Proposed New Constitution
Synopsis and Comments on Improvements Made Over Old Constitution of 1874
. — * :■ . .:::.. iiiwiii.l," m.
LIEUTENANT GOVENOR
Art. VI, Sec. 1, provides for the creation of
the office of Lieutenant Governor, to be elected
quadrennially as are other state officers, to po'
sess qual'fications similar to tho»e required for
the Governor, to be ex-officio President of the
Senate, and tc serve as Governor when that of
ficial is disqualified for any reason. When act
ing as Governor he shall receive equal compen
sation.
The wisdom of this provision is evident tc
all. During recent years the greatest confusion
has frequently resulted because of the unsatis
factory method of succession to the Governor’s
office. There have been numerous “accidental”
Governors in whose selection the people had no
choice. This will be prevented by the election
of a Lieutenant Governor bv the people, corres
ponding in duties and position to the Vice Pres
ident of the United States. It is a simple expe
dient which obviates confusion and insures the
orderly administration of the Government by
an officer elected by the people as an alternate
for the office. He is tc be paid as a member of
the Senate when acting as President of the
body, and in case of a vacancy in the office of
Governor its duties and emoluments shall auto
matically devolve upon him until the disability
be removed. As President of the Senate, he
shall have no vote except in case of a tie.
EQUALITY OF SUFFRAGE
Art. Ill, Sec. 1, provides that “the right to
vote or hold office shall not be denied or ab*
ridged on account of sex,” and that “male and
female citizens shall enjoy equally all civil, po
litical and religious rights and privileges.”
The Allies are expending billions of treas
ure, hundreds of thousands of lives, ami drench
ing the world in blood to establish firmly the
very principle here briefly enunciated. It
means nothing more or les" than the extension
of the doctrine of equality of rights and privi
leges to one-half of our tax-paying, home-mak
ing citizens who have been unenfranchised
from the foundation of our nation. It is one of
the principles of enlightened government that
no people are truly free when half are denied
an exercise of the rights of citizenship. The
women of Arkansas, as of the whole nation, de
mand this concession not on account of senti
ment, or political ambition, or as a passing fad,
but because it is a right that should never have
been alienated, an act of simple justice thai
should never have been denied. It does not rob
woman of her womanhood, but recognizes her
as an equal partner in the management of the
government under which she must live and rear
coming generations of citizens.
BOARD OF PARDONS
Art. VI, Sec. 13, provides for a Board of
Pardons, to consist of the Attorney General,
Secretary of State, and Auditor, to meet on the
call of the Governor, and to consider all peti
tions for pardons, repreives, paroles, or commu
tations in felony cases; the Governor may act
upon the recommendation of the Board, or after
60 days following reference if the Board makes
no recommendation, but he shall have no power
to grant clemency in felony cases except after
conviction and reference to the Board.
The State has long demanded a Board of
Pardons. It is a reform of recognized impor
tance. It places a salutary restraint upon the
exercise of the pardon power, which all admit
has at times been grossly abused. It is a curb
upon upon the political trading of an unscrupu
lous chief executive, should such a one ever be
elected, and a protection to the honest, big
hearted Governor whose sympathies sometimes
outweigh his calmer judgment as an impartial
conservator of law. The right of pardon, inher
ent in the chief executive, is probably the most
unwelcome of his duties, since upon his individ
ual decision often rests question of life and dea
th and the uphoding or setting aside ot the
judgments of the courts. The Board will sit as
a court of review to advise the Governor and re
lieve him of the responsibility of making an un
aided decision. The Beard serves without ex
tra compensation.
LOCAL LEGISLATION
Art. V. Secs. 23-24-25, prohibits local or
special legislation except under certain well
defined restrictions. Twenty-one specific items
of local legislation are prohibited. It is further
provided that “in all cases where a general law
is or can be made applicable, no local or special
law shall be enacted.” No general law shall
be suspended for the benefit of any individual
or corporation, nor shall any general law be
changed by exemption into a special law. Pub
lication of notice is required of all special acts
permitted, and the courts shall provide void all
special, local or private acts \yhich the journals
do not affirmatively show were published as
I provided.
No other .single reform has been so gener
ally demanded as this. The growing abuse of
local legislation has caused more adverse criti
cism of the General Assembly than anything
else, and has wasted mere time, and been the
source of more “trading.” During recent years
thousands of pages of of Acts have been of this
character, exceeding in volume the general acts
five or six times. The framers of the constitu
tion in 1874 attempted to remedy the evil, but
the provision adopted by them has proven inef
fectual. So glaring has this evil become in re
cent years that it has passed into a joke that
the “General Assembly spends most of its time
in legislating Johnson grass out of Greene coun
ty, and green grass cut of Johnson county.” It
has been a recognized fact that frequently
members are elected to the Legislature for the
sole purpose of securing some local laws they
were unable to secure through other channels.
Practically the whole volume- of local
legislation can be handled through
other established agencies—as -the county
courts, the Corporation Commission, the school
authorities, or boards and commissions charged
with jurisdiction over such matters. There is
no more fertile field for the defeat of the peo
ple’s wishes than the local legislation calendar
of the General Assembly. There is seldom any
oppoition to bills of this character, as other leg
islators know nothing of their merits or local
conditions, and blindly vote for the other fel
low’s bill so the other fellow will vote for his.
ELECTIONS AND FRANCHISE
Art. Ill follows in the main text of the Con
stitution of 1874. Its changes include equal
suffrage; quadrennial elections; the creation of
a non-partisan State Board of Election Commis
sioners; and provisions for non-resiednt voting
by electors in military or naval service.
The time honored principles of equality
and freedom of elections are restated and em-;
phasized and completely safeguarded. In ad
dition to jhe positive and expressed changes,
the new proposal is notable for omissions that
strengthen it. For instance, the new Constitu
tion provides that “no election officer shall be
eligible to any civil office to be filled at the el
ection at which he shall serve.” The old Con
stitution exempted “such subordinate municipal
or local officers, below the grade of city or .
county officers, (hereby removing a source of
possible corruption. Many have advocated reg- |]
istration of voters but this is prohibited by the <
present Constitution. In the new draft the pro- j i
vision is omitted, “Nor shall any law be enact- ;
ed whereby the right to vote at any election
shall be made to depend upon any previous reg- j
istration of the elector’s name.” The old Con- •
stitution provides that the franchise may be ex
ercised by every “male person who has declar
ed his intention of becoming a citizen” of the i
United States. This lets down the bars to aliens
but the new constitution restricts the suffrage to
citizens of the United States by omitting the
quoted clause. '
LETTER FROM FRANCE
Miss Myrtle Fetzer has re
ceived the following letter
from her cousin, Owen Fetzer,
who is with the American for
ces in Fance.
France Sept. 21.
Dear Cousin—Received your
letter today and it found me
O. K.
I had just given up all hope
of ever hearing from America.
It has beer, three motnhs since
I landed on French soil and I
haven’t received a letter until
I got yours today, so you can
guess how glad I was to get
your letter.
Sorry I did not get to see
you before leaving for Camp,
when I was in Newark that
day, but in fact I did not know
you were in Newark. I sure
would like to see that country
again, but we will finish the
Boche before I can see it.
Myrtle, I never realized
what war really meant until j
July 18. When you meet an
enemy, hand to hand, with a
gleaming bayonet, you fully
realize that you are in war.
The 18th of July is when the!
oig American offensive start
ed and, believe me, we made I
t hot for the Hun. We drove j
hem from their strongly forti
iied positions, and captured
nany prisoners and guns, and
:hey are stil on the run.
Your cousin,
THOS. O. FETZER,
O
HOLD YOUR LIBERTY
BONDS
The owner of a Liberty Bond 1
s the bond creditor of an hon
?st debtor, and one who is am
ily able to meet its obligations
—the United States.
It is poor business to exchan
ge such a bond for stock of
my sort of a speculative na
ure. Hold your Liberty Bend
is a part of wisdom as well as
t part of patriotism.
DOG TAXES DUE
Dog taxes in the town of
Newark, Ark., for the year
1918 are new.due and must be
laid on or before the 15th day
>f November, and if not paid
m or before that date a pen
ilty of 50 cents will be added.
J. F. MORGAN, Marshal.
-O
rhe Strong Withstand the Heat of
Summer Better Than the Weak
Old people who are feeble and younger people
*ho are weak, will be strengthened and enabled to
|o through the depressing heat of summer by tuk
ng GROVE'S TASTELESS eh ill TONIC. It purifies
ind enriches the blood and builds up the whole ays
em. You oau soon feel its Strengthening, Invlgor
iting Effect. 60c.
--O
fhe Journal for good printing.
NEW FALL AND
I WINTER GOODS
♦ Our stock of fall and winter goods is now
i complete, and we are prepared to take care of
t your every want.
<► Early last Spring we anticipated that fall and
o winter merchandise would be very high, so we
• I placed large orders for practically all of our winter
goods at a substantial saving in price, and we are
o now as usual ready to give our customers the ben
o efit of our fortunate purchases.
;; We are selling some winter merchandise at
} I less than the wholesale cost of today.
You are cordially invited to call and inspect
; ► our wonderful collection of new winter goods for
; 1 men women and children.
j HEINEMANN’S
i! DRY GOODS STORE
o NEWPORT, ARKANSAS
Children Cry for Fletc&er’a
The Kind You Have Always Bought, and which has been
in use for over over 30 years, has borne the signature of
and has been made under his per
sonal supervision since its infancy.
Allow no one to deceive you in this.
All Counterfeits, Imitations and “ Just-as-goud ” are but
Experiments that trifle with and endanger the health of
Infants and Children—Experience against Experiment.
What is CASTOR IA
Castoria is a harmless substitute for Castor Oil, Paregoric,
Drops and Soothing Syrups. It is pleasant. It contains
ceither Opium, Morphine nor other narcotic substance. Its
age is its guarantee. For more than thirty years it has
been in constant use for the relief of Constipation, Flatulency,
Wind Colic and Diarrhoea; allaying Feverishness arising
therefrom, and by regulating the Stomach and Bowels, aids
The assimilation of Food; giving healthy and natural sleep.
The Children’s Panacea—The Mother's Friend,
•GENUINE CASTORS A ALWAYS
In Use For Over 30 Years
The Kind You Have Always Bough*
4E C ENTAUR COMPANY, NEW VONK C I TV
yW- '{
►<•*♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦*
WIRE FENCING
X
PAYS
When You Put Up a Pence You want
one that will stay—you don’t want to have to do
the job over again next year. Wire fences look
better last longer and cost less. You can’t tear a
rail down or knock a paling off a wire fence. We
have just received a carload of wire fencing of
every description and can take care of your needs.
Now is the time to build the fences you have been
planning and it will pay you to come here for your
wire.
When You Want Furniture
Get Our Prices First
NEWARK LUMBER CO
ADAMS BROTHERS
Cotton and Corn Buyers
General Merchandise
To the Farmers: We want your produceand will
pay the highest market price in cash or trade
NEWARK, ARKANSAS
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» BOLES' BARBER SHOP
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f? fully solicited. Clean
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y onable prices. **
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Journal Building
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Buy Wa,r Stamps and help
the boys go on to Berlin.
* •
I Used 40 Years J
CARDlii
S The Woman’s Tonic 2
/ Vr
4| Sold Everywhere Jp
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drove's Tasteless chill Tonic
i destroys the malarial germs which are transmitted
I to the blood by the Mularlu Mosquito. Price Me