The Red Cloud chief., 1920-03-04
CONSTITUTIONAL
CONVENTION NOTES

Lincoln.--Up to the end Of last weeh
the convention, which has been in con
ilnuous session since December 2, with
the exception of the holiday adjourn
ihent' only four proposals had actually
gone through the grlst on second read.
ing, which is practically final action,
They are:
no. 100: Rewriting the initiative
ma referendum; reducing the neces.
sary signatures of petitioners to Z
per cent Of the total electorate to
initiate n constitutional amendment,
4 . per cent for the referendum
Also requiring only title of bill being
referred to be printed on petition.
No. 221: Permitting legislature to
authorize jury verdicts by a five-sixths
vote In civil cases.
No. 1JS: Permits voting by citizens
or this state while In the military or
naval service.
No. DDS: Equal suffrage.
Twcnty-four additional proposals
have been adopted in committee of the
whole. and are 10Y in the hands Of
the p~hraseology committee, and will
come up for second reading during the
present week.
The most important act of the con.
~vention the past week was the adop.
tion of Proposal 32G. one of the "lan.
guage" proposals. The final vote came
only after several amendments were
rejected by so close n vote that friends
or the bill became agitated for fear IL
would be defeated. The amendments,
while not vital to the bill, gave oppor.
tunity for oratory. The proposal as
adopted reads as follows: "The Eng.
fish is hereby declared to be the Off.
cinl language of this state. and all ofti.
cial proceedings, records and publica.
tons sha be in such language, and
the common school branches shall be
taught i'm said language In public, pri.
Nate, UNCONVENTIONAL and parochial
schools.
Major-General Leonard Wood de-
livered a stirring address to conven-
ton delegates last Monday. The gen.
cral laid particular stress upon the i'm.
portance of encouraging greater pro.
duction from the farms, by creating
better markets for farm produce, and
making living conditions in the coun.
try oven better than they are today.
To do this he advocates better roads
and better schools and legislation that
Mill so improve agricultural conditions
that 1t will draw people from the con.
gested cities. Universal military train.
ing was urged by the general, and he
said he wanted the peace treaty ap.
proved with proper reservations tsat
will make it truly American.
1t is believed that the convention
will be In session for at least two
weeks longer and perhaps for three or
-four weeks. The most important pro.
poSals remaining to be considered in.
clude the question of the recall of pub.
lie officials, the creation of an indus.
trial court, the establishment Of a sys.
tenn of state health insurance and OF
compulsory workmen's compensation
laws.
The committee on the executive de-
partmcnt has recommended a pro.
posal making only the governor, sec.
rotary of state, auditor. treasurer. ut.
torney general and state superintead.
ient the elective officers Of the state,
abOlishing the office of lieutenant gov.
icrnor and giving the duties to the
president of the senate, and making
the land commissioners a%ppointive.
by n vote Of 80 to "a the convention
approved Proposal No. 90 by Ross OF
Merck county in amended form. II
provides that private property cannot
taken for private use except for
private ways of necessity, for drains, |
fumes, bitches or across lands of 9th.
ers for agricultural and sanitary pur.
poses.
BY Il vote of n~inety-slX to two tn,
convention adopted the suffrage amend
mcnt, which will remove the sex quail
itication for voters. as soOn as ratified
by the people next fall. l.. J. re Poo
of Omaha and Il. j. Speik Of Salin,
county cast the dissenting yotes
Half n million dollars Is the limit Il
which the state can go into debt, az
reported out by the committee on pub
lie Indebtedness. This raises the linn
from 100000 and will probably stor
attempts made by some members Il
raise the limit of indebtedness much
above that figure.
Proposal No. 323, Pugsley's pet
amendment, requiring the legislature tc
provide legislation for n state school
tax, struck n snag last week and went
into the indefinitely postponed hopper
Proposal No. 233 by Osborne of Nor.
rill, one Of the minister delegates