The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1911-03-30

their approval. Under the provisions
o. this law. Coo I. Crawford vas "a.
dorsed % the candidate for Uaitsd
states senator at the 1908 primary
election. and the legislative session
OF 1908 selected him o. it, choice for
United States senator. In which he
had no opposition.
The 1907 legislative session 40
copied . petition for the submission
to the people Of the question Of coun-
y local option. after having killed .
bill introduced for that purpose. Fol-
lowing the session Of that year. refer
endum petitions were fled in due
time. carrying TO the people for Q
vote. enactments Of the session which
placed stricter requirements upon d.
vorces In this state. and which had
for their purpose the breaking up OF
the divorce colonies which hourished
in the leading towns Of the state; the
so called Sunday law, which attempt
ed to apply "blue law restrictions
for Sunday; and q law to protect
quail for ave years were taken to the
people through the referendum. At
the election following, the legislature
was upheld on all its enactments. and
also endorsed in its refusal to enact
the county option law, all the bills
they passed having been adopted,
while the one initiated was defeated.
While the referendum provision was
adopted by the people of the state in
1898. they never really had a taste
Of what it was like until 1903, ten
years afterward, and after that came
the deluge, which resulted in the sew
en- foot referendum ballot and the
eighteen inch constitutional ballot of
the election of 1910. The corpora
lions for the first time took notice of
sucn a provision, after they had done
all in their power to prevent its ever
coming into existence. They carried
to the people a law requiring them to
place fifteen hundred candle power
headlights on their engines; the DEM
ocrats carried up the law which
sought to allow the governor to re-
move minor state and county officials
who refused to enforce the laws; the
socialists wanted the people to vote
upon the new military code; the en-
balmers were not satisfied with a law
witch placed them under control of
the state board of health. interested
parties carried up an attempt to d.
vide the state into gerrymandered
congressional districts; and along
with these the prohibitionists had
come again with their county option
liquor law. All these made a ballot
ten inches wide, and seven feet long;
with it was the constitutional amend
ment ballot, as wide and a foot and a
half long. Il was too much for the
average voter to digest" aad as in
terested parties begun a warm "yote
campaign on every prosition on
the referendum ballot, and all but
one on the constitutional ballot as
defeated.
Hard to Raise Percentage.
AT the late session an attempt was
made to change the constitutional
provision of five per cen of the vote
to secure the initiative or the refer
but the effort never g,t re-
You'd the committee. In fact It will
be hard to ever submit a change in
the state, and if it is presented to
the people, those who believe in the
theory will vote against the proposed
change; and back of them will be all
the corporate interests, who see in
present day tendencies only laws
which are distasteful to them, and
they have no scruples in regard to
using the proposition they looked up-
on with disdain ten years ago., to de-
lay or defeat laws which do not suit
them, and they do not care for an in
crease in the required number of
voters to bring this about.
One feature Of this method which
las caused more or less criticism in
the present situation is the charge
that the signatures required to
bring the new primary election law
before the people at the next election.
were secured by employing men to
solicit for names at a rate Of ten
cents for each name secured. In this
the ~desirability or undesirability of
the measure at interest was lost sight
of completely. The solicitor openly
asked his friends for signatures TO
help him out, and securing most of
his names on that plea.
MNunpMp[ lnuun