The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-06-25
ELTWEEO POMEROY IS HERE.
President of National Direct
Legislation League.
AN ADVOCATE OF PoPULISM,
Could Have Been Named for vice
President, hut Declined-Is Draft
ing Referendum Measure for
Democratic Platform Believes
Refers to Progress in Switzerland

Eltweed Pomeroy. President of the
| National Direct Legislation League and
published at Newark. n. J.. is guest
at the Hotel Northern. Mr.. Pomeroy
| LEFT the East May |, and has been touring
| cities thus far visited by him are Chica-
| go, ST. Louis. Kansas City. Denver, Salt
Lake. San Francisco and Portland; He
| will speak in Spokane tonight. Thence
| he goes to Helena, Butte. Fargo and
Grand Forks. Seattle he has eliminated
direct Iegislation." said Mr.. Pomeroy
yesterday, means lawmaklng by the
voters. OF course It embodies the in
itiative and referendum. The initiative.
a law by a percentage of the voters,
which must then go to the referendum.
The referendum Is vote al me polls
or on any law passed by lawmaklng
by a percentage of the voters.
II am surprised that the masses OF the
United States are not enthused on the
subject. However. my colleagues and
are doing a grand missionary work;
am referring particularly 70 Switzerland,
where We have accomplished great
Poor Field Was offered.
"Of all spots in the world, doubtless.
that country was the most difficult
wherein to introduce direct legislation.
II was the meeting ground of races. re-
ligions and languages. The people were
the. most unhomogeneous OF any on the
globe. Some of the cantons or states
have had direct legislation there for cen
turtles In way. 1t is only during the
past thirty-fve years. however. that it
has been adopted nationally.
And see what, it has done. It has
bound them together into an inseperable
nation, with a strong national feeling.
The problem of living which is troubling
us. has been, mastered there. There are
M In Sytft zAr1u nd nd faty I
any. millionaires. In Zurich, one of the
first things they did after they got the
referendum was by progressive taxation
to tax out of existence the half-dozen
mllionaires they had.
Switzerland spends more money on
education than any country in the world.
she spends less on her army than any
European nation. Switzerland has bet
ter factory laws than Massachusetts
and child labor. 1t L. seldom that you
hear of emigration from Switzerland
That shows that the people are con-
proportion to population than we. In
plain figures. they have only one-seventh
as many. and their laws are short, sim
pie and easily understood In 1895 there
were over 1900 laws state and national,
passed in the United States.
I'm one year the Albany legislature
them longer than the Justinian code that
for centuries governed the Roman EN-
pire; We are. flooded with laws. In
twelve years New York state passed an
average of $50 laws n year. In the can
tons OF Berne and Zurich. in Switzer-
land. where they have the obligatory
to be submitted to a vote OF the peo-
Pile they have passed In the last twenty
years an average of between four and
five laws a year.
Productive of Low OrEanisms.
Scientists tell us that the lower you
IA NJ ha
young are spawned at a time Thus a
Goldfish will spawn 100000 eggs, of
which very few grow to maturity, Our
ganisms. We spawn our laws by the
hundreds and thousands and few of
them are of any use. Switzerland has
a true democracy. which, to my way of
thinking. we should follow here.
II would like TO say that the movement
is making rapid progress in Australia
and New Zealand and a local progress
in France. Norway and England. 1t
is growing, too, very rapidly in this
ton leagues In from fifteen TO twenty
states, and some OF them are doing
great deal 81 active work. Direct legis-
lation constitutional amendments have
passed one house in over twenty state
legislatures, and an amendment passed
the. Ponnlst legislature Of South Dakota
in 1896 and was adopted by the people in
1895 by "a vote OF two t0 one.
THE Republican Legislature of oregon
passed an amendment, which IL passed
by the next legislature, will be voted
on by the people The Democratic legis-
laturc Of Utah PASSED an amendment last
year which win be voted on there this
fall so that honors are easy between the
parties In all probability. however, a
direct legislation plank VIII 60 in the
next Democrats national platform. As
matter OF fact l was invited by the
committee To draft the measure. and I
am expecting n proof OF IL In every mail
san Francisco has adopted direct leg
tahn HNF.W la ANa
been used Two or three times there al
ready very effectively. Seattle also has
4 in its charter. !; was put in in 1892.
being one ~ the very first successes ~
the direct legislation workers However.
II was put In with the proviso that Il
was necessary 70 have . per cent ~
erendum on an ordinance. and the PER
centnEe has been so large that Il has
only been used once.
Demanded by Labor.
"tutu IS94 direct legislation was tho
only political demand ~ the AmSrirao
Fcisratton 81 Labor, now n il ~ $3.50
~ their ten demands IL Is not only no.
lively Endorsed BY the labor men but
unions Tor years with great success. The
TtpoEr3 phical Union has Mt times sub
mlttgd as high as im propositions FOR it's
members to vote ON ana the German
American TypographicsI Union has MI
had "a delegated convention since 1854
o1t has conducted 400 rs business by
.+t'f" tfAtNINNi.'fl+ ana TX mas Nn AUXILIARY
INSURANCE system which one would tHiuk
WOULD b. the lcast tikely 30 DE success
tully warsge1 tn that way.
srwakers unions. rho woodwork
ers Unions ana various others are cone
tin@aNF using IL In The TvpoEraph
Union year ago last February they
took t''s 7n aHnl,shiBE az and voted
tho ptHI=fslto1 down by rve 20 one The
knight q Labor ANA the various rail-
road orders have also emphMtlCslly in
dNref4 &c. aa also nave the Farmers Al
lance and every tarm organization ~ any
siEc
All TIE tiuo We are having sporadic
referrnflwt Last fail me people az
FhA1i .ifa voted ~ bonding che rlty
for fl-'' " g." did tho people ~ Dem
yer "- water proposition Involving
thr bonding 20 several millions. New Or
Jeans en a leverage proposition and tha
methods ~ managing g. Chicago has
adopted tIta service and the Torr,us
land org hf referendum vote NrW
YORK staF.rt IFS underground railway
py a rrferrn 5uru vote. and Faetor fFst