The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1911-04-28
Is the Initiative Device InxaIidl

III case now pending in the Fedora
lsupreme Court, in which the Pacific
States Telephone and Telegraph Com
pany Of Oregon is plaintiff. the initia
tive is attacked underline clause Of the
Constitution declaring that the United
States shall guarantee to every State il
this Union a republican form Of govern
ment.
In those States which have adopted
the initiative device in one form or an
other the definition Of the word repub-
lican as used in this clause has fire.
quently been the subject Of argument
by lawyers. Probably most Iaymen
have regarded these arguments as rather
fantastic and far-ietched. In the pop
uIar view they have merely presented
examples Of ingenuity in professional
casuistry. In the early days Of the
Union hundreds of instances occurred
which might be cited as showing that
in common usage republican" had al
most precisely the same meaning as
democratic" in distinction from mon
archial government rule.
However. the view that attaches a
special significance to the word 'repub-
lican'' as describing a Government by
representatives Of the people as distin-
guished from government en- masse, or
a pure democracy, is not at all without
authority. Writers and speakers who
are particular about exactness Of ex-
preston have always observed the dis
tinction. In an article displaying. much
learning, which was printed in The
North American Review several months
ago, Horace III. Lurton showed that the
division of our Government into legisla-
tive, executive and judicial departments
was derived from principle enunciat-
ed and strongly advocated by Monies
quien. In discussion ON the source
from which other principles adopted by
the Republic were derived this passage
appears in the Lurton article;
The idea of an absolute democracy
found no favor whatever However
valuable or desirable direct popular leg
islation may be in small community
of intelligent, conservative citizens, the
notion was universally regarded as alb
solutely unavoidable on any large scale.
Hence the model upon which the State
and Federal Governments was consti-
tuted was that OF representative con-
stitutional democracy and the guarantee
to each State Of a republican form Of
government found in the Federal Con-
refers obviously to the charac-
ter Of republican government which
then existed, a form inconsistent with
The pure or absolute democracy
The significance of this passage is
found in the fact that since it was
written Mr.. Lurton has become MEM
Der Of the Supreme Court that will pass
N the case originating in an Oregon tax
imposed by an initiative law on tele-
,hone and telegraph property. Evi-
lently the point on which the initiative
$ attacked is to be taken much more
than heretofore. The point
vas raised before the Oregon Supreme
Jourt some years ago, but was dismissed
S having no validity whatever.
This guarantee of republican form
i government" is, any way, one Of the
most indefinite provisions in the whole
Not only is there fail
re to tell what is to be understood by
republican" government, but no par
ocular branch Of the Federal organiza-
ion is charged with the duty of fulfill
lg the guarantee and the manner Of
nforcing it is not prescribed
Perhaps this case will afford an inter-
rotation, determining whether it means
nything more than perpetual prohi-
ition of the monarchical principle. -
t. Louis Republic.