The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1906-03-03
THE PEOPLES SOVEREIGNTY
AND IT'S EXERCISES.

is especially needful at this time for
everywhere the people are rising
against machine rule and should
know the seat of the trouble and the
remedy
The supreme earthly power in a
state or nation is termed the SOW
ereign power In order that it shall
reside in the people they must pos
sess an option to vote direct on pub
lie questions, otherwise it is in the
few who control the government,
namely, the party machine, back OF
whom are the managers and cam
paign contributors 1t is machine
rule, also termed boss rule.
The remedy for machine rule and
boss rule is for the people to take to
themselves a right to a direct vote
on public questions. The people then
are the sovereign power and their
elected representatives are mere
agents. Without the peoples right to
direct vote the final power is in
the elected representatives. are
elected rulers. They may pledge as
to how they will exercise their pow
er but they are rulers nevertheless.
The Car gave pledges when indicted
into office yet no one doubts but that
the D0ODle were rnlad
Where the people possess right
to a direct vote it is applied in two
principal ways: TO measures which
the elected representatives have
agreed to, in which case the people
have a veto power-and the people
power is applied to directly initiate
measures-the Direct Initiative it is
termed. The Direct Initiative and
the peoples veto are the two systems
through which tn people exercise
their sovereign power.
Referendum voting in connection
with representative government is Of
two classes, namely, voting on meas
ures that have been passed by body
of elected representatives, and voting
on measures directly proposed by a
portion of the voters. The first is the
Referendum or Peoples Veto, the
latter is the Initiative or Direct Ini-
tiative. 20 ,sa
The Referendum system or peo-
pies veto has two main portions or
branches; the Compulsory Referen-
dunn and Optional Referendum. I'm
der the latter a small per centage of
the voters, usually five per cent, pos
sess an option to demand a referen-
dunn vote and their decision is final,
while the compulsory system is such
that The law declares that action by
elected representatives as to certain
topics shall not become law until
ratified by referendum vote. The OBJ
jections that are frequently urged
against the referendum apply to the
compulsory referendum but not to
the optional system. It is only the
optional form that is being asked for,
The initiative system provided
that a small proportion of the vot-
ers, usually eight per cent, may pro-
pose bills or constitutional amend
ments, which should be filed with the
representatives for public hearing,
debate and the consideration of COM
peting measures; after which the
original bill and the measure favored
by the representative is submitted
to direct vote of the people who
take their choice or reject both. The
mere existence of this power in the
people is effective. Few bills are
directly initiated, for the system COM
bined with the peoples veto, changes
the power and character OF the elect
ed representatives, and when they
assemble as legislators there is an
elimination Of graft due to the final
power in the people.
The representative system combin-
ed with that of the peoples veto and
direct initiative is Guarded Repre-
Sentative Government-the peoples
sovereignty is guarded. Guarded rep
resentative government is new
thing in the world, and, being an
evolution from the less perfect sys-
TEN, is certain to spread throughout
the world.
Guarded Representative Govern
ment tends to an ideal civilization,
for the laws tend toward equal rights
to all and special privileges to none ::
also the abolition of child labor, pub
lie ownership of natural monopolies,
and an elevation of the plane of
competition. All citizens are bene-
fitted, for all rise to the higher plane
OF existence. It is a new order OF
civilization, due to the fact that the
people Of eatscit ties, states and ma