The Farmington times., 1922-11-24

in any adjoining county; and contigu
Gus cities may be consolidated O.
merged, in the manner prescribed b!
law.
A new classification Of cities il
provided, so that all cities OF 25,00l
and upward shall be included in thl
| first class; 5000 to $4,000 in the sec
ond class; 500 to 5000, third class
and towns and villages under 500 t
be classed as villages.
Provision is to be made by genera
law for the incorporation of all cite:
and villages, and by general law fol
the organization and government Of
citles which do not have or adopt spe.
cial charRrs. All these laws are tC
be uniform as to each class of cities.
Any city of the first or second class
will be allowed to adopt chatter fol
its own government. This is extend
ing the power given in the constitu-
tion of 1875 to st. Louis alone, but
amended in 1920 to include all cities
Of 10000 or over.
The cities Of the state will be al
lowed free hand in adopting such
local government agencies as they
desire. They can have the mayor and
council plan, commission form of gov
ernment or city manager plan. ac-
cording to the understanding of the
provisions of the section prescribing
their powers.
1t is provided that the service, prac-
ticees and rates of all public utilities
operated within any city or village
shall be regulated within the manner
prescribed by law. This feature was
opposed in general debate on the
charge that it perpetutaed the publics
service commission, which was de-
clared to be distasteful to the people
of the state.
Provision is made requiring reports
of the financial condition of all cities
and villages, to be made in accordance
with laws to be enacted by the gene
raj assembly.
Zoning of cities is provided for so
that certain sections of cities may be
set aside for industrial purposes, re-
creation parks, business and residen-
tial sections.
A minority report would combine
the city of st. Louis and st. Louis
county after the first of July, 1925.
While most of the members of the
committee have made reservations in
signing the report as to the section
providing for pensions for both fire.
men and policemen in cities under
charter, the provision of the old con-
stitution is extended to include police
men.
In the committee report no. county
not now having township organiza-
tion was to be allowed to adopt the
township organization. and provision
was made for abolishing present or
ganizations by vote of the people.
This section, while explained by the
committee as being designated to
met the wishes of people in the state
who had requested such provision,
fhet with opposition in the committee
of the whole. A substitute was offer
ed providing that township organiza-
tions could be established where de-
sired, by majority report of the peo-
pie, and that they might be abolished
in the same manner. This was adopt
ed by a small margin.
By vote of the delegates in the
committee of the whole it was agreed
to provide that shefiffs and coroners
shall be eligible to reelection. The
committee had provided that these
officers should not be eligible for re-
election. except that where they had
been appointed to serve out an uneX-
pired term they could be elected for
full term thereafter.
1t was claimed by opponents to
having these officials eligible to re-
election that the office of sheriff was
especially open to the temptation OF
machine building and that where a
sheriff wanted to perpetuate himself
in office he might be lax in the en-
forcement of laws where it would
cost him votes, and that the tendency
in the case of all officials was to-
wards making them ineligible to sue
coed themselves. Other opposed the
proposition because it changed the
present constitutional requirements.
Attendance at the convention this
week has been close to high water
mark and the work has progressed
steadily and under a schedule of
longer hours. There have been few
absences on account of sickness, but
less from other causes than in some
time. A decided effort is being made
to push the work through to COM
pletion as rapidly as the nature of
the reports will permit. Some mat
ters will take long and careful con-
sideraAion and there is no disposition
to crowd these through in haste. But
there is a disposition to do away as
far as possible with dilatory tactics
that may develop. 1t may not be pos
sible to complete the work on all re-
ports even in the committee of the
whole before the first of the year,
but it is the earnest hope of large
body of the members that this can be
accomplished.
Changed in two respects only, the
report of the Committee on Initiative
and Referendum as it came from the
committee of the whole was referred
the first of the week to the Committee
on Phraseology and Arrangement.
The percentage for referring laws
passed by the general assembly was
reduced from IL to 10 per cent.
a The provision requiring that peti-
tions be placed with officers author
lied to acknowledge conveyances of
real estate was voted down. This
had been amended so that the petit
tion did not have to he left in the of-