United labor bulletin., 1910-10-20
WHY POPULAR GOVERNMENT SHOULD
Be SECURED FOR ALL THE PEOPLE
The Operation the Initiative and referendum Oregon Cost Send
ing Proposed Laws To Referendum. Popular Laws That
Have Been Secured in This Way

SltiLcnoAlps AdkACtss lut IlkuI 10
pate in government is protected, and
dead men, repeaters, and non-residents
can no longer be5voted in Oregon.
Oregon's next step in popular govern
ment was the adoption of the initiative
and referendum amendment to the con-
stitution, which amendment was adopted
in June. 1902, by vote of 62,024 to S..
66S. 1t provides that legislative author.
lity shall be vested in legislative as.
sembly. but that the people reserve to
themselves the power to propose laws
and amendments 10 the constitution and
to enact or reject the same at the polls
Independent of the legislative assembly
and also reserve power to approve or re.
ject at the polls ANY act of the legisla.
ture. An initiative petition must be
signed by eight per cent of the legal
voters as shown by the vote of supreme
judge at the lastlpreceding general elec.
tion, and filed wit the secretary of state
not less than four months before the
election. A referendum petition need be
signed by only five per cent. of the voters
and filed with the secretary of state
within ninety days after final adjourn
ment of the Legislature which passed the
l Jill OA WhANh UT iclSiSAQQm 10 uC-
manded The legislature may itself re-
fer to the people any act passed by it.
The veto power Of the governor does not
extend to any measure referred to the
people.
In addition to the publicity incident
to the circulation of the petitions, the
law provides that the secretary of state
shall. at the expense of the state, mail
I, to every registered voter in the state a
printed pamphlet containing a true copy
of the title and text of each measure to
be submitted to the people. and the pro-
ponents and opponents of the law have
the right to insert in said pamphlet, at
the actual cost to themselves of paper
and printing onk, such arguments as
they see fit to make These pamphlets
must be mailed hot later than fifty-five
days before a general election and
| twenty days before special election
The initiative develops the electorate
palcing directly upon them the response
bility for legislation enacted under its
provision; the referendum elevates the
legislature because of the possibility OF
its use in case of undesirable legislation
Brains. ideas and argument, rather than
money. intimidation, and log-rolling. gov
ern the standards of legislation.
Since that amendment was adopted
the people OF Oregon have voted upon
twenty-three measures submitted to them
under the initiative, five submitted un-
der the referendum. and four referred
to the people by the legislature. Nine
election That the people acted intelli-
gently is evident from the fact that in
no instance has there been general dis
satisfaction with the result of the vote.
The measures submitted presented al.
most every phase of legislation, and
some of them were bills of considerable
length
Results attained under direct legisla.
ton in Oregon compare so favorably
with the work of legislative assembly
that an effort to repeal the initiative
and referendum would be overwhelming
ly defeated. No effort has ever been at.
tempted.
II has been asserted that the people
will not study large number of meas
ures, but will vote in the affirmative. re.
gardless of the merits of measures sub
mitted. Experience in Oregon has dis.
proved this. for the results show that
the people have exercised discriminating
judgment They have enacted laws and
have adopted constitutional amendments
in which they believed and have de-
feated those of which they did not ap-
prove.
will give two concrete illustrations:
Under the initiative in 1904 local
option liquor law was adopted by vote
of 1876 to 40.1s4. Two years later the
opponents of the local option law pro
posed an amendment in their interest