dakota.
Vermont Washington, Wisconsin ana
Wyoming have absent voters laws
some even permitting voting out of
the state and by mail and these laws
have been invariably upheld by the
courts.
New Constitution Needed.
After careful study of our needs
and the conditions prevalent in the
state, l am firmly convinced that Ar
kansas needs new governmental
garments and that the patchwork of
the initiative and referendum will no
longer suffice to make some of our
threadbare political necessities pre-.
sentable. Tae constitution of 1874
was framed by able patriotic men at
time when reconstruction rule,
with all the extravaganza and ma:
administration Of public affairs, had
just been overthrow. and 43 years
of eventful and progressive history
have demonstrated that many of the
wise provisions of this constitution
are eminently wise and that our
fathers builded more wisely than they
knew. When the stage was set for
the drama enacted in the old state
house at Little Rock on July IA, 1874.
one idea was uppermost in the minds
of the noble guardians of the Ark Of
the Covenant of Political Redemption:
one ideal was nearest their hearts.
The restraining hand of the people
must be laid upon their servants
larceny of public funds must forever
be made impossible; rhe domination
of the executive over the legislative
and judicial departments of state must
be terminated. Limits upon the
power of taxation must be iron-clad,
and the right to contract interest
bearing debts by counties and mu
inequalities must be denied So the
natural results was a constitution
with many restrictions upon the ex-
ercises of governmental power by the
various Observation-Disclosures of govern
ment
"But new OCCASIONS bring new duties,
And time makes ancient good seem
uncouth.''
The ghost of the past no longer
walks. The people are secure in their
enjoyment of the rights vouchsafed
by real democracy; the day of the
"Earpet- Dagger" and "scalawag" has
gone never to return; our ideas AM
our interests are growing larger; and
in all matters affecting the preserva
ton of "life, liberty, and the pursuit
Of happiness" there seems to be a
kind of wireless telegraphy. by which
those beings who are properly at
tuned can catch messages from ali
the earth" The keynote of the pres
ent is expansion, rattle: than contrac-
ton; progress rather than limita-
ton confidence in our law makers
and public servants, rather than sus-
picion of them.
| believe there are Men in Arkan-
sas today able enough and patriotic
enough to write constitution en-
bodying all the good portions of the
old constitution and Incorporating
othe~ provisions needful and appro-
pirate TO existing dorditions, which
would e an honor to the farmers an
blessed boon to posterity
I, therefore. respectfully recon-
mend to the general assembly the
passage of an act or a joint resolu-
ton, authorizing the calling of CON
stitutional convention either next
summer or during the spring of 1913.
r oviding for its submission to the
people for ratification or rejection,
fixing representation, the Qualifica
tions, and compensation of members
Conclusion.
Gentlemen of the. general assembly
I have presented to You in very i'm
perfect way my views en- some of the
important problems which are now
clamoring for solution IN Arkansas ! /
have reso.ted 70 no subterfuge, eva
sion. or mental reservation, believing |
that the people of Arkansas in this |
crisis Of O,lr histOry nycent clean hon