The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1905-03-23
A Popular Reform

widespread and decided hold on the
people as has the idea of the initiative
and referendum. 1t seems to be as
popular with the reformers as with the
mass of the people. There are few of
the former, no matter to what school
they belong, who do not favor govern
ment by the people, in fact as well as
in theory. The advocates of socialism,
single tax, municipal ownership, gov
eminent ownership and other civic re-
forms, however much they may differ
on points Of their several schools of
thought, all agree that the methods of
government for which they stand
should be democratically administered.
1t is the proud boast of the American
people that they now have demo
cratic form of government; what we
really have is a representative form
of government, springing, to be sure,
from the people, but having strong
plutocratic tendencies 1t is essentially
democratic only in the feature that
the system is changeable, at the will
of the people, if they will but act, but
in its actual every day operations this
government simply means the turn
ing out of one set of exploiting, graft
greedy OfficehOlders only to put in an
other set. Who will pretend to say
that under our present system the peo-
pie have control over their public Of
ficials during their incumbency? They
have absolutely no control over such
officials, and it is quite probable that
they will not have until they adopt the
initiative and referendum, or some
equivalent method by which they may
retain control of the public business.
All important, too, is the power of the
recall by which public servants may
be reprimanded or discharged. 1t is
getting to be palmer every day that a
democratic government can not be ad-
ministered demOcratically, unless the
people hold in their hands at all times
and available for instant use the tools
of democracy.
It is a mistake to suppose that the
initiative and referendum is opposed to
representative government. Under
every system of civic administration,
there must be men chosen to attend
to the public business; but they should
be truly representative, and their
service should at all times be subject
to the command and the approval or
disapproval of those whom they repre-
sent. We are far from such Situa
ton now Our public officials may at
present give away valuable franchises,
abolish elections, increase taxation,
sQuander the public funds, arbitrarily |
lengthen terms of officers already in /
cumbent, buy public property at a high |
price and sell it at low price, and
do many other things of which the |
people disapprove, but which they are
powerless to prevent. All the people |
can do is to wait year or two and |
turn their faithless servants out of Of
flee, their pockets bullying with corrup-
ton money, and elect in their stead |
another set to repeat the performance
and establish more vested rights" for i
rich widows and orphans" to worry
about and draw dividends on.
The experience of hundreds of com.
munities in the United States during
the past dozen years shows that it is
very easy to buy representatives and
very difficult to buy the people. We
can talk, therefore, until doomsday
about political corruption, but SO long
as we supinely fail to apply the rem
edy, the evils of which we complain
will flourish. Popular initiative and
is apparently the only safe
guard in sight, the only cure for politi-
cal corruption; and, happily, the peo-
pie are coming to see it. In Oregon
it has gained firm foothold, like
wise in Illinois, and especially in Chi
cago. A few days ago democratic
mayor was elected in the strong repub-
!ican city of .Johnstown. Pa, simply on
the issue of the initiative and referen-
dunn, and in Chester like miracle hap
pened, not on the initiative and refer
endum, but on the plain question of
popular rule, thereby affording one
more indication of the fact that the
whole country is ripe for proposition
that places control of government alb
and directly in the hands OF
the people. The bill now before our
own legislature, providing for popular
instruction to members of the legisla-
ture, is designed as step in this di-
rection, and it ought to be passed
uy;tho1,t q diccontipo vOico -T,ho Ctor