The Washington herald., 1911-02-05
NEW IDEAS IN POLITICS.
L-INITIA71YE AND REFERENDUM.
RANK PARKER sToCKBRIDGE

ny FRANK PARKER sTOCKBRIDGE
When Senator Jonathan Bourne. IT.,
Of Oregon. delivered a speech on "Popu-
lar VS.. Delegated government in the
United States Senate last May. he intro
duced the initiative and referendum to
q large audience of newspaper readers.
many of whom had never heard of this
new idea in politics before. or II they had
heard Of 1t, regarded it as some kind Of
a half-baked theory that had never been
tried in practice. Something like million
copies Of Senator Bourne's speech have
been printed at the Government Printing
ONCE and sent out to the people of the
United States. so there are-assumfng
that every one who received a copy Of the
speech read it-a million more Americans
who know all about the initiative and ref
erendum now than there were before the
Senator spoke.
But 1t was not until the National Re-
publican Progressive League included the
initiative and referendum in its declaration
Of principles which it made public on
January "a. 1911. that people in the East
ern part Of the United States began to
look on the initiative and referendum as
something that might possibly be live
issue in the politics of the future. The
Progressive Republicans put It in fourth
place in their programme. as follows:
Amendment to the State constitutions
providing for the initiative, referendum,
and recall" I shall have something to
say in my next paper about the recall.
for there is so much to be said about the
practical working Of the initiative and
referendum in America that 1t needs
an entire article to itself.
The initiative and referendum has been
a live issue ..out West" for some time.
As an illustration Of the widespread in
terest in it, I need only cite the fact that
both the Republican and Democratic
party platforms OF 1910 in Kansas. Col
orada, California. Illinois. and North Da-
kota declared for it, while the Demo-
cratic platforms Of Iowa, Ohio, Mime
sofa. Wyoming. New Mexico. New Hamp-
shire. Arkansas, Idaho. Massachusetts.
Oregon. and Nebraska made 1t a party
principle. while the Republicans of Ne
vada and Wisconsin did likewise. So
there are at least five States n which the
initiative and referendum will be made
a part of the system of government very
soon. unless the legislatures go back on
their party pledges. while there is an ex-
cellent chance of its adoption in four or
five more, where the legislatures were
carried by the party that indorsed this
new idea, which is already in operation
in Maine. Oregon, Oklahoma. Montana,
South Dakota. Missouri, and Nevada
1t is contended by its supporters that
the initiative and referendum is not A
new or radical idea in government, but
Is an effort to revive and apply to mod
ern conditions the "folk-mote" of the
Anglo-Saxons which finds its present-day
counterpart in the New England town
meeting The first nation to adopt it
under modern conditions was Switzerland.
where the canton of st. Gall introduced
it more than seventy-five years ago. 1t
prevails to-day in all but one of the twen-
ty-two cantons of Switzerland, and in the
nation as whole on federal affairs.
There have been enough experiences
with the initiative and referendum in the
United States, however to illustrate its
working by examples taken from Ameri-
ca Commonwealths under American con-
ditions. In the seven States in which il
is already in operation it prevails in sub
stantially the same form. In some other
States it prevails IN municipal and county
affairs. though not In matters of State
wide jurisdiction. From Oregon, where
the system has been in use since 1902, the
best examples of its plan and practical
working can ne obtained. South Dakota
has had the initiative and referendum
longer. but has not used it to the extent
that Oregon has. 1t dates from 1898 in
that State. The peopl. of Utah voted for
it in 1900. but the legislature refused to
pass II q second time. as required for con-
stitutionaI amendments in that State. In
1901 the Illinois legislature passed the
.public-policy law providing for the
submission OF not more than three ques-
tions at any State election. thus giving
an opportunity for the expression of the
popular will, although the legislature is
not bound to follow it. Nevada adopted
the initiative and referendum in 1904.
Montana in 1906, Maine and Missouri in
1908. white in Oklahoma it is part of the
fundamental constitution on which the
State vas admitted to the Union. Della
ware failed to get II, although the people,
by vote of eight to one, requested the
legislature in 1906 to grant II.
The Oregon law. which may be taken
as type of all initiative and referendum
legislation, provides, in substance. that S
per cent of the voters of the State may
sign petition for the submission to the
people at the regular general election of
any proposed new law. whether 1t has
been presented to the legislature or not,
and upon receiving such a petition the
secretary of state is compelled, to order
the question to be printed on the regular
ballots for the popular vote. This is the
referendum by initiative petition. The
referendum feature of. the law provides
that no measures, except emergency
measures, passed by the legislature shall
become a law until after the expiration
of ninety days from the final adjourn
ment Within that ninety days per cent
of the voters may demand by petition the
submission of the measure to the popular
vote. On either an initiative or a refer
endum measure a favorable vote by a
! majority of those voting on the question
law without further formalities. The OBJ
lection that this permits minority of
the people to enact a law IL consider
able percentage of the voters fail to vote
on a. measure opens a wide field of dis
cussion The answer made by the
friends of the initiatiye and referendum
is that voter who does not take enough
interest in public affairs to vote on any
proposition is not entitled to considera-
ton, and that II is equally possible under
any existing political system for a MI
pop;ty of tho voters TO elect any DubliC