Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-01-05

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tx,,Il~.. "a. >.-u,ln- eIrt enact
In.iu., q, ,4c absolutely Aooca,:.i!
fur the ,lo;tc.IoD.o q; .iir and pre-
perry Ii accop'a the inucn-quotcd
IA, A,ll>n4, - i lie world j. gr>clLCd
too much, i, Il fundamental truth,
am; from til. ye,v naturally con-
Guides that We have too much legs
lalon, that TIE legislatures meet
too otren. and that the laws ale too
frequently subject 20 change. That
there is !. great deal of truth in this
position. nobody Will DENY, and had
the Inton discoyered some plan by
which the statute! ooks could he
stripped of UNEQUAL unjust or op.
pressive enactmeuts, il would confer
a priceless boon upon the public.
Tie sue geslion that the makers
meet but once in four Years, does
not promise the desired relief, for
observation has demonstrated that
neither the length of tie sessions
nor their number in any given period
will change very materially the
specific enactments which enter into
the practice and procedure at law.
The limitation of the sessions of
our Territorial Lesis lature to forty,
instead of sixty DAYS, and the sub
sti.ution of biennial for annual
terms. seems to have increased the
amount of legislation to a much
greater extent than our developing
industries have appeared to warrant,
and it is by no means certain that
q further reduction would have any
other result
But the principal change sucres.
ted bv the Union is radical in its ma
ture. It is that our LEGISLATORS be
constituted simnlv pronosers of laws
instead of final law.makers Every
bill under the proposed plan which
obtains majority vote of the leois-
lature. must be submitted to the
people for their approval. End if
it is endorsed by the voters then il
shall be approyed bv the Governor
and proclaimed by the Secretary of
State This it is claimed would
make the whole people acouainted
with the laws and instill within
each SOVEREIGN voter q sense of his
responsibility as a factor of the
government While This in some
decree NAV be true the assumnt;on
that because a majority of the peo.
neeple favored law their mo.
tiyes were purer or actuated by any
higher sense of honor than that of
their representatives, is extremely
fallacious. The same means used to
lobby bills though the Assembly
now. would be quite as effective when
the law.maker or hw-proposer
could place the responsibility of
final action upon somebody elss's
shoulders; and the corrupt influences
which seem inseparable from the
ballot, would be prodigously in
creased. when money and its power
full allies could be unstinteily used
in swaying the popular verdict. The
trading and iobberv which some.
times diseraces our legislative halls
"oulo oe transferred 10 "ioer neld
Will mucn more oemoraiizlnS
eHect upon tne puDhc morals.
IL seems 10 us that the present
system is lar preferable TO the plan
proposed. Inc proceedings OF the
legislature are a puoiic record