Omaha daily bee., 1911-02-13
INITIATIVE BILL UP SOON
Final Vote in Senate Expected
Monday or Tuesday.
SECOND ON LIST IN THE HOUSE
Several Amendments Have Now
Changed House Bill, which Was
at First Identical with the
senate Measure.

LINCOLN, Feb. 12.-CSpecial) The initia-
tive and referendum bill recommended for
| third reading by the senate will come up
for its final vote Monday or Tuesday. In
the house the bin stands second on the
list of bills on general file which will re-
suit in its being called up and either made
special order for some day during the
week or discussed Immediately in commit
tee of the whole.
The house bill was at the beginning iden-
teal with the senate measure, but several
amendments have been made 10 the senate
file. The principal ones were those of
Skiles. who introduced the bill, and his
changes have so fixed its terms that when
vote is taken on an initiated measure
the majority required to pass It and make
1t a law must be at least 35 per cent of all
the votes cast at that election. The pur-
pose Cf this amendment rs TO make II i'm
possible for some measure in which very
few people are interested to he passed be-
cause voters do not take enough interest
to vote one way or the other. The same
purpose is accomplished to a. certain de-
gree as in the case of the raising of the
percentages for petitions to initiate legis-
latlon. Those who have argued that 10
per cent for the initiative and 8 per cent
for the referendum are too low have used
the argument that the freedom of doing
their own law making should be given the
people only for important and infrequent
occasion when they are much aroused
warner Amendment Defeated.
The Warner amendment which was cred
tied to the republican party and subse-
quently defeated made the initiative a
rather indirect than direct way OF legisla-
ton by the people, but it, too, aimed al
this same restriction Of frivolous or hasty
action. II provided that measures initiated
by the people should go first to the legis
lature and then IL they fail to become
law the people could demand a direct vote
on them.
Senator Placek's amendment striking the
party circle from the initiative and refer
endum ballots so that otes will be cast
entirely upon the merits Of thev questions
involved has also been affixed to the SEN
ate bill.
The legislature so far actually made only
three laws. They have passed. in both
houses and received the governors
sanction for the two appropriations, which
pay their own salaries and incidental eX-
penses of the session and they have a sati-
fication of the amendment to the United
States constitution, which provides for a
federal income tax. There are more than
400 bills before the house and half as many
in the senate. Most of these are expiring
along the way, by being Withdrawn, by
dying in the committee, or on the floor in
an actual vote, but the great slaughter
will not come until the very last few days
OF the session when the pet ideas of a
hundred Legislators will be dumped in one
big pile a few taken out for serious con-
sideration and the rest discarded
Bassett Says He Won't Go.
Representative S. G. Bassett OF Buffalo
county against whom a petition Of recall
is said to be circulating said this morning
that he was not alarmed by it and would
hold his position. The residents Of Buffalo
county who are demanding Bassett's
resigna lion are obiecting to his vote against
capital removal, which they think might
have been a benefit TO Eearney.
81 hardly think this petition represents
the true opinion OF the majority uf my
constituents" said Mr. Bassett this morn
ing, "and / do not believe that it will
in any way influence my actions