The Advocate and news., 1898-05-18

of the opposition Southern States were
still disfranchlsed.
why all these practically lnsurmOunt-
able obstacles to hinder the expression
Of the will of the people? In SwttZer-
land the voice OF the people Is unhesi-
tatingly and implicitly obeyed. The re-
sulls you see. The proof Of the pudding
Is the eating"
How do you accomplish this"
by means of the initiative and refer
endum. 1t is practically the same sys-
tenn used in all delibeatiVe bodies. A
man rises and says, L move so and so,
and after discussion the body voices on 1t
the majority deciding. Under the in
itiative per cent. Of the voters Of the
State sign petition, which says We
move so and So After full discussion,
the citizens all vote on 1t, the majority
deciding. Often a society refers the mat
ter 10 committee to examine and re-
Port on. After the committee has re-
ported the body takes action, approving
or rejecting the report. Just so the
voters refer their law to the Legislature
to examine and report on, and after re-
ceiVing the report vote to make ii a law
or reject 1t. This is the Initiative"
Measures which the Legislature has
originated and passed, ii agreeable to the
people, after ninety days become laws.
II per cent. so petition, however, they
must be referred to the whole people,
who then accept or reject them. This Is
the referendum. The initiative and ref
erendum combined constitute direct
legislation No Supreme court can over
rule a law that has been passed by the
people The people are king-not king
in name only who is tTicked and baked
In his efforts by scheming politicians, but
king in fact-VOx pOpuli, VOx del This
is the kill and cure Of corruption in pol
itics. BOOdlers will not purchase a legls-
lature that has nothing to sell-the peO-
pie having veto on all it's actions. The
Legislature OF Illinois gave to Yerkes
last spring $25,00O,00O worth of fran
chlses in spite OF the lmpOtent protest of
the whole commonwealth. The referen-
dunn would have made such robbery i'm
possible"
Last November the United Gas I'm
prOvement Company, of Philadelphia
purchased the city council at a good fat
figure and were thus enabled to lease for
thirty years, at an exceedingly lean and
low figure, the gas plant, which the city
had owned and operated for fifty-six
years. This nauseating performance was
violently but Intellectually opposed by
every decent American sovereign" (O
In the city. The referendum would have
made this impossible.
Local option Is species Of referendum
common in both England and America.
So is the custom Of referring to popular
vote a proposition of purely local ma
ture such as that Of voting bonds to
purchase a park, light or water plant,
to build school houses or what not. We
also use the referendum throughout the
union when adopting or altering State
constitution. In fifteen States the cap
itol cannot be changed, In eleven no law
can be passed for incurrenCe Of debts not
specified in the constitution, and in seven
no laws can be passed establishing bank
ing corporations without recourse to the
referendum. Any number Of different
States make the referendum compulsory
for as many additional kinds Of leglsla-
ton. The tendency is to use 1t more and
more. Some day some State, probably
Kansas, will establish full direct legis-
latiOn by the people and all the others
will follow. Kansas is to America what
Switzerland Is to EurOpe-the leader in
political progress"
England is rather more advanced
than we are, in this matter, at present.
When an important measure has passed
the House OF Commons, the House OF
Lords has right to reject 1t, compel a
dissolution of Parliament, and appeal to
the people to sustain its position, by
electing a new Parliament This Is in
substance the referendum, as is the
power Of the German Emperor to dis
solve the Reichstag and call new cleo