Omaha daily bee., 1911-02-21
Initiative,
Referendum
and Recall
The Outlook. New York.

The outlook cannot declare itself with
equal expncitness on the referendum, the
initiative and the recall. They are stiu
in the experimental stage. The results in
Switzerland. where they have had con
siderable trial. and IN oregon. where the
referendum and the initiative have appar-
emily worked we'll in a rural community.
are not so conclusive as to prepare us TO
urge their universal and unqualified &C
ceptanoe. The same thing may be said as
TO the successful application Of the recall
in Los Angeles. Il is true, however, that
they are not doctrinaire proposals.; they
have produced some good results where
tried, and deserve serious consideration.
All three may be roughly described as
devices to make the machinery OF popular
government more Immediately responsive
to the popular Will The effect OF all three
il TO remove some Of the brakes and hin
ORANGES which our fathers thought neces-
sary to prevent the hasty errors which
might be produced by popular prejudice
and popular passion. The political his
tory OF America indicates that democracy
is less liable to sudden gusts Of passion
and prejudice than our fathers anticipated
! Practically all Americans are agreed
d
successfully employed IN certain cases.
IT is almost universally used IN the case of
constitutional amendments IN the states,
and is extensively used in the adoption Of
municipal charters and bond issues
Amendments to the federal constitution
are not referred to the people: but there
is no reason why they should not be so
referred why. for example, the people of
the states instead Of the legislatures OF the
states should not vote directly on such
measure as the proposed income tax
amendment, The referendum may also be
gradually extended to other matters Of
public Importance and public interest with
probable advantage provided great pains
are taken 10 secure an adequate presenta-
! ton Of the issue to the people and an ade-
quGte public discussion OF IT, The ex>
lstence of such provision has done much TO
make the referendum in Oregon a success;
the absence OF such provision hsa made
the vote in New York state on constitu-
tional amendments very light and fire.
quently not very intelligent In France the
question whether the people would have an
imperial form OF government and Louis
Napoleon for emperor was reCerEed to
them; but no alternative was presented.
and the people chose Imperialism rather
than anarchy-an illustration Of the fact
that the value Of a referendum depends
largely on the manner in which the issue
referred to the people is framed.
The initiative Is a process by which laws
are proposed, on the petition OF a certain
specified proportion Of the voters. for ac-
ton either by the legislature or by direct
vote of the people through a referendum.
( What we have said concerning the refer
endum applies equally to the initiative.
The numerously signed petition for the
pardon of Charles w. Morse. the convicted
banker. illustrates the fact that II Is easy
TO get many signatures TO a petition II
few men are in earnest to get them. The
numerously signed petitions for the aboIl-
ton Of the canteen illustrates the fact that
| II is easy to get q superficial sentiment,
not made deliberate by any broad discus
sion. or any public sense OF responsibilities,
to override the expert Judgment OF those
who know conditions. We believe that
simple provision enabling a minority Of
I house. say a fourth Of Its members. to
compel any committee to report to the
! house any measure committed to II. would
be more practically effective than the
initiative in securing public consideration
and final adoption OF desirable legislation
now shelved by secret influences. But
the two reforms are not inconsistent. The
initiative, wherever adopted should be ac-
companied by some adequate provision for
the expert drafting Of proposed-Fneasures
The recall enables the people by a special
election. ordered on the petition Of speci-
fled proportion Of the voters, TO remove
| from office an elective officer before his
term expires. The arguments for the recall
are two; First, the people may elect for
a longer term. and so avoid frequent cleo
lions. Thus they may. as in Boston elect
q mayor for four years ard provide that
he can he recalled after two years instead
of eIecting him for two years and requir-
ing him to go before the people for re-
election at the end Of that time. Second,
the people II they have made a mistake
in electing an officer and are convinced
OF their mistake by his course In office.
can correct II by recalling him. The recall
should IN our judgment be confined TO
administrative officers. and 10 municipal,
town. and village communities. II should
not be extended 70 legislative or judicial
officers nor 10 the chief executive Of the
state until It has been fairly tried in the
municipalities; and It should be exercised
only for serious malfeassnce or neglect in
office, not for mere difference OF opinion
To sum up: The outlook regards the
referendum, the initiative. and the recall
as promising experiments hut as yet only
experiments which are TO be measured by
their results.
A cnTTT OFN uOTTp