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

senators. The Book Trust would have
needed only four senators or eight rep
resentatiyes to prevent any change in
the law, because a majority of all the
members elected to each house is nee
essary to pass bill. -Four senators
out of thirty or eight representatives
out of sixty who can be bought is not
large percentage. Which would have
been easier, cheaper and safer for the
American Book Company, with eighty
seven thousand dollars to spend, to
buy either four senators or eight rep
reSentatives, or to purchase eight
thousand seven hundred votes at the
ballot-boX2 And yet this might be done
in the legislature and very large ma
Jority of the members be honest men.
Under which plan is money more like
ly to govern the people by making
their laws?
Objection 8. The people are too ig-
nOrant to vote on the laws.
Answer. The man who makes this
objection is always speaking of the
other people, not of himself. Expert
ence proves that it is not true of those
who will vote. AS a rule only those
who understand the question viii
vote, while those who are ignorant
viii always vote no IL they
vote at all. 1t is hardly possi-
bic that voter can remain so ignor-
ant of the good and bad features of
a proposed law as he must necesar-
lily be of the good and bad traits of a
man he never sees, and in very many
cases never hears of until after the
nominations are made. Even IL the
voter does personally know his party's
local candidate TO be honest, wise and
patriotically unselfish before the cleo
ton, he cannot possibly know that the
man will successfully resist the
! thousand and one batteries, blandish-
ments and temptations that will be
thrown around him before his term of
office expires. This being true as to
the voters ignorance of one man, with
how much greater force must it apply
/ to his ignorance of the hundreds of
candidates nominated for legislative
Offices? But the proposed law is al
ways printed and it is the voters own
fault If he does not know what it is
and its probable effect.
1t is true, as said by the Portland
Oregonian, August 16, 1897, Though
the paper does not advocate the addi-
tion to our law-making system of the
Initiative and Referendum, comment
ing on the small vote on recent con-
stltutional proposals in Texas and
| Tennessee, that those "who will not
| inform themselves on the merits of the
desired changes, either neglect to vote
at all or vote mo- to be on the safe
! side"
In Zurich, Switzerland, all voters
are required by law to vote, and thou
sands Of blank ballots are cast at
every election, only because some vot-
ers will not take the trouble to inform
themselves.
1t is not possible that the citizens
can ever vote more ignorantly on any
proposed law than the senators and
congressman did who voted for the
ten per cent. discriminating clause in
the Dingley bill, or the President who
signed it, none of them knowing it
was there.
Objection 4. The people are not in
terested and will not come out to vote,
but if they do they will follow their
party leaders.
Answer. In support of this is Of
fered the experience of Texas and
Tennessee and other special elections
held to decide n single question. But
all such votes should be had at regu-
lar elections, not only to save time and
get a large vote, but to avoid useless
expense. CALIFORNIA; experience In
1892 shows that the people are inter
eSted and this was most abundantly
confirmed at the presidential election
i'm 1896 by large votes on constitutional
amendments in New York, South Da-
kota, Nebraska. Colorado, Montana,
Idaho, California and Minnesota. For
details of the vote and amendments
see Direct Legislation Record, March,
1897, published by Eltweed Pomeroy,
at Newark, N. j.
New York proved last fall that the
people win not follow party leaders
in electing laws. At the presidential
election a proposed amendment to the
constitution of New York was submit
ted 1t had been approved by two
consecutive republican legislatures
and strongly recommended by a re-
publican Board of Forestry Commits
sioners. Mckinley carried the state
by two hundred and fifty thousand
majority over Bryan, but this repub-
lican amendment was beaten by near
ly four hundred thousand majority,
while nearly three hundred thousand
who voted for the officials did not vote
on the amendment. When n proposed
law is submitted to the voters and a
large majority do not vote, that fact
alone Is sufficient proof that a change
is not wanted by the people. Such a
vote means only that the people think
the election or defeat of the law
matter of very little Importance.
objection s. The people do not
want the power TO make law by the
Initiative and Referendum.
Answer. In 1894 One-sixth of the
voters of Oregon signed a petition to