The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1901-10-18
DIRECT LEGISLATION WILL TEND TO
Do AWAY WITH USELESS LAWS.
The President Of Direct Legislation
League Tells the Courier About
His Work.

D., VINO Is president OF the DIreci
Legislation league, who spent sew
eral hours in Evansville Sunday.
the republic Of Switzerland has few
er but better laws than the United
States and less corruption in poll
tics. He asserts this is because
Switzerland has direct legislation.
Said Mr.. Pomeroy:
Experience here and in Switzer-
land has proved the measureless
value of direct legislation an the
utter futili,y Of all objections raised
against it. Our town meetings and
votings on constitutional amend
rnents have shown that men vote on
measures with much discrimina
ton, independence of party, wise
Conservatism, and solid progressive
ness. Ambiguous measures, and
those involving jobs or tricks are de-
feated, and the citizens least fit to
vote through the natural effect OF
low intelligence and lack OF inter
est usually refrains from voting on
a referendum. Our people readily
use the referendum, and the por
tions Of our legislative system in
which it il used are universally ac-
Iknowledged to be the purest and
best.
Switzerland was formerly cursed
with the evils Of the unguarded rep
resentative system of law-making by
firal vote Of delegates, class-rule,
monopoly, corruption, etc. Direct
Legislation was adopted, and it has
dethroned the politicians and mo-
nopolists, abolished bribery, class
law, and machine politics. rid the
body polite Of its vermin, destroyed
the power of Legislators to legislate
for personal ends, given labor its
true weight in the government, ele-
vated the tone Of the press and the
methods Of political discussion,
helped to educate the mind, heart
aud conscience Of the people, de-
veloped the manhood and improved
the citizenship of the nation, given
great impetus TO wise reform, re-
duced taxation, and changed its in
cidence from poverty to wealth, es-
tablished an income tax and other
progressive taxes instead Of indirect
taxes, reduced the charges Of mo-
nopoly, and transferred the tele-
graph, telephone, railroads, express,
etc, to public ownership, filed the
civil service with efficient officers,
given good Legislators a practical
life-;snure through repeated re cleo
tion (the people being able now to
rsject law and retain the law
naker), facilitated the adoption Of
proportional representation, less.
ened partisan feeling, proved drag
on hasty legislation, fatal to extrav-
agance, and favorable to economy,
throogh the stopping Of jobs aud
franchise steals, the lessened cost OF
Legislative sessions and of printing
the simpliicd and expurgated laws,
and the saving OF innumerable i'm
potent petitions, powerless mass
meetings that are really needed.
The body polite will no longer be
disgraced by fecundity natural
only to organisms Of low order.
"Direct legislation is essential to
|self-government in complex com
munities-a necessary element Of
true democracy. 1t and it only can
destroy the private monopoly ofleg-
islative power and establish public
ownership Of the government. The
fundamental questions are: Shall
the people rule or be ruled? Shall
they own the government, or be
owned by it? Shall they control
legislation, or merely select persons
to control it? Shall the laws passed
and put in force be what the people
want, or what the politicians and
monopolists want?' The referen-
DUN answers these questions in fa-,
vor Of the people, and it is the only
thing that can answer them that
way, except a miraculous conver-
sion of politicians to wisdom and
apgelhood.
1T is simply common sense app
plication Of the principles Of agency
affording the principal his proper
right Of veto, instruction, control
and discharge. Direct legislation
means control Of your servants in
stead Of letting your servants con-
troll you.
'It will perfect the representative
system by eliminating serious mis-
representations. The unguarded
system Of law-making by final vote
OF delegates results in frequent mis-
representation. Laws are passed
that people don't want and laws
they DO want are not passed. Thel
guarded system Of law-:naking by