The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-04-22
POLITICAL PROGRESS
THE MOVEMENT IN FAVOR OF
DIRECT LEGISLATION.

vanccs Made Toward Public Owner
ship of Franchises and Public Utilities
State Railroads and Income Taxes.
E. D. Durand, in Annals American
Academy, summarizes recent political
and municipal legislation, showing that
the Peoples party has already been in
strumental in inaugurating important
lacal reforms. The movement in favor
OF direct legislation by the people,
which has manifested itself of ate
years In the increased practice Of re-
ferring specific subjects Of state OF local
legislation to popular vote, and in the
increasing agitation for a general use
of the initiative and referendum. has
at last eliminated in some of our west
ern states. South Dakota goes furth-
est by proposing a constitutional!
amendment, to be voted upon in No
Vember next, declaring that the peo-
pie reserve to themselves the right to
propose measures. which measures the
legislature shall enact and submit to
WV VI an SlSSlolo Va Liz SIASSy oAANs
also the right to require that any laws
which the legislature may have enacted
shall be submitted to a vote of the
electors of the state before going into
effect, . F" * provided that not
more than five percentum of the quail
CURED to invoke either the initiative or
the referendum
The sister state Of Nebraska has
meanwhile enacted a law, to take i'm
mediate effect, introducing the same
principle for all local subdivisions
counties, townships, cities, villages and
school districts-but not for the, state
government itself. A petition of Is
per cent of the voters is necessary to
initiate measures, or to demand the
reference of proposed measures to the
people. The question must then be
submitted to a vote at the next general
election, but if the petition be signed
by 20 per cent of the electors and cor
tain a request for a more immediate
vote, a special election must be held.
~ AS5loAolISS Douy may Su6
gest amendments to measures proposed
by popular initiative. In such case the
original and modified propositions
must both be placed on the ballot. I'm
less a majority declares itself against
both forms, the form receiving the
most affirmative votes becomes law.
The recent and growing popular agi-
tation concerning the management of
municipal property. works and privil-
eyes is beginning to bear fruit in legis-
lation. A large proportion of our
states now allow cities and towns
themselves to construct and operate
lighting as well as water plants. Wash
ington last year went further and au-
thorized the establishment of munich
pal street railways. Especially is there
a tendency to regulate the granting of
franchises to private individuals and
companies. The chief advances are in
limiting the duration of such grants. in
demanding some commensurate nav
ment for them, and in making them
subject to popular control. The pro-
visions of the new charter of New York
Is an instance in this regard. Far
more radical is a Kansas law of 1897,
which, however. applies only to light,
heat. power and water plants. This
act requires the grantees Of franchises
to report in minute detail the exact cost
of constructing their plant, and semi
annually thereafter the exact r%eceints
and expenditures Of every sort. A
profit OF 6 per cent per annum is to be
on the actual investment
shown by these statements, and the
entire surplus of receipts is to 20 to
the public treasury. unless a higher al
lowance be made to the holders of the
franchise by consent Of three-ifths of
the taxpayers. No grant may be for
more than twenty years, and after ten
years the municipality may buy the
plant at an appraised valuation. This
law imposes terms even more severe
than those regulating public franchises
in any European city.
Several other states have adopted the
practice of requiring franchises of all
sorts to be disposed of upon competi-
tive bids. While this system NAV nre-
vent jobbery, in part, experience shows
that it does not ordinarily win for the
public a reasonable payment for nriv-
ileges granted. Real competition IL
seldom possible, especially in the case
of renewals or additional grants after
one corporation has become Thoroughly
established. California, adopting this
practice in 1897, prescribes further that
the minimum payment to the munich
pal treasury for any kind Of public
franchise shall be three per cent Of the
gross receipts. No payment whatever
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