Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1922-11-10
NEWS AND VIEWS
From The
STATE CAPITAL
BY f. r. Birdsall.

The supreme court Of the state Of
Mississippi sutained every point made
by Circuit Judge Potter in the case
wherein the initiative PETITIONS filed
by Hennes5ey Of Vicksburg and Austin
OF Jackson. insurance agents, with the
secretary Of state for an election to
put the state revenue agent on a sal
airy. The revenue agent challenged
these petitions upon the ground OF
forgery, perjury and misreprescnta-
ton.
This decision Of itself would have
been sufficient to stop the election,
but the supreme court went further
aud declared the initiative and refer
endum amendment to the constitution
null and void because section 273 OF
the constitution providing for the sub
mission OF amendments had been fla
gravity violated IN the submission Of
amendment and futher that the initia-
tive and referendum amendments had
not received a majority Of those voting
as required by the constitution.
The supreme courts decision in this
case, lawyers state, is identical with
the decision of Chief Justice Whit
field and Associate Justices Calhoon
and Terrell, when they held the Noel
amendments to the constitution for an
elective judiciary null and void be-
cause it had been unconstitutionally
submitted and it had failed to receive
a majority of all those voting at the
election.
The recent decision Of the court
holding the initiative and referendum
amendment unconstitutional may rem
der some laws passed under amend
ments to the constitution, as a result
Of the initiative and referendum, lille
gal and some appropriations unlawful.
There has been considerable talk that
ISL 100000, known as the supplement-
al school fund, may fail, but Superin-
tendent Bond speaks optimistically
about the matter and thinks a way
may be found by which the money may
be used. Should this fail, however,
this S l,200, 900 will still remain in the
state treasury to the credit of the tax
payers; and while everybody laments
tlA C,.t .I,t =, aah,An1 town ,,inht no
shortened a month or two, it is being
recalled that schools have been inter
rupted before when Mississippi was
%quarautined from center to Circumfer-
ence fer many years for months at a
time on account of yellow fever, and
after it was owe everything went
along just as before.
A motion has been made before the
supreme court to advance the case on
appeal to that body from a decision of
Circuit Judge Wiley H. Potter holding
that Governor Russell had a right to
remove Insurance Commissioner Thos-
M. Henry for alleged embezzlement.
No decision has rendered in the suit
Of State Revenue Agent Stokes V.
Robertson against Commissioner Hen
ry for something like $4,000, alleged
shortage, in addition to the $3.50 0 col
lected by the revenue agent heretofore
and paid into the state treasury. This
! aDcn iC nApIinu hafnpn fhnnrnlnr
Stricken, and it is understood that it
was amended some days ago by the
addition of some $2.l0O of an addi-
tional shortage said to have been re-
Gently discovered as due the state by
Commissioner Henry and not paid in
to the state treasury.
A citizen of Tupelo on a visit to
Jacksons calls attention to the fact
that the county of Lee has furnished
three congressman in succession to the
Hot Springs district of Arkansas. The
first of these was Sam NJ. Taylor of
Verona, we'll remembered here in
Jackson as a member Of the legisla-
ture, who served ten or twelve years
and died while a member OF congress.
He was succeeded by his son, Dan
Taylor, who voluntarily retired and
who is to be succeeded by the vote on
next Tuesday by l.. E. Sawyer from
Guntown, Lee county. Mississippi has
furnished many senators, congressman
governors and federal judges to other
states, but perhaps no county from
any state in the union ever furnished
three congressman in SUCCESSION from
q district in any other state.
1t is learned that more than fifty
Of the eighty-two boards of supervi
sors Of the 50 counties OF Mississippi
have passed resolutions urging the
people OF their counties to turn on
and vote for the constitutional amend
ment which will allow the putting o