East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1905-05-04
BigeIow Cries Out
Against the Boss

Last sunday at the Vine Street Com
gregational church in Cincinnati, the |
pastor, Herbert S, Bigelow. spoke
from the text: "And whosoever would
be first among you shall be your SER
want" He said in part:
In those words Jesus announced
principle which is rapidly being in
troduced into American politics The
application of this principle to Amer
lean life means the beginning of the
end of boss rule" If the author of
/ these words had lived in Cincinnati.
] instead of Jerusalem, if he had spoken
yesterday instead of 1000 years ago.
| he could not have said anything more
| searching,
/ This is the foundation idea of
free government, that government Of
! ficials are public servants. When that
principle is lost, the forms of free
/ dom may remain but the substance is
gone.
Yet what is the situation in Ameri-
ca today? 1t may be described by
substituting the word Americans for
the word Gentiles in this sentence of
Jesus: "Ye know that the rulers of
the Americans lord it over them, and
their great ones exercise authority
over them"
Do we not know it? Current his
tory is furnishing abundant evidence.
We may take a single illustration, how
the legislature of Ohio lorded it over
tho nannla Of tho
A bill was passed. known as the
Rogers law. That bill gave to coun-
cilmen the authority to grant 5O-year
franchises to street railway corpora
: tions The bill was unpopular. 1t
, was repealed by the next legislature.
BY electing a legislature pledged to
repeal it, the people put their stamp
of disapproval upon that law. But
before it could be repealed, the Gin
cinnati Traction company took ad-
vantage of the law and got possession
of the streets of the Queen City for
half a century The people were in
dignant but there was no way to pre-
j vent it. The legislature and council
lorded it over us and by their author
: ity not only we. but our children. will
be ruled without our consent and
against our will.
b This was done in republican Ohio.
: But it is not a party question. For
I out in republican Oregon it is differ
!, ent. The politicians had been lord
: ing it over the people of Oregon. The
people agreed with this sentiment of
s Jesus that whoever would be first
e should be servant not master They
determined to amend their constitu-
tion so that they might compel their
: puol.c officials to be servants and do
+ the will of the people and not that OF
S the corporations.
n The Oregon plan is simplicity itself
There, according to their amended
constitution, a law passed by the leg
isature does not go into effect fol
|, 60 days. If during that period, pei
o cent of the people petition to have
the measure submitted to a popular
: vote, it must be submitted not later
e than the next election. If a majority
It of the people vote for the law, il
y stands as the legislature passed it. II
= a majority of the people vote against
the law, it is thereby repealed.
It With the amendment in the Ohio
n constitution, we could have repealed
r. the Rogers law and saved the streets
of Cincinnati With that measure il
: our constitution, we could laugh a
Is the politicians who are plotting t.
N steal the canal of the state and sell i
, to the railroads for their private
profit
l. Let every preacher organize hi
church into a referendum club. LIE
+. these clubs exact of all candidates ;
pledge that if elected, they will vot'
,r to put this oregon plan into effect.
A democrat who will not stand TO
w that measure is a confessed hypocrit
I. and ought to be drummed out of hi
ID party. Oregon has demonstrated tina
the people, if not the politicians, o
the republican party are overwhelm
'e ingly in favor of the measure. 1t i
&c right 1t is simple and easy to get
m Men of all parties can work for it. 1
n is absolutely necessary If we woul'
protect our free institutions from tn
"A reasonable conspiracy into which tn
rs politicians of both parties have enter
Id ed with the franchise-grabbing cor
is porations. This is the issue of issues