Willmar tribune., 1904-09-21
WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER 81, 1904
DIRECT LEGISLATION WILL SECURE
COUNTY OPTION.

OF the state of Greg on, which provides
for legislation by popular vote,
known as initiative petition, two bills
were submitted to the voters OF the
state on the + b of June, and both were
carried. They now have the force of
law exactly as bills have which pass
the legislature. One law provides for
a syst m Of local option with regard
to the sale Of liquor. IL. any county
or district comp ,sed OF contiguous
precincts, or in any precinct, by pet!-
tion CT 10 per cent of the voters in no
case more than five hundred sigma
lures being required), an election to
decide for or against prohibition with
in the territory included in the peti
ton shall be ordered. II the election
results for prohibition, no change can
be made within two years thereafter
II county as q whole gives a ma.
jority against license, no subdivision
jority instance, has the liberty Of de-
Gliding in favor Of license. On the
o:her hand, if a county as a whole
votes against prohibition, every sub
division voting for prohibition is en-.
titled to have its vote enforced by the
county court withia the limits OF tha'
subdivision. The law goes so far
even as to provide that wnen prohibi
tion has been carried a: an election
held for the entire county, no election
on the question Of prohibition shall
be there after held in any subdivision
or precinct thereof until after prohi-
bition has been defeated at q subse
quent election for the same purpose.
he d for the entire county, Similar.
ly, prohibition carried in any subdi-
vision can not be abandoned by any
included precinct without the vote Of
the subdivision as whole. Although
this law is called local option law.
it is really combination of local op.
ton ard prohibition. 10 certain re
spects tnis new law Of Oregon violates
both the principle and the policy OF
local option, for it enables a country
community to force it's will on d town
or city, and its puts obstacles in the
way Of the community 8 reversal of its
own Judgment. Nevertheless, the law
is in general local option law, and
promises to work in the interest OF
real tempera ance. The other law new
ly established in o egon provides for
direct nomination without the inter-
vention Of nominating conventions.
Popular primaries are hereafter to
precede every election, except for a
vacancy, for presidential candidates,
for municipal Offices in communities
of less than two thousand population
and for school officers. In adopting
the direct primary, Oregon has simp-
ly proceeded on the course which it
took in establishing initiative legisla-
tion-that is, it has gone one step fur
ther in the attempt to transfer power
from the representatives of the people
to the hands of the people themselves. "
'The local option law had a vote of
43,3l6 for to 40, 1913 against, giving it q
majority OF over 5000 in a total vote
of $4,000. The direct primaries law
had a majority OF &c, ZOO in q vote OF
something over $4,000 or a very large
majority.
"The prohibition party secured S, 574
votes for their candidate for supreme
court judge. The temperance senti-
ment secured over 43, 900 votes for q
local option law with strong prohtbi.
tion bras and through direct legisla
tion was able to enact law such as
they rever could have gotten through
any legislature. Mr.. U'R2n writes,
"The campaign against the local op-
tion law was very bitter and the liquor
interests are said to have spent a
great deal of money. Some statements
place it as high as $4,000 and 1 do
not thi1 k they are excessive. The ten.
perance peoples campaign cost, I am
told, from $500 to $4,000.
''Our campaign for the direct pri.
mary nomination law from start to
finish was 81, 1902. Itwas impossible
to such law through the legislature.
A few earnest men enlisted the best
legal talent in the state, far better
than goes to the legislature, raised
the small amount of money necessary,
spent it econc micaly and the people
adopted the law by an overwhelming
me jority, So, POS in favor to 1924
against.
''Atthe same e. ection q CT nstitutiona al
amendment putting the state printer
on a salary was carried by a vote of
Al, 334 in favor and l4,03l against.
1.-The highest number ofelectors ot-
ing for any officer was 90 ,906 and the
total number was 99,3l5. ."-Eltweed
Pomeroy, in the Outlook.
The above is absolute and tangible
proof of what direct legislation will
accomplish in the way of reforms. It
is q well known fact that Kandiyohi
and dozens of other counties in this
state would long ago have settled the
liquor question for good If the ma
jority of the people in the counties
were not disfranchised by the laws
made of. for and by the Whiskev in.