The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-20
THE REFERENDUM
TN ALAMEDA.
j. w. SULLIVAN, AUTHOR OF "DI-
RECT LEGISLATION" EXPLAINS
THE SYSTEM,
IT WORKS IN SWITZERLAND.
UNION FOR PRACTICAL PROGRESS
REGARDS THE SCHEME WITH
FAVOR.

A lecture was delivered last evening by
]. w. Sullivan, at Linderman's Opera
house, Alameda, on the Initiative and
Referendum" 1t was given under the
auspices of the Alameda Union for Practi-
cal Progress, and the large hall was well
filed.
The speaker was introduced by B. c..
Brown, who referred to the influence which
the efforts of Mr.. Sullivan, as writer and
speaker, have had throughout the country
IN favor of legislative reform. He is the
author of the book ''Direct Legislation, .
from which many of the workers for the
initiative and referendum have drawn their
inspirations.
Mr.. Sullivan, in his address, referred to
the two methods of legislation, the indirect
method and the direct method. In the
former the people delegate to their repre-
sentatives the power to make the laws.
He said
Too often the servants misrepresent the
people, their masters. The weakness in our
political machinery has long been taken adj
vantage of by politicians and monopolists, who
are able, by corrupt and political machinery
by which those representatives are elected, ana
by corrupting the legislators themselves, to
work ruin to the general welfare, divert the re-
form spirit and lower the level of legislation.
In town, city, State and national legislative
bodies the fountains of corruption are seen.
Franchises are given away, onerous taxes i'm
posed, offices created, political jobbery is en-
tered into.
By direct legislation it is sought to do away
with these evils, the people themselves having
the power to make the laws. Direct legislation
has been in use in New England towns for $50
years Some OF those towns refuse to incor-
porate, even after they have attained the pop
ulation of $4,000 inhabitants, because by in
corporation they would, under the State law,
hAh nh HOY hn yNf
legislative bodies.
Direct legislation is practiced in many cities
and towns throughout the United States
Cities, and in some cases States, from time to
time vote directly on questions OF charter,
bonds, license, appropriations, PUBLIC improve
ments, moral issues Last fall New York voted
on five distinct interrogations. Two years ago
| California voted on nine and last fall on five
There is no need to go outside OF our country
to find the application of the principle of direct
Legislation, nor Tor suf1clent practice to war
rant its safe and gradual advance in many par
tieulars in which it is not now practiced.
The speaker referred to the operation of
the initiative and referendum IN Switzer-
land as furnishing the most complete
illustration of its working. He considered
it quite possible that in political science
veloped, which, in its field, might parallel
the wonders performed through the appli-
cation of steam in the industrial field.
That power, he said, is the directly applied
viii of a people who love fair play, who
have time and again at the polls declared
their hatred of theft and misdoings, and
who have determined that monopoly shall
not fetter and plumber honest capital and
labor. He said:
The system in Switzerland has gone steadily
ahead until to-day in a number of the States
(cantons) every law must be voted at the
polls before going into effect The spectacle
has been afforded for twenty years OF the whole
Swiss nation 600 900 voters, 8, 000, 900 inhab-
itants) voting on its principal Federal laws
The canton OF Zurich is the typical advanced
State. There is no law, no executive decree
and no appropriation over fixed sum goes
into effect until voted on by the people at the
polls. The Swiss say: Every legislator may
be a rogue, but in vain" The people have the
power 10 introduce bills and the power of veto
The ordinance providing for the initia-
tive and referendum in Alameda is being
utilized. A petition has been circulated
and has received the necessary number of
signatures, and at the next municipal cleo
ton, which will be held on the Sth of next
month, the people will vote on this ques-
ton: care you in favor of the levy of
special tax Of 20 cents on each $500 for the
erection of a free library building?" 1t is
generally believed that the vote will be
strongly in the affirmative, as the citizens
of Alameda have much civic pride, and
have never begrudged taxes for needed i'm
provements. The proposed rate will raise
about $25 900.