The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1907-08-03
ELLIOT Of !
HARVARD GETS RIGHT
Advocate Of Open Shop and
Strike Breakers Possesses
One Popular Thought.
Come Out Most Forcibly in Favor
of the Principle Of Direct
Legislation.

A modified form Of the referendum
is under consideration in Massachu-
sets. and the Springfield Republican
| in advocating its adoption quotes
President Eliot Of Harvard in support
of that great democratic step. Presi-
| dent Eliot is not supposed to belong
| to the "unrestful" He is not regarded
| anywhere as an agitator or as an "un-
desirable citizen" And he is known
| to be a pretty close student of affairs.
| In a public address on the subject of
direct legislation Dr. Eliot said at Bos-
| ton:
Nov, what has been the great cry
ing evil in American political life in
the past 40 years? 1t has been secret
| been used tarkly concerning important
| legislation and great problems. We all
know that the public press is subject
to secret, evil influences, Do We. not
| all know how the money power is
! exercised In the legislature by men de-
! terrnined to foster their own interests
| by the use of this money, or to retard
| and prevent legislation inimical to
those selfish interests? The develop
! ment of the money power in our coun-
try has been most formidable. Not
| only In the legislature itself, but in the
committee rooms, where important
| measures are first considered, is this
money power secretly at work. These
things are perfectly we'll known by
! every Intelligent American citizen"
But It is commended by other papers
| that these secret tnf1uencea would con-
tinue to prevail, that corruption would
continue, that agitators would employ
the referendum for sinister purposes
| and that the business or government
would be paralyzed by feather Drained
| ag1tators and splenetic busybodies. A
different view appears to prevail where
the referendum is in actual operation
and has been tried out sufficiently to
| demonstrate it's workings. Take this
testimony from the Portland Orego-
MAN. This paper is perhaps the
ablest Republican paper west Of the
Missouri river. It is conservative and
by no means given to faddism. Yet
| it gives unqualified endorsement to the
referendum system as it has been on
trial In Oregon for some years. It
| says:
1T Is one Of the greatest merits of
the Initiative and referendum that it
| makes possible clear separation be-
tween local and national issues. I'm
der the old system. which still pre-
walls In most of the States, the people
could express their opinion upon such.
| matter as the Barlow road purchase
only by their choice of legislators. In
determining this choice numerous
| other questions necessarily played
part. Which party the candidate be-
| longed to, how he stood on .Ae local
| option question, upon woman suffrage
and many other matters, would all
unite to confuse the mind Of the voter.
| and he could never express himself
clearly. directly and exclusively upon
| any particular point. The method OF
the initiative and referendum permits
each voter to express entirely by itself
and without admixture Of personal or
partisan bias. It absolutely separates
| the, business department Of legislation
from the personal and partisan side.
| Suppose, for example, that a GER
tain Republican voter was opposed to
the Barlow road purchase while the
! Republican candidate for the legisla-
ture from his district was in favor of
| 1t. Under the old system he could not
vote Tor his opinion upon this matter
| OF pure business without voting
| against his party. This was a real
misfortune, and it greatly contributed
| to dishearten the common man with
politics. 1t made politics seem to him
| hopelessly complicated game-baf-
fling, Intellectual, futile. 1t was all
promise and no performance. Under
| the Oregon system the voter acts d.
| rectly upon results. The Individual
| citizen feels his manhood as he could
| not under the purely representative
method"
The Importance Of this consideration
can hardly be overestimated. No OBJ
serving man has failed to note how
often a good cause has failed, not be-
cause people were opposed, but be-
cause 1t so happened that it could not
be supported without apparent party
disloyalty. Under the referendum all
| this is avoided. Voters must do their
own thinking. They must make up
their own minds. And they can not
confuse the question with the person.
a1ity of a candidate or the indentity
| OF a party. It will do more to stimu-
late genuine good citizenship than all
| the civic clubs that ever were organ
| tied.
ALWAYS THE POLITENESs.