Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-02-15
HOUSE

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Ueland's initiative and referendum BILL
No. rs, which came up under special
orders Thursday afternoon, and during
the los minutes there was a good deal
of talking and nearly at the end Mr..
Burdick, the ambitious and thoughtful
young member from Cavalier county.
had the temerity to get up and in a
retort SHE'D at the youthful member
from Grand Forks, JIM. Anderson, said
there had been a good deal Of talk on
the bill but little had been said
After the disposal Of some routine
matter the house went into committee.
of the whole and Speaker Twichell
called Mr.. Piper of Cass county to the
chair. 1t was not long before the house
chamber became the magnet of the
whole capitol building and in a little
while the space beyond the bar was
filled with persons elbowing each other
to, gain positions so that every word
could be heardA-tlle overflow went into
the gallery. 4. @,| I. q. n.
A minority report of the committee
ON state affairs to which the bill had
been referred recommended the elm
nation Of the clauses in the bill which
provided for the submitting of amend
ments to the constitution with other
matters under the plan of the initiative
and referendum
Mr.. LELAND made forceable appeal
for the passage of his concurrent reso-
luton asking for an amendment to sec
ton rs, article IL, of the constitution,
which now consists of just thirteen
kWords He contended that the people
ought to have more to say on the ques-
ton of appropriations of different kinds
and also on the subject of public fran
chises of all descriptions. The people
| ought to have absolute control of leg
islative acts rninorities have some
! rights. The minority ought to have
more opportunity for progressiveness.
! The author of the bill, which is said
to be nearly a copy of the law now in
force in Oregon, certainly made clear
and comprehensive argument for the
interesting principle he was advocating,
and he displayed an honest earnestness
1 in all he had to say.
a. Mr.. Stevens had lots of fun out of
! the debate and seemed to know what
was coming. He said there were just
/ two subjects before; the committee of
the whole and the members had their
choice. One was the bill unan1ended
and the bill amended, and providing
for the cutting out of the feature of
!. the bill providing for the submitting of
any proposed changes to the people. In
other words to let the present method
/ of changing the constitution stand as
4 it is. z.--l:3
i o. $P. N. Anderson moved that the
committee amendments be adopted. -
Mr.. Streeter said he knew how the
initiative and referendum worked in
connection with the Typographical
union; that for a quarter of a century
every printer from one end of this
country and Canada to the other had a
voice in saying whether he approved of
1 the. acts Of the national union or not.
He should vote for the bill, for nothing
they could do would be SO effective in
4 stamping out bossism as would nea.
sure like this a: ss5z. s 4
Mr.. TWichell said he had been in
! the position where he once was the
4 only republican in the house at former
assemblies voting for the principle OF
l 1.-The Initiative and referendum firm
lily believed in it as "a principle then and
he did today, only more SO. But in his
Judgment the bill should not be con
sidered segregated but as a. whole prin-
Iciple Il RI 4 ..l y. .5.
Q. P. N. Anderson declared that next
! to- the book of books the constitution
Of the state came next in Importance
Ito the people Of this state and it was
too important to be amended by petit
/ ton. f355.4
] Mr.. LELAND read a long letter from
Professor Aaker Of Fargo, one time
mayor of Moorhead Mr.. Aaker wrote
that the passage of the bill would be
I the death blow to machine politics and
bossism. He also referred TO the effect
I the initiative and referendum would
have on prohibition and he had no hest
| fancy in saying that if the prohibition
y law could not stand the test after a
trial Of two decades, which would be
the case before the Bill now under con-
sideration became law, why the law
4 should be repealed.
], NJ, Anderson, Grand Forks, warm
aily said that he should support the mea-
sure and he should do it because he
1 knew that corporate interests infested
all legislatures to a larger or lesser ex-
tent and that was the trouble with Our