The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-06-05
OWEN OF OKLAHOMA
 RELATES BENEFITS OF
 INITIATIVE, REFERENDUM

ment is the direct primary, protected by law, then an honest legislation law and an honest election law. Then comes the Initiative Referendum and Recall, through legislatures elected by these improved processes. The best | means of establishing these principles of government Is by vigorous ques- tioning of candidates to the Legisla- lures on the progressive form of gov ] ernment.
 The Initiative and Referendum has proven to be very economical. The sixty-four proposals in Oregon submit te6lby the Initiative and Referendum
 cost only $47,O00, and including pub-
 licity pamphlet placed in the hands of each and every voter. giving the arguments for and against each mea- sure.
 The Initiative and Referendum stim-
 ulates the interest the patriotism and the confidence of the citizen voter, and raises the intelligence of the eIec- torate. It prevents the legislator be- ing tempted to do wrong It stimulates him to do right. He cannot sell pub lie franchises without consideration to his own private advantage and to the disadvantage of the people, because
 the people can veto his acts. It limits the number of bills in the Legislature and puts an end to blackmailing of
 corporations and commercial interests It establishes the Legislature in the confidence of the people by merit Above all it gives stability to property and stability to government. When the
 people can have any law they want and veto any law they do not want l they can obviously have as good a government as their intelligence and moral sense justifies.
 It perfects representative govern ment, and makes the representative truly representative. It provides the people with the means to put an end to corrupt practices and establish in tegrity of government. It is impos-
 sible to eXaggerate the importance of this ma tier.
 When the Initiative and Referendum is established the people will have
 as good government as they de-
 serve. which Is not fairly to be said
 now because the people have been ov-
 erreached by machine politics and un-
 der the form of representative govern
 ment have been governed by political
 machines and by commercialisnn.
 The Initiative and Referendum is
 strictly Constitutional, under the de-
 cisions of the Supreme court of the
 United States, as I have heretofore
 shown. It is a part of the organic law
 of Maine Arkansas. oklahoma. Mis-
 souri, Montana, South Dakota, Oregon,
 and Nevada. It has been adopted by
 the Legislatures of California. Wash
 ington, Wyoming, North Dakota. Col Orado, Nebraska and Wisconsin. It has made the issue by one or both parties in Illinois. Indiana, Ohio Mich igan. Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey. Arizona. New Mexico
 Kansas and other States. It is sweep ing the Union. because of the urgent necessity to end corrupt practices and the commercial control of government
 The Democratic National Party stands for the Peoples Rule" The Prohibition party and the Independ- ence party are committed to it. The old Peoples party taught it. The So- cialists believe in it. It is really world wide issue, the necessity ap- bearing in other nations as well as in the United States. Speed the day when purity of government shall be established in the land and the rule of the people shall be accepted by all men. Then we shall enter the glorious era of equal rights to life liberty and happiness to all human beings, where the poorest and weakest of men, un- der the golden rule, shall not suffer unmerited poverty or undeserVed hardship. When humanitarianism and not commercialism shall control and direct the affairs of men.