The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-06-11
INITIATIVE AND nrrraDsDUM.


 Into the already much distracted councils of the Democratic Party, some timld souls have felt Mr. Bryan ought not to have injected the new question of initiative and referendum as politi- cal issue. We think. however. that new doctrine. 1t will not appear to be so very new and that it's importance in our politics may be easily overrated. whether 1t is favored or not. The initiative and referendum. singly or to- gether constitute no very great matter. It appears that MT. Bryan with his own rescue ship headed for the relief of the Democratic craft in danger on the breakers has chosen to send up rocket in the shape of the initiative and referendum, to let the world know he is bearing down with help. It is one rocket the more spent, but he hardly means, 1t may be conjectured, to en- deavor seriously to make a national is- sue of an old Swiss and Australian cus- tom.
 @HO tCASioho0iA iioS ocOA HI doO Ai Switzerland for nearly q century and had it's origin there in the absence of representative institutions, The Swiss had not learned to work these and as a compromise they hit on the expedi- ent of submitting certain laws pro- posed by the Council of State to the vote of the people as a body. Some fifty years ago they started the experi- ment of permitting a certain fraction of the people on petition to compel the submission to all the people of pro- posed changes in the laws for ratifica- tion or rejection The. plan has work ed no marveis and in its very nature can work no marvels. There is quantity of worry and bother in it for officials and the voters themselves; so much so in fact that one of the strong est arguments against the system is that relatively few take an interest in the numerous Elections and these are determined favorab1y or unfavorably often times by the voice of a small minority.
 Jubl IIoW tHS HcW oySUCHi ID tO Dt applied nationally, 1t is difficult to con- ceive. It has been applied locally in the States at various times for more than a hundred years.- The national constitution itself was referred for rat ification or rejection to the people of the several States. The last Alabama constitution was 50 referred: and the present Legislature has enacted at least one measure which provides for both the initiative and referendum in respect of counties in settling the liquor question. It is being applied more and more in the selection of Uni ted States Senators and the college to elect a President long ago became mere empty shell. the people deciding in advance By . referendum how the college shall vote. 2
 So we look for no great amount of excitement to be stirred up by the Swiss idea. The worst Mir. Bryan may appfehend is that he will be called a nullifier. The referendum in practice so often results, in Switzer- land at least, in nulllfcation, that shrewd disputants will charge the Ne- braskan with reviving the doctrines of Calhoun: that he is seeking to abridge rather than enlarge legislative powers. The country will await with curios- lty full exposition by Mir. Bryan of his plan to apply the Swiss notions more widely than they are already ap- piled in this country. It is not to be considered he will be content with so bare and bald a statement as he made in his Brooklyn speech. Tn default of more extended statement of the evils the plan is. meant to redress and an explanation of how redress will be worked out. we incline to look on his projection of the initiative and refer endum as simply rocket sent up to in form the party he Is around and talk ing notice. We take no stock in the notion he was merely giving President Roosevelt dare by leaving something valuable exposed to see if the Presi- dent would not run away with 1t.