Perth Amboy evening news., 1907-03-20

4777S to 1876.
A measure prohibiting the giving |
of passes by railroad companies and .
public service corporations was adop- |
ted by vote of 81 .2S1 10 1919. |
An act requiring sleeping car COM
panies, refrigerator ear companies
and oil companies to pay an annual
4 license tax based upon their gross
earnings was adopted by the people
by vote of ,536 to GAO.
\ Another act requiring express COM
panies and telegraph and telephone
companies TO pay tax on their gross
earnings was adopted by a vote of
64,512 to $3.50.
Just now the political machinists
through the state are trying to work
up sentiment TO have the legislature
call a constitutional convention. The
object of this proposed convention,
says the Portland (Oregon )Tele-
gram, is to make 1t more difficult to
submit matters to a vote of the peo-
pie by initiative and referendum.
The argument being advanced by
the machine politicians for this pro-
posed emascuation of the system Is
that the peoples right to have a vote
in their own affairs is costing too
] llilG4i lNOlf4 anu " saw oCihN VI
the money spent in elections on ques-
tioas there should be less freedom
allowed in submitting questions.
Tinkeripg With the System.
II is significant of the influence or
the corporations and machine politi-
clans that the press associations ig
nored the voting on questions in Orc
gon this year. as these associations
and the corporation and machine
press OF the country generally ignore
all news concerning the progress of
the initiative and referendum idea;
as they have ignored the fact that in
six states of the union the system is
established, and that 107 members
of the next House of Representatives
are pledged to support bills for es-
tablishing it nationally; as they ut
terly ignored the fact that in Della
ware last fall the people voted for an
initiative and referendum law by 4
vote of to l. and that the legisla-
lures in Massachusetts and Maine
will adopt such laws this winter,
while the legislature in PENNSYLVANIA
is likely TO do the same.
What the conservative view of the
peoples rule system in Oregon is may
be judged from the following editor
ial, which, under the heading ''Vox
Populi,' appeared in the Portland
Oregonian, one of the leading and
representative republican papers of
that state, soon after the election
last summer:
The questions balloted upon by di-
rect vote were not party issues. They
stood or fell upon their merits alone.
They were studied without factional
prejudice. and decided, me may fairly
suppose, solely with reference to the
public good.
Ii is one of the greatest merits of
the initiative and referendum that ii
makes possible clear separation be-
tween local and national issues. I'M
der the older system, which still pre-
walls in most of the states, the peo-
pie could express their opinion upon
such matter as the Barlow toll road
purchase only by their choice of leg
islators. In determining his choice,
numerous other questions necessar-
lily play q part. Which party the
candidate belonged to, how he stood
on the local option question, upon
woman suffrage, and many other
matters, would all unite to confuse
the mind of the voter. and he could
lG VI tADIbSS Hlul9tlI tl0dIlNf ulItEiiN
and exclusively upon any particular
point. The method of the initiative
and referendum permits each voter
to express his individual opinion up
on every question standing entirely
by itself, and without admiXture of
personal or partisan bias.
Genuine Democracy.
1t absolutely separates the business
department of legislation from the
personal and partisan side. Suppose,
for example, that a certain republican
voter were opposed to the Barlow
road purchase, while the republican
lcandidate from his district was in fa-
vor of it. Under the old system he
could not vote his opinion upon this
matter of pure business without vot-
ing against his party. This was a
real misfortune, and it greatly con-
tributed to dishearten the common
man with politics. 1t made politics
seem to him hopelessly complicated
game-bafiling Intellectual futile. It
was all promise and no performance
Under the Oregon system the voter
acts directly upon results. The indi-
vidual citizen feels his manhood as
he could not under the purely repre-
sentative system.
The heavy vote upon the questions
submitted to the referendum, and
the decisive majorities by which they
were accepted or rejected, proved
that the Oregon system has solved
the problem of interesting the voters
in the dry details of government.
Hitherto they have shown little inter
est in those matters, because their
opinion was only of indirect and
doubtful consequence. In this cleo
tiOn the vote upon abstract laws and
matter Of pure finance was quite as
large and enthusiastic as upon the
governor The referndum bills and
the amendments were discposed of by
! majorities ranging from 10000 tc
10000 showing that the people had
studied them and definitely made VI
their minds. small, scattering, in
different vote might well have dis
couraged the advocates of direct leg
islation and would have indicated
that the task of interesting the plain
people in government details was
hopeless. The opposite result is pro-
portionately encouraging