Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1918-06-22
CITIES DEPEND
 ON CONSTITUTION
 FOR PROGRESS
Mayor Says More Revenue Needed to Better Health
 Conditions.

Not until the propert-owners of cities in Arkansas have the privilege of voting more than five mills ad valorem tax can the proper methods of sanitation and other needed inn ents be obtained. This is the conclu- sion reached by Mayor Simon Bloom and in which he emphasizes in let ter to The Graphic, commenting upon an editorial in yesterdays issue, "Pine Bluffs Attitude Toward Health Conditions" The mayors letter fol lows:
 Pine Bluff, June 21. Editor Daily Graphic, Pine Bluff, Ark.
 Dear Sir: Your editorial on "Pine Bluffs Attitude Toward Health," in this mornings issue, was very grati' flying to me. It relates to the very much needed and much talked of health protection, by sanitation and other much needed things.
 If you will remember in 1914, l called for a mass meeting of the peo- ple to discuss this proposition, by try ing to find way to take care of the lake bed and other situations. This meeting resulted in committee of 15 being appointed with J. E. Boyce as it's head. Nothing however resulted from this meeting, and as you know matters are growing more serious from time to time.
 Pine Bluff is most unfortunately sit uated on the health and sanitary con- ditions. We are confronted on the north by an old river and. veritable mosquito raising pool of water and an over-growth of vegetation.
 On the south we have the old lake bed, which needs no explanation. and running directly through our town from the extreme west to the east is an open town branch which is sim ply a malaria breeding device.
 And the most serious thing con- fronting our people today is our sew craze system, which has long since been the greatest menace of all our evils. As you know, the Arkansas river has filled in and now the sewer pipes are no longer carrying our filth into the river but are empty ing on our banks thus leaving us at the mercy of whatever disease that may arise.
 God Almighty takes care of the peo- pie for long time, and He further shows-to them way to take care of themselves, and I believe after He gives the opportunity if they do not avail themselves of it. He then for sakes them, and you know the result.
 The people are soon to be given an opportunity to say if they want to live in filtk or not, and it is up to the people to say if they want a new constitution, one that will be left up to the people to say if our great state and towns of five thousand people and up can vote to increase the taxa ton up to ten mills for municipalities and vote a bond issue to take care of its indebtedness. In few days a delegation from all over the state will meet at Little Rock to discuss the making of new constitution. It would seem that these committees have done some excellent work, and doubtless, the tentative instrument which is now being discussed lby the convention itself will work out a splendid con stitutiOn.
 We have a splendid delegation, in Judge Elliott, Dan Taylor, H. E. Iru- lock, and others. It is up to the dele gates from all over the state to say 1T the time is ripe to give us new con- stitution, and then it will be up to the people themselves by ballot to say what we want. Will they do 1t? The question is simple. Can you operate today any kind of business on the same basis that they were operated on A years ago.
 Respectfully,
 SIMON BLOOM, MaVOr