Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 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 Hennessey of Vicksburg and Austin
of Jackson, insurance agents, with the
secretary of state for an election to
put the state revenue agent on sal
ary. The revenue agent challenged
these petitions upon the ground of
forgery, perjury and misrepresenta-
ton.
This decision of itself would have
been sufficient to stop the election,
but the supreme court went further
and 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
grantly violated in the submission of
amendment and fu.her that the initia-
tive and referendum amendments had
not received 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
elective Judiciary null and void be-
cause 1t 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, i'ie-
gal and some appropriations unlawful.
There has been considerable talk that
100000, known as the supplement-
al school fund, may fail, but Superin-
tendent Bond speaks enthusiastically
about the matter and thinks a way
may be found by which the money may
be used. Should this fail, however,
this $1,200,000 will still remain in the
state treasury to the credit of the tax
payers; and while everybody laments
the fact that school term might be
shortened month or two, 1t Is being
recalled that schools have been inter-
rupted before when Mississippi was
quarantined from center to circumfer-
ence for many years for months at a
time on account of yellow fever, and
after it was over 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 right to
remove Insurance Commissioner Thos-
M. Henry for alleged embezzlement.
No decision has rendered in the suit
of State Revenue Agent Stokes ".
Robertson against Commissioner Hen
ny for something like $4,000, alleged
shortage, in addition to the $4,000 col
lected by the revenue agent heretofore
and paid into the state treasury This
case is pending before Chancellor
Stricken, and 1t is understood that it
was amended some days ago by the
addition Of some $2,100 of an addi-
tional shortage said to have been re-
Gently discovered as due the state by
Commissioner Henry and not paid il
to the state treasury.
A citizen of Tupalo 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 M. Taylor OF
Verona, we'll remembered here in
Jackson as q member of the legisla-
ture. who served ten or twelve years
and died while 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
district in any other state.
It 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 out
and vote for the constitutional amend
ment which will allow the putting of
trunk highways under the control of
the state highway department. 1t
seems to be well understood every
where now that il this amendment
fails, Mississippi will lose millions of
dollars annually from the federal rov-