The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1905-10-14
A PEACEFUL REVIEW.

A PEACEFUL REVIEW.
George T. Angel, editor OF Our
Dumb Animals, who has done sucn
noble work for the establishment OF
societies for the prevention OF cruelty
to animals. says:
s.In regard to the enormous accu-
mutations of wealth which threaten,
if continued, to place nearly all the
financial power Of the nation In lie"
hands. It seems to us that tnere
must be a stop put to this business
either by peaceful legislation or oy
q vastly more dangerous process.
How can 1t be done peace1ully!
We think way out OF this great
national danger may be 1ouno
through limiting the amount OF prop
ertv which any one person shall be
pernitted to hold, and compelling all
over that sum to be given to charities
or paid into the public treasury for
public Improvements or otherwise.
This cropping in the dark after
remedy for existing evils is pathetlc'
To attempt to limit the amount OF
ones property Is not the way out.
A glance about the world shows that
this is so. Tho remedy for con-
centration of wealth is to terminate
the concentration of political power
terminate the rule of the few
Machine Rule. This the people have
ACCOMPLISHED in Oregon and South
Dakota and Switzerland. They have
taken to themselves a Veto power
and a Direct Initiative, which are
names for a right to use the direct
vote system-the Referendum.
The effect Of the direct-vote system
is vast improvement In very d.
rection, The peoples representatives
are improved The legislative pro-
cedure brings out the truth, legal
privileges are terminated and the tax
laws are revised. These changes
have actually taken place and Switz-
erland is living example, while the
process has commenced in Chicago,
Los Angeles and other referendum
cities, also in Oregon and South Da-
kOta
It follows that the establishment
of the peoples sovereignty Is the
remedy for INSTRUMENTATION.
Brother Angel and all other good
souls who are thinking Of legislation
to arbitrarily limit the accumulation
of wealth are invited to Investigate
the history Of the Referendum.
Under existing conditions the es-
tablishment of national referendum
by direct amendment of the consti-
tuition is an almost hopeless task.
The people must first pledge the ma
tional candidates to establish by act
;of Congress the Advisory Initiative
and Advisory Referendum. This is
the program of the American Fedora
tion of Labor, representing one
eighth the voters of the. country;
and it is the program of the Pennsyl-
vania State Grange, The Peoples
Sovereignty League and many state
leagues.
With the advisory-vote system in
stalled the railways will quickly be
controlled, also the monopolies of
raw material, such as coal and iron
ore. Thus the rebates and other
special privileges of the industrial
trusts can De terminated. Prices TO
consumers would fall and wages
would rise. and with no breaking up
of the large plants. Unification of
industry will continue but firmly con-
trolled in the public interests.
There are peaceful remedies and
will ward off the more dangerous
process that so many patriots fear
and the first step is to rely upon the
good sense of the many instead of
the few. through the Initiative and
Referendum.