The Greeley tribune., 1910-11-17
INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
LAW is NOW IN OPERATION

BY the vote of the people of Colo
RADIO the amendment to section l OF
article V of the state constitution
will become operative. 1t is the
amendment generally known as the
initiative and referendum, because
it gives to the people the authority
to initiate laws and it refers back
for their consideration laws passed
by the general assembly, when per
cent of the voters want them so re-
ferred The amendment as passed
by the extraordinary session was to
become operative as soon as the re~
turns showed that a majority had
voted for it's adoption.
Friends of the reform amendment
thoroughly scanned its possible vul-
nerable spots before 1t was submitted
to the people. Attorney John H.
Gabriel made a special study of the
amendment and it is his belief that
the method of its adoption cannot
legally be attacked but that the
amendment itself may be attacked
on the supposition that 1t is In con-
travention of rights guaranteed by
the federal constitution. Mr.. Gabriel
does not agree with this contention.
but has studied the arguments ad-
vanced by an express company in the
state Of Oregon which has carried to
the supreme court of the United
States an appeal from taxation I'M
posed under a law initiated by the
voters OF Oregon.
Moses Hallett attacks the method
of adopting the amendment. but Mr.
Gabriel says that friends OF the niti-
alive and referendum are not worried
about the legal standing of his argu-
ment. Hailett says that the amend
ment should not properly have been
submitted to the voters until 1t had
appeared in the session laws. He re-
lies on section Of article 19 Of the
state constitution for support of his
argument. That section provides
that proposed amendments "shall be
published with the laws OF that ses-
sion of the general assembly, and.
continuing, says that they shall be
advertised in at least one newspaper
in every county for four successive
which members of the next general
assembly shall be chosen. The news
paper advertising was done In ac-
cordance with the law, but the laws
OF the extra session have not yet
been published Mr. Gabriel says
that the constitution does not say
when the amendments shall be pub
lished in the session laws and that
the publication may be made at any
time. The law gives the governor
thirty days after the adjournment of
the legislature to sign or veto meas
ures passed, and until he has acted
on them the session laws cannot be
published. There are two laws pass
ed by the extra session which are
not yet acted upon by the governor,
and, therefore, the volume cannot be
prepared.
The states which have adopted the
initiative and referendum are going
ahead and making their laws just as
If the supreme court OF the United
States had not been invoked. A de-
cision of the Oregon case is expected
some time next spring. Oregon un
dertook to make law taxing tele-
phone, telegraph and express COM
panies on their earnings instead of
on their physical property, and one
express company attacked the con-
stitptionality of the amendment
which gave the voters this power 1t
was held that 1t was in conflict with
section of article ~ of the federal
constitution, which says: THE
United States shall guarantee to
every state in this union a republi-
can form of government and shall
protect each of them against invas-
ion; and ION application OF the leg