Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1896-1899, 1898-03-02


committees should smother any inn
portant measure in the legislature, it
would not be greatly delayed thereby,
because its friends could readily bring
il before the people by the Initiative.
tor this reason its tendency is to pre-
vent the partisan Organization of leg
islative bodies. The riots which have
been so common in state legislatures,
and the complete failure of legislative
government in oregon last winter are
the natural and necessary fruits of
government Of the people by political
parties, of the parties by the majority
faction, and of the factions by the
bosses. Such things are impossible
under direct legislation.
1nrteenth. Direct legislation tends
TO prevent jobs and steals i'm legisla-
tive bodies because of the long and
dangerous road over which the iobber
must carry and guard his load. He
must carry his job through the legis-
lature, prevent the legislature from re-
ferring his job to the people, prevent
one-twentieth of the voters from sign
ing a Referendum petition within nine
ty days after the close of the legisla-
ture, and then, though his law is in
force he is always and forever in dan
ger that one-tenth of the voters will
sign an Initiative petition demanding
its repeal, and if so he must have
majority at the ballot box. Even
though his job should be approved by
the people, another Initiative petition
may be filed after Il reasonable time
say two or three years, again demand
ing its repeal ana all his trouble mt tho
ballot-boX must be gone over again
Such II system as this would make
buying laws one of the most risky of
all investments, and the tendency
would be for capitalists to put very
little money into the business either
of buying the election or defeat of
members of city councils, legislators
or congress- or of buying laws after
the members were elected.
Fourteenth. Direct legislation de-
stroys Otlice-seeking as profession
for two reasons: The direct control
of the people over official salaries,
from constable to president, tends con-
stantly to reduce them to a figure at
which Oflice-hOlding is no more profit
able than private employment. The
people having power at all times to
veto any job OF steal, it follows that
officials have neither favorS to give
nor franchises to sell. Therefore there
is little or no competition for official
positions and the same men are often
reelected, term after term, as long as
they wish to serve.
DO you believe ii is worth trying?
If so, will you not request and urge
your representatives i'm the legislature
to pass Il general law, to take effect
in any county when approved by the
voters thereof allowing One-tcnth of
the voters of the county to file an
initiative petition with the county
clerk. at least sixty days before any
election, demanding the submission to
the voters of any question of increas-
ing or decreasing the salary of any or
ali county officials, allowing the cOun-
ty court also to submit any county
matter TO the voters for approval or
rejectiOn requiring the county court
to make an annual appropriation bill,
and allowing One-tenth of the voters
of the county, by petition, to demand
the submission to the voters of the
question of rejecting or amending any
item of said annual estimate for
county appropriations, and providing
that every such proposal as may be
approved by majority of those vot-
ing thereon shall take effect. Such
ilutNllOHS llldN W. SuDHllllpu Ut tine
regular annual elections for the cleo
tion of school directors as well as at
the general elections, and at very
small expense. In this way we can
test the advantages of Direct Legisla-
tion in local matters before the time
comes to vote on a constitutional
amendment providing for the system
on state laws.
&, 20,
wish for a direct vote on laws, to OBJ
tain that power very quickly, if they
unite in demanding that their respec-
tive political conventions shall pledge
all their candidates to submit to the
people as soon as possible the neces-
sary laws and constitutional amend
ments TO provide for the Initiative and
optional Referendum, local, state and
national, and also demanding,
That congress and the president
shall provide by law for the prompt
submission to the people, at regular
congressional elections, of any pro-
posed law or constitutional amend
ment that shall be presented to them
with petition therefor signed by two
hundred and fifty thousand or more
legal voters, such signatures to be
verified as now required in United
States land office proceedings, and that
congress and the president shall enact
or reject such proposed measure, ac-
cording as the majority of the citizens
voting thereon shall be for or against
the same.
For hundred years and more the
people have cOntended one against an
other in political parties whose plat
forms and alleged PRINCIPLES have
been so cunningly intermiXed by poll