The Little River news., 1921-04-23
CONSTITUTIONAL AMEND
 MENT BANGLES IN STATE
Will Test the Constitutional Amend ment Question in Friendly
 Course of Law.
(By Clio Harper)

Little Rock, April 21-(SpeciaD - There have been no developments in the constitutional amendment tangle. The Arkansas Bar Association is cir culating the referendum petitions for the amendment proposed by Cover nor McRae and it is expected that the requisite number of signatures will be secured in a short time.
 The petition will then be submitted to Secretary of State Ira 6. Hopper, and it will be his next move. He has not indicated what he will do, but whatever action he takes, it is certain the question will be taken into the , courts. Attorney General Utley will advise him not to certify the local leg islation amendment which Gov. Mc- Rae seeks to submit, on the ground that the governor acted without au- thority in vetoing the personal tax amendment adopted by the legislature. On the other hand, Governor McRae and his advisers will insist upon the acceptance of the lotal legislation amendment.
 Should the Secretary of State re- fuse to certify out the local legisla- tion proposal, the friends of the mea- sure will undoubtedly seek to man. damus him and compel him to accept the amendment. Should he, on the other hand, accept this amendment, the friends of the personal tax amend ment would undoubtedly seek to en- join him and to compel him ,o accept their proposition. So it appears that whatever he does, he will be made party to an interesting controversy in the courts.
 The test will be strictly of friendly nature and will be free from rancor and personality. It happens to be one of the questions which have not been specifically settled by the Arkansas Court. Attorney General Utley claims to have the weight of authority on his side to the effect that constitutional amendment proposed by legislative resolution is not subject to executive veto. This has been stated as prin- ciple by some of the highest courts of the country, although Governor Mc- Rae is confident that he can establish his authority. :s" .e Incidentally, some of our most care full observers of things political, ex- press doubt of either amendment be- ing ratified by the people. It is cer- tain that there would have to be very considerable campaign of education conducted to induce the people to vol untarily vote upon themselves an ad- ditiOnal tax or to surrender thir rights to scure relief through local legislation
 Not to Be Solved by Piecemeal.
 The most far-seeing statesmen of Arkansas agree that the vexatious problems of taxation are not to be solved by piecemeal, desultory and spasomodic tinkering with the con- stitution. The time must come be- fore the state can make the progress all good citizens wish to see, that new constitution must be adopted in accordance with modern ideas and re- quirements. Many have pronounced the document drafted in 1918 a most desirable one, admitting at the same time the unfortunate conditions under which it was submitted. When anoth- CT constitution is drafted, and this must be within the next five or pos sibly ten years, the 1918 draft will be considered undoubtedly as a founda- tion upon which to build the new organic structure. When this was submitted, Arkansas and the world were in a state of war and the upper most question was how and when the Since it's defeat there has been a con- dition of uncertainty and unrest, which is still prevalent, and the peo- pie are not in state of mind that will enable them calmly and dispassion- ately to consider such a question as| that of the adoption of new consti- tuition. The days of stress must nec- essarily pass, however. and then with normalcy restored, this important question can be again brought to the front.