The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-18
EDITORIAL PAGE OF THE. EVENING FARMER


 pie. It all moves upon the theory | that the people are sovereign. The effect of initiative and referen> dunn is to remove doubt as to what the mind of the people is. The views of the people cannot be pleaded in support of both sides and in behalf of every conceivable view of every question, even to the support of mat ters which are notoriously objection able to the people.
 Here is the reason why the lobby, which manages affairs at Hartford, will not permit the passage of initia- tive and referendum legislation as long as it has power to prevent. The lobby does not want to know the mind of the people. The employ CTS of the lobby do not want to know the mind of the people.
 AS usual this legislation will be met with the claim that the people are not qualified to vote upon meAs- ures, a statement to which the town meeting system of three centuries gives the lie
 Every man is not an expert upon every question. But most men are able to judge between the claims of contending experts upon any question. Men do so judge in their normal pur- suits every day of their lives.
 That is all a Legislature does. Every member of a Legislature does not investigate in detail each piece of legisla tion that comes before the Gen. eral Assembly,
 A few members investigate each bill. The other members listen to what these experts say and make up their minds. That is they do so when no lobby, or special interest or self interest interferes.
 The advantage of an appeal to the people is that the people have the in- terest of the greatest number at heart
 When a measure is referred to the whole people it goes to a tribunal that has but one interest, to ascer- tain if that legislation will be good for the people, if it will benefit the most of the people. If it will they adopt it. If it will not they defeat it.
 Some stupid fellow long time ago raised the cry that the people can understand men, but cannot under stand measures
 Seldom has such a piece of nonsense been accepted by so many persons.
 A measure compared with man is very simple thing, even after a court has qualified it with as many "undues'' and .unreasonables'' as may seem desirable.
 It is easy to understand a measure That is a different thing however from ascertaining what court will do to measure, for the latter case hinges again upon knowing what is in the minds of men
 :. But man is complex thing. No- body knows what man actually be- lieves upon any subject, not even his wife. Frequently the man himself does not know until he is faced by the problem. The voter does not know who a mans friends are, Or what minds dominate his, or whether he IS in debt, or has entangling alliances of nature to bring him into con- tempt, if they were known.
 A man who loans money to another without security cannot possibly be sure that that man even intends to repay the loan. He may believe that he intends to do so, but he cannot be sure of 1t. But there will be no doubt whatever in the lenders mind. when he looks at the note he re- ceived from the borrower, that the note is a promise to pay. He can show the note to any number of men and they will all recognize it as promise to pay. But not single man of the bunch can be sure that he knows the giver of the note intended to pay.
 People may always be certain about the measure. They can never be cer- tain about the man. A measure is a few words. relating to few sub- jects, or objects.
 But man embraces all subjects and all objects and all capacities. He cannot be guessed, or solved, or fathomed.
 Legislation will be much simplified when the electors vote directly to the measure.