Morris tribune., 1911-03-03
LEGISLATION
BY THE PEOPLE
INITIATIVE. AND REFER
ENDUM.
Tests in the House on the Ques-
ton which is Being Most
Strenuously Opposed by the
Liquor Interests.
By Lynn Haines.

in two of the most vital votes ever
cast in the history of the state. One
Of them was the record in the Far
rington- Froshaug contest given last
week: the other the vote by which the
House refused to advance the Camp
bell initiative and referendum bill.
Both of these tests, one in each branch,
sprang from the same source. Both
point to the same conclusion--that
the liquor organization is the most
active and powerful political influence
in. the state. And CORRELATED with
that conclusion is the undisputable
fact that there are only very small
minority of democrats in either
branch who cannot be banquetted or
bullied by the brewers.
In the Senate eighteen out of the
twenty democrats in that body entered
into combination with twelve of the
"old guard republicans to seat Far
rington. That contest is history; but
it's Importance pertains to the present
and the future. 1t means that the
notorious "Senate combine. which
was kept intact for more than de-
cade, is being reassembled and put in
working order by and for the special
interests. Nearly all of those thirty
harrington votes can be held in line
for the whole reactionary program
and there are five or six other sena-
tors who can probably be brought into
the combination. Had the Senate not
been organized in the best possible
way by progressive, it is probable
that both Stephens and harrington
would have been seated and the "com-
bine' doing business long before this.
Watch the Senate.
In the House, on February 21st,
twenty-four out of it's twenty six dem
ocratic members, each of whom had
appealed to the people of his disrtict
that he might be sent to st. Paul for
the special and all important purpose
of enacting into law the initiative,
referendum and recall, joined with
forty-one of the same kind of republi-
cans in an attempt to sound the death
knell of an honest, effective direct
legislation measure. This test came
on motion of Representative Camp
bell to make his initiative and refer
endum bill "a special order
Every form of special interest in
Minnesota is opposed to the initia-
tive and referendum. They fear the
initiative more than the referendum
because their program is to obstruct
and not construct legislation. The
brewery combine does not want the
people to have any opportunity to
initiate a county option or daylight
lid' law. The steel trust fears a
tonnage tax thru the same source.
The railroad ring has a distance tar
iff and possibly state ownership of
transportation utilities to face. Other
kinds of corporations are selfshly in
terested in the defeat of a practical
direct Legislation bill.
But an overwhelming majority of
both branches are pledged to enact
such law. This is particuarllv true
of the democrats. Their platform
and campaign speeches emphasized
that issue above all else. To meet
such situation, the only way in
which that general prediction pledge
can be kept and at the same time do
the brewery and other special in
terests no harm is to pass bill with
percentage SO high that the law will
be practically worthless. Albert
Pfaender of New Ulm, democratic
floor leader, has fathered bill requir-
ing thirty-five percent to initiate.
He led the fight aginst the Campbell
motion. More than that, he was op-
posed to advancing his own bill by
making it Especial order" and on
his own motion it was placed on gen.
eral orders. Twenty-four demo-
Gratis and forty-one republicans, as
noted above. voted with him.
To make the situation clear, in all
seven initiative and referendum bills
were introduced early in the session
and referred to the elections commit
tee. That committee not only did
not do anything to aid the House in
the matter but after holding them
away from the parent body for weeks,
dumped all seven bills back without
amendment or recommendation of any
kind, with the Pfaender bill at the
head of the list. That happened Feb
ruary 21st.
The Pfaender 35 percent bill came
first, of course. Instead of attempt
ing to advance the measure by max
ing it a special order Mr.. Pfaender
had it placed on general orders. Mr..
Cam nnhe1l whose hill nrovidin0 for