The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1908-06-25
A REDUcTro AID ABsuRDUM.

A REDUCTIO AID ABSURDUM.
The National Tribune has always
been mildly opposed to the primary,
initiative and referendum and other
modern fads which unthinking persons
are striving to have engrafted upon
/ our political systems. The advocates
of all these are shallow thinkers who
have not studied the history of politics
nor comprehended the real currents in
public thought and the way expert
ments have worked out in the past.
We have not thought it worth while to
could come from their adoption and
actual trial would soon determine their
! uSelessncss. We were, therefore, glad
when oregon and Oklahoma adopted
the initiative and referendum and when
other States adopted the primary sys-
tenn. Nothing beats a trial and any
| demonstration is worth a limitless
amount of eXpounding and argument.
A funny demonstration of this has
come in most unexpected way and
from a most unexpected source. That
Industrious and sclf-pushing dema-
! gogue, Tom l.. Johnson, Mayor of
Cleveland. has been one of the fore
most advocates Of the initiative and
referendum in the country and he has
| lifted his voice constantly and loud for
it as panacea for all real and mag
eliminated his long three-cent fare
campaign in Cleveland by an arrange
ment which many of his best friends
| denounce as selling the city gold
brick. 1t has seriously injured, if not
| destroyed, the prestige which Johnson
| has hitherto enjoyed to a remarkable
| degree among the voters of Cleveland
and there has been a call for referen-
dunn to pass upon the transaction. So
strong was the dissatisfaction that
there was no trouble in getting the re-
quired number of petitions for the ref
erendum, much to Johnscn's disgust
He is now trying to defeat the refer
| dunn and recover some of his prestige,
and has taken the unusual step of
sending out a postal card to the voters
of the city which reads:
(Facsimile)
Cleveland. o., June 1, 1908
1. Did you sign the petition? (Yes
OF MOI
2. If you aid sign, why are you dis
satisfied with settlement. .......
.'....... .-..........- ........
Very truly yours
No. 217SS.
8. If you did sign but On fuller in
formation or reflection do not desire
the signature to be counted, sign the
! following: ~
II hereby revoke and cancel my sig
nature upon the petition presented to
the Council on May 25, 1908, for a
| referendum on Ordinance No. 1929.
.........--. Name
In other words Mr.. Johnson does not
propose that the referendum shall re-
fer. He wants to go on with the agi-
| tation. This swift dissent, this quick
reputation OF his fad is highly anus
ing to staid conservatives like The Ma
tional Tribune, which has seen many
political nostrums tried and their
worthlessness demonstrated Experi-
ence has demonstrated to all practical
men that the safest and sanest way of
procedure in our political system is to
have regular set times for considering
political matters, having the people
reused up then to an active discussion
| of the reforms that should be made,
the matters that should be remedied
and the men who should be elected
Then, after a full discussion of these
! have a decision at the polls and the
| people allowed to turn their attention
| to other matters until the Tina came
! for another discussion and settlement.
/ The new fads work badly and must in
evitably work badly because they never
admit of an actual positive settlement
! for given time, but keep the people
constantly wrought up over possibili-
ties and probabilities. This is preju-
dicidI, since people become tired of con-
slant agitation. of eternal unrest. They
| lose their interest in the questions that
are presented when new one is
! sprung upon them every week or two,
and the consequences are that the pop
ular verdict is not as weN considered
! anu ueti5he DIS IL NOulu De WileH CIec-
| tions occur only at widely separated
| intervals and the decisionss arrived at
must be accepted until the next cam
| paign.
A good Illustration Of this was af-
! forded by a fad which peryaded the
country a half century ago to divorce
| local matters from National politics.
! Ohio. Indiana and some other States
carried this division to the last extreme
in having the Township and Municipal
elections in the Spring, the State cleo
tions in October and the National cleo
| tionS in November 1t was preached
at the time with seeming show of
truth that politics should not enter
into the local elections, but the best
man should be elected without regard
to party. This expectation never came
! anywhere near being realized and its
worst effect was that it kept the people
stirred up by the frequent elections,
and the best class of citizens having
! other strong interests to engross their
attention could not be gotten to take
an interest in SO many different crises