began urging the General Assembly to call a constitutional convention. A bill was passed by the assembly in 1913 to permit the state to adopt a new constitution. The measure had to be submitted to a statewide referendum, as required by the current constitution, before the convention could be held. Outside of Indianapolis and the few industrial cities, there was little support for reform for industrial workers, the majority of the state's population was still rural. When the public voted in 1914, the measure was defeated, 235,140–338,947. His two projects with the longest impact on the state were the Utilities Law and the Vocational Education Act. Ralston advocated and obtained significant increases in education spending and began a system of free vocational education for the state's school students. The regulations he enacted on the public utility companies began a process that would take running water and electricity to the entire state. The state park system and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources were created along with several state parks. Carl G. Fisher lobbied Ralston to help him promote the creation of a large highway project. At his urging, Ralston helped launch an ambitious project to build a major inter-state highway. He arranged a meeting of seven governors and was able to sell them on a plan to build a highway throughout their states connecting Jacksonville, Florida with Chicago, Illinois with each state funding its portion of the road. About twenty percent of the road's length would run through Indiana. The road was largest highway project in the United States up until that point, and resulted in the creation of the Dixie Highway, now US-31. Other important measures were passed during his term including Indiana's first worker's compensation program, the creation of the state's primary election system, and the creation of an inheritance tax. He also made substantial contributions to the state's financial situation. The state had been in debt since the start of the internal improvements in the early 1830s and had twice verged on total bankruptcy, in 1847 and 1863, and once entered a partial bankruptcy in 1841. Although the state was not in immediate financial risk, it was still heavily burdened by debt. Ralston was insistent on paying off the state's debt and creating a rainy day fund, and advocated amending the constitution to prevent the state from borrowing funds in the future. Through a combination of spending