Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1910-10-08
PHOENIX, ARIZONA, OCT S, 1910
The Oregon BacksIiders.


papers of Oregon are discussing the
troubles which viii confront the peo-
pie of the Webfoot state in the forth
coming election reminds US that a
like happy condition of affairs will
soon be reached by the people of Ari-
IONA IF we get statehood)-that hap
Ply period in which the sovereign citi-
zen, laying aside for a moment the
cares and vexations Of his business,
will step into the voting booth, and in
the helpful surroundings thereof Will
do his own legislating a
minute, more or less.
Before US, for example, is the Port
land Oregonian, one of the original
and most ardent advocates of the
initiative and referendum" The Ore
gonian complains somewhat savagely
that the ballot which is to be marked
by the Oregon electors will be a
wagon bed" ballot; that is TO say,
they must take a sheet of ballot pa
per, the size of a farm wagon bed.
of the voting booth. then and there
pass upon the merits of some forty
laws and constitutional amendments
which have been submitted for ap-
proval or disapprovaL
The Oregonian in the number be-
fore us cites one of the pending con-
stitutional amendments as a specimen
of the brain racking problems which
the voters of Oregon must decide
when they mark their ballots. It
quotes the following tumble of words
as describing officially on the ballot
this amendment:
For an amendment to article ",
constitution of oregon, increasing
initiative, referendum and recall pow
ers Of the people; restricting use Of
emergency clause and veto power on
state and municipal legislation; re-
curing proportional election of men,
bers of the legislative assembly from
the state at large, annual sessions and
increasing members salaries and
terms of office; providing for cleo
tions of speaker of house and presi-
dent of senate outside of members;
restricting corporate franchises to 20
years; providing SO penalty for I'M
excused absences from any roll call,
and changing the form Of oath of Of
flee to provide against so-called leg
islative g-rolling"
The OregOnian reproduces this
single title in order to reassure the
eastern papers that have assumed
that the Oregon papers were speak
ing humorously when they referred
to the great mixture of legislation
which the Oregon voters must dispose
of at the coming election. There is.
of course, no joke about it. Not only
this amendment but others, and nu-
merous laws must be passed upon by
the voters
AS a matter of fact, however, to
pass upon this great and complex
program of legislation and constitu-
tional amendments will be as easy
for the Oregon voter as rolling off
log All he has to do is to shut his
eyes and mark on the ballot where
soever his hand wanders. And the
result, from this method of deciding,
will be quite as creditable to his judg-
ment as if he were to give some min
utes to the consideration of the nu-
merous laws proposed.
This is the age of speed, and Ore
gon and Arizona have appropriately
decided to be up with the times The
antiquated system of considering bills
and amending and thrashing them
into acceptable shape in a sixty-day
conference of representatives from all
parts of the state, is properly thing
of the past. To be sure, somebody
must Introduce" the bills But that
job will be attended to with alacrity
and cheerfulness by gentlemen who
have special axes to grind. These
gentlemen will frame the bills in the
secrecy OF back offices, hire petition
toters" to get the bills started on the
Initiative" plan, and thereafter all
will be lovely.
These Oregon people who have
reached the conclusion that they made
a grievous mistake in becoming pro
gressive" are not properly apprecia-
tive of their good fortune.