The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-06-07
DIRECT GOVERNMENT NEEDED

DIRECT GOVERNMENT NEEDED
1t is noteworthy that President
Taft in his address last week took
occasion to advert to the steady
growth of socialism, going SO far as
to say that the immediate future may
witness a contest in which the right
of private ownership may be an is
sue. There can be no question but
that socialistic ideas are making
steady growth and that the functions
of government are being extended to
include many things which a few
generations ago were left wholly to
individual enterprise. The ownership
and control of gas and electric
plants, of street railway systems. of
waterworks, of theatres by munich
palities indicate socialistic advances.
The strength of socialism lies in
the cities and this is where the bat
tie ground between ndividualism and
socialism will contest for supremacy.
The city has always been the strong
hold of radicalism. In the days of
the reformation, it was in the cities
that Professionalism made it's recruits
and in the struggle between absolut-
ism and constitutional government,
the city led the vanguard for free
dom. The word socialism is begin
ming to loose some of the dread sig
nificance which was once attached
to it by those who confounded it with
anarchy. Today the city of Milwau-
kee has a socialist mayor and France
has a socialists prime minister and
every parliament in Europe has So
cialist group in it.
The thing that has fostered and
is fostering the growth of socialism
in the United States is the failure of
municipal councils, state legislatures
and in a measure our national legis-
lature to protect the public interest
against the rapacity of corporate
greed. 1t is a notorious fact that
bribery has become rampant in city
councils and state legislatures and
the representatives of the people in
those bodies have bartered away val
liable franchises and have conferred
special privileges on corporations
without respect to the wishes of their
constituents. Taxation has grown
apace while industry has become GEN.
tralized in great industrial combines
President Taft would check the
growth of socialism by fixing party
responsibility. This is we'll and good
but there has been party RESPONSE
bility since Washington's second adj
ministration and that has not proved
effective in checking the evils which
are complained of. What is needed
more than anything else in the Unit
ed States today is a more deepseated
feeling of responsibility on the part
of the men who sit in municipal
councils or legislatures to their con-
stftuents This is to be found in
those expedients known as the initia-
tive and referendum and the recall.
If the legislature will not pass a
measure which the people want, let
them petition for it by means of the
initiative. II the legislature passes
q measure which they don't want,
make use of the referendum and let
the people pass upon it directly. II
a public official proves recreant to
his duty, let the people dismiss him
from office.
These expedients are now being
made use of to make municipal coun-
ellis responsive to the public Will,
and in some states they are being
effectively used to make state legls-
latures respect popular wishes. The
fact that the people possess the ma
chinery to make their will effective
is the best expedient yet devised 10
check corruption in legislative coun-
ellis. The most effective check to the
growth of a radical socialism is to be
found in giving the people more ai-
rect control in governmental afralrs.