The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1906-05-10
Initiative and Referendum.
From the Journal of the House, END Legislature Of Main

80 days certain rights are granted to
the people. 1t follows, "Any act, If
ten per cent of the voters calculated
upon the vote at the preceding gen
eral election for governor, not more
than Is per cent of whom shall be
from any one county, by petition sign
ed and filed with the secretary of
State within said time, shall 80 re-
quest, shall be submitted to- the peo-
pie, on Il ballot by itself, not later
than the next general election and
shall only go into effect 10 days after
the governor and council canVassing
the vote thereon shall declare a ma
iority of the votes upon such act to
have been cast therefor"
Now, after it has been passed and
ten per cent of the people sign pc
tition, then it must go to the people
to pass upon that law as to whether
or not they want it. Now, gentle
men, is that right? What is the fun
damental principle, the bed rock, and
the foundation stone upon which a
true republic or true democracy is
based. 1t is a government by, for
and of the people. 1t does not inter
fere with our representative govern
ment in any respect. 1t simply goes
a step further than it has up to the
present time and increases the rights
of all the people of the State. When
was the Child of Liberty first born,
as it were, and where? 1t was when
the barons of England confronted
King John at Runnymede and de-
manded certain rights and privileges
for the people, that no longer would
they submit to the tyrannical rule of
king without any rights whatever
but the single declaration of king
that such and such should be the law.
| say, gentlemen, then and there was
born the Child of Liberty; it was then
and there that the parents of that
child, the barons of England, Wrung
from King John that great charter,
the Magma Charta, under which and
to which every republic and every
people now have to go and find in
that charter the principles that give
to us the liberties of today.
Now, Mr.. Speaker and Gentlemen
of the House, what does this bill ask
for? 1t simply asks that you still give
to the people of the State of Maine
more rights for themselves the law
by which they shall be ruled; it refers
to the people the laws passed by this
Legislature, and why shouldn't 1t?
Some gentlemen have said i'll CONVEX
sation with me, why, we are sent
here by our constituents to pass laws,
and we know better than they do
what they want 1t was wise say
ing of Abraham Lincoln and which
has been SO often quoted that the
good plain people of this land are
safe to rule it - And do you, Mr..
Speaker and gentlemen, propose to
say to the people of the State of
Maine that you know better what
they want than they themselves
know? Do you propose to say by
your vote here that the people Of the
good old State of Maine do not know
what kind of laws they want to live
under? Do you assume yourselves TO
be superior to the men who sent You
here? say that the people OF the
State of Maine are able and capable
of Judging for themselves what kind
of law they want to live under. In
the hurry and rush of term of this
Legislature where there have been
considered between 500 and 900 bills
introduced into this House and be-
tween 200 and 300 introduced into the
Senate, making about 700 or 500 bills
that have been considered by those
two branches in the last three months,
wouldn't it be strange if there were
not some laws passed here that were
not only unjust but such as viewed i'll
the moments of reflection during the
80 days that you give to the people
in which to look those laws over
laws made for the people and for
them to say if they see fit that those
laws are not such as they want and
when 10 per cent of the whole people
of the State of Maine take so much
interest in that proposition as to sign
a petition and ask to have that bill or
that act referred to them, do you pro-
pose to say that you will not submit
that question to them? You may ask
who Is behind this bill. Twenty five
thousand petitioners of the labor
unions of the State of Maine 10000
of the grangers of the State of Maine
and $4,000 members of the Civic
League, making total of nearly 30, e.
600 who come here and ask for the
passage of this law. Who is behind
il? The people of the State of Maine
are behind it, regardless of party. 1t
il no party measure; there is no poll
tics in it, but the people of the State
of Maine are demanding it, and they
are demanding it at our hands.
But, sir, some will say, "Why, if
you pass this bill here are some 200
or 300 or 400 or 500 acts that have
gone through this Legislature this
winter, that the people of the State of
Maine will demand that they have a
right to vote upon" Now, that is
not SO; that does not follow; there