Rosebud County news. [volume] (Forsyth, Mont.) 1901-1906, 1903-05-28

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and safe anchor for the future. 1t is
the sui e weapon with which to put to
flight the briber and the lobbyist,
and drive him, like Haear, to the
wilderness.
'It is a guarantee against the uni
versatility with which private interests
take precedence over public interests
1t has been successfully tried in South
Dakota and Utah, and has lately been
adopted in Oregon.
at is no longer an experiment in
the United States. 1t exists to a
greater or less degree in every state
in the union. 1t is already applied
in matters which we consider the
highest concern of the citizen, such
as the removal of state capitols and
county seats; the issue of state, coun-
ty and municipal bonds; the adoption
of city charters, local option, munich
pal ownership Of public buildings,
etc, etc.
"Manifestly the truth is, if the peo-
pie are fit to delegate power, they are
fit to exercise power primarily.
ITO me ordinary prudence suggests
and state pride demands that no step
be omitted which will tend to remove
every pitfall for the weak and every
weapon for the wicked. When such
safeguards have been thrown around
those in aut hority, the occupation of
the briber and the lobbyist will haye
disappeared, and then all the inuen-
does, inveracitieS, inslnuations sus-
picions which the imaginations Of
the malignant can invent or supply
will never hurt OF annoy US.
IF such change is made in our
fundamental law as will permit the
people at the ballot box to approve or
reject certain legislation. those hav-
ing private interests to serve will not
infest these chambers or obstruct the
public business. Moreover, the legis-
lature and the executive will exercise
more care as to the nature of the
measures passed and approved if the
voters have the power to demand that
their voices be heard at the ballot
box directly upon these measures.
ut seems prudent to prepare while
we may, for a system which will put
into the possession of the people the
constitutional machinery by eight
per cent Of the voters can resurrect a
good measure which has been sum-
marily pigeon-holed, and by which
five per cent OF the voters could stop
the operation of a bad law until the
soUeign people can pass upon it at the
ballot box. This, IN my opinion
would be an effective check on the
killing Of good bills, and the passage
of bad ones"
Here is what Governor Toole says
regarding the primary election law:
Direct nominations at a primary
election are just as essential as direct
legislation.
"lnstead of delegating to others
the power to represent the citizen in
convention, why not give the citizen
power to vote directly at the primary
for his choice Of candidates for office
1T would involve no additional
expense. If the primaries Of all polit-
ical parties were held at the same
time and places, before the same
judges, with the names of all candi-
dates printed on Il ticket of uniform
size and color, or upon one ticket such
as now prevails at general elections,
the possibility of one political party
controlling the nomination of another
political party would be removed. the
temptation to corrupt the voter rye