thereon lawfully obtained, but such mortgage or other alienation of such land by the owner thereof, if a married man, shall not be valid without the signature of his wife to the same.

No change from Sec. 2, Art. XVI, except in phraseology.

SEC. 3.

The homestead of a family, after the death of the owner thereof, shall be exempt from the payment of his debts in all cases during the minority of his children.

No change from Sec. 3, Art. XVI, except in phraseology.

SEC. 4. If the owner of a homestead die, leaving a widow but no children, such homestead shall be exempt, and the rents and profits thereof shall accrue to her benefit during the time of her widowhood, unless she be the owner of a homestead in her own right.

No change from Sec. 4, Art. XVI, except in phraseology.

ARTICLE XV.

MILITIA.

SECTION I. The militia shall be composed of all able-bodied male citizens between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, except such as are exempted by the laws of the United States or of this state; but all such citizens of any religious denomination, who, from scruples of conscience, may be averse to bearing arms, shall be excused therefrom upon such conditions as shall be prescribed by law.

SEC. 2. The legislature shall provide by law for organizing, equipping and disciplining the militia in such manner as it shall deem expedient, not incompatible with the laws of the United States.

SEC. 3. Officers of the militia shall be elected or appointed and be commissioned in such manner as may be prescribed by law.

No change in above sections from Art. XVII, except in phraseology.

ARTICLE XVI.

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

SECTION I. The terms of office of all elective state officers and of all judges of courts of record shall begin on the first day of January next

succeeding their election, except as otherwise prescribed in this constitution. The terms of office of all county officers shall begin on the first day of January next succeeding their election, except as otherwise prescribed by law.

This section is a condensation of like provisions appearing in various sections of the constitution of 1850.

SEC. 2. Members of the legislature and all officers, executive and judicial, except such officers as may by law be exempted, shall, before they enter on the duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of this state, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of

according to the best of my ability." No other oath, declaration or test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust.

No change from Sec. 1, Art. XVIII.

SEC. 3. Neither the legislature nor any municipal authority shall grant or authorize extra compensation to any public officer, agent, employe or contractor after the service has been rendered or the contract entered into. Salaries of public officers, except circuit judges, shall not be increased, nor shall the salary of any public officer be decreased, after election or appointment.

Revision of Sec. 21, Art. IV and Sec. 20 of the Schedule.

SEC. 4. In case two or more persons have an equal and the highest number of votes for any office, as canvassed by the board of state canvassers, the legislature in joint convention shall choose one of said persons to fill such office. When the determination of the board of state canvassers is contested, the legislature in joint convention shall decide which person is elected.

No change from Sec. 5, Art. VIII.

SEC. 5. The legislature may provide by law the cases in which any office shall be deemed vacant and the manner of filling vacancies, where no provision is made in this constitution.

No change from Sec. 37, Art. IV, except in phraseology.

SEC. 6. The laws, public records and the written judicial and legis

lative proceedings of the state shall be conducted, promulgated and preserved in the English language.

No change from Sec. 6, Art. XVIII.

SEC. 7. The legislature may establish courts of conciliation with such powers and duties as shall be prescribed by law.

No change from Sec. 23, Art. VI.

SEC. 8. The real and personal estate of every woman, acquired before marriage, and all property to which she may afterwards become entitled by gift, grant, inheritance or devise shall be and remain the estate and property of such woman, and shall not be liable for the debts, obligations or engagements of her husband, and may be devised or bequeathed by her as if she were unmarried.

No change from Sec. 5, Art. XVI, except in phraseology.

SEC. 9. Aliens, who are or who may hereafter become bona fide residents of this state, shall enjoy the same rights in respect to the possession, enjoyment and inheritance of property as native born citizens.

No change from Sec. 13, Art. XVIII.

SEC. 10. No lease or grant of agricultural land for agricultural purposes for a longer period than twelve years, reserving any rent or service of any kind, shall be valid.

Sec. 12, Art. XVIII.

ARTICLE XVII.

AMENDMENT AND REVISION.

SECTION 1. Any amendment or amendments to this constitution may be proposed in the senate or house of representatives. If the same shall be agreed to by two-thirds of the members elected to each house, such amendment or amendments shall be entered on the journals, respectively, with the yeas and nays taken thereon; and the same shall be submitted to the electors at the next spring or autumn election thereafter, as the legislature shall direct; and, if a majority of electors qualified to vote for members of the legislature voting thereon shall ratify and approve such amendment or amendments, the same shall become part of the constitution.

No change from Sec. 1, Art. XX.

SEC. 2.

Amendments may also be proposed to this constitution by petition of the qualified electors of this state but no proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors unless the number of petitioners therefor shall exceed twenty per cent of the total number of electors voting for secretary of state at the preceding election of such officer. All petitions shall contain the full text of any proposed amendment, together with any existing provisions of the constitution which would be altered or abrogated thereby. Such petitions shall be signed at the regular registration or election places at a regular registration or election under the supervision of the officials thereof, who shall verify the genuineness of the signatures and certify the fact that the signers are registered electors of the respective townships and cities in which they reside, and shall forthwith forward the petitions to the secretary of state. All petitions for amendments filed with the secretary of state shall be certified by that officer to the legislature at the opening of its next regular session; and, when such petitions for any one proposed amendment shall be signed by not less than the required number of petitioners, he shall also submit the proposed amendment to the electors at the first regular election thereafter, unless the legislature in joint convention shall disapprove of the proposed amendment by a majority vote of the members elected. The legislature may, by a like vote, submit an alternative or a substitute proposal on the same subject. The action of the legislature shall be entered on the journal of each house, with the yeas and nays taken thereon. But no amendment to this section may be proposed in the manner herein prescribed.

If a majority of the electors qualified to vote for members of the legislature voting thereon shall ratify and approve any such amendment or amendments, the same shall become a part of the constitution: Provided, That for any amendment proposed under this section, the affirmative vote shall be not less than one-third of the highest number of votes cast at the said election for any office. In case alternative proposed amendments on the same subject are submitted at the same election, the vote shall be for one of such alternatives or against such proposed amendments as a whole. If the affirmative vote for one proposed amendment is the required majority of all the votes cast for and against such proposed amendments, it shall become a part of the constitution. If the total affirmative vote for such alternative proposed amendments is the

J

required majority of all the votes for and against them, but no one proposed amendment receives such majority, then the proposed amendment which receives the largest number of affirmative votes shall be submitted at the next regular election, and if it then receives the required majority of all the votes cast thereon it shall become a part of the constitution. The legislature shall enact appropriate laws to carry out the provisions of this section.

New.

SEC. 3. All proposed amendments to the constitution submitted to the electors shall be published in full, with any existing provisions of the constitution which would be altered or abrogated thereby, and a copy thereof shall be posted at each registration and election place. Proposed amendments shall also be printed in full on a ballot or ballots separate from the ballot containing the names of nominees for public office.

New.

SEC. 4. At the general election to be held in the year nineteen hundred twenty-six, in each sixteenth year thereafter and at such other times as may be provided by law, the question of a general revision of the constitution shall be submitted to the electors qualified to vote for members of the legislature. In case a majority of such electors voting at such election shall decide in favor of a convention for such purpose, at the next biennial spring election the electors of each senatorial district of the state as then organized shall elect three delegates. The delegates so elected shall convene at the state capitol on the first Tuesday in September next succeeding such election, and shall continue their sessions until the business of the convention shall be completed. A majority of the delegates elected shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The convention shall choose its own officers, determine the rules of its proceedings and judge of the qualifications, elections and returns of its members. In case of a vacancy by death, resignation or otherwise, of any delegate, such vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the governor of a qualified resident of the same district. The convention shall have power to appoint such officers, employes and assistants as it may deem necessary and to fix their compensation, and to provide for the printing and distribution of its documents, journals and proceedings. Each delegate shall receive for his services the sum of one thousand dollars and