Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1917-01-27
More Sustained Effort on
Part Of Members Necessary
to Com|ete Legislative Pro-
grant, Committees Work,
APPLY CITY HOME RULE
BILL TO ALBUQUERQUE
Dissatisfaction With Present
System to Be Remedied by
Vote Of Population on New
Charter,
(By X. l.. ID. McAllister, Staff Core
spondcnt.)

spondcnt.)
Santa Fe, Jan. 26.-The house
changed its mind about having a
morning session, or any other kind of
Il session, today Hardly a quorum
was present at 10 o'clock this morn
ing when Speaker Llewellyn raped
for order and Immediately after the
delivery of the invocation by Father
Blesset. the house chaplain, a motion
to adjourn until Monday afternoon
at 2 o'clock was made and carried
without discussion or opposition.
Committees of both house and SEN
ate are meeting today and will be
meeting tomorrow, and there is every
likelihood that the calendars next
week will assume something like
normal legislative proportions. The
session has now reached stage
where the necessity of more sustained
effort on the part of the members in
order to complete the legislative pro-
gram has become apparent, and the
chances are that both houses will
begin to hold two daily sessions,
morning and afternoon, next week.
Home Rule for Cities.
A bill introduced Wednesday in the
senate by Senators Barth and Kase-
man is Of special interest TO Albu"
aucrque &itizenE, sox-.sass-S..&ts X O.
framed as to apply only to that city
and is designed to enable the advo-
Gates of the commission form of gov
ernment. the city manager plan, or
any other municipal plan that may
be deemed advisable, to get their
views before the voters of the city.
In very broad sense it is a bill to
grant the fullest measure of home
rule to cities of more than 10000
population.
The bill provides that upon the pc
tition of electors equal in number to
Is per cent of the number of votes
cast for mayor at the city election last
preceding the filing of the petition
the mayor shall, at the first regular
meeting of tho city council, appoint,
with the advice and consent of the
council, five qualified electors, not
more than three of whom shall be-
long to the same political party, who
shall serve without pay and who shall
be allowed such an amount for ex-
penses as the council may see fit to
appropriate. whose duty it shall be
to prepare charter for the govern
ment of the city to be submitted to a
vote of the people. The draft of the
charter must be completed and pre-
sented to the council within sixty
days after the filing of the petition.
No Restrictions.
No restrictions are placed on th~
charter builders except that the in
strument framed by them must not be
inconsistent with the constitution and |
the existing laws of New Mexico. Any
form of city government that may
suit them is permitted provided the
voters of the city see fit to ratify it.
1t is also provided that "all laws in
force and applicable to such city,
whether incorporated under general
or special laws, shall continue to APP
ply after the adoption of said charter
herein provided for. unless inconsist-
ent with the provisions OF this act;
and all bylaws, ordinances and reso-
lutions lawfully passed and in force
in such city before the adoption of
such charter shall remain in force
until amended or repealed under the
provisions of said charter"
It is provided that the mayor shall
issue a proclamation for a special
election within five days after the fill
ing of the proposed charter with the
city clerk, at which election the queS-
ton of the adoption of the charter
shall be decided. The usual legal no.
tice for the election of officers is
provided for the special charter cleo
ton. and the vote of majority of the
qualified electors of the city is neces-
sarY to the adoption of the charter,
No Ratification Necessary.
Under the terms of the bill it will
not be necessary for the legislature to
ratify the charter adopted at such
,pecial election. The charter becomes
he law of the city upon the issuance
,f proclamation by the mayor of
he result of the election, the organ-i
zation of the city under the new sys-
EN-, and the filing in the offices of
he secretary of state and the county
2lerk of certified copies of that in
'trument, land no law relating to :
inconsistent with the
provisions of said charter shall apply
o any such city, !
The Barth- -Kaseman bill is de- q
signed to meet the wishes of the OPP
ponents of the present aldermanic {
orm of government in Albuquerque. r
There is a wide difference of opinion .
mong those who are satisfied that 6
he present system is wrong as to just T
What system should take it's place. @
inder this bill the municipal thinkers q
AN have 1t out among themselves C
md reach conclusion on the subject
f what they do want Then 1t will +
e' up to the voters of the city as a a
Whole to. decide whether they want Q