Omaha daily bee., 1911-01-23

initiative aud referendum.
OMAHA. Jan. ALTO the Editor Of The
Bee: We have been somewhat amused to
note the care with which the politicians
are approaching the initiative and referen-
DUN, about the same amount OF caution
the prudent man nanifests in going be-
hind a mule with which he Is not &C
quainted These leaders Of modern thought.
lcok upon ii as being OF the nature OF the
late primary. uncertain In its results The
amount 81 gush and oratory expended at
and before the primaries ard election in
sounding the slogan let the people rule,
was accompanied with an assurance that
has quite disappeared now that thev are
up against the real thing. But why should
they hesitate? the proposition is not So
very new II had its birth as far back as
1890 when the populists polled over 1000
votes in the state. At that time ii was
looked upon by both of the leading parties
as wild and fsnatical, It was even ridi.
culed and dismissed with wave Of tho
hand The proposition as now advocated
at this time amounts TO this. that the PEG
pie at the polls can pass more inteuigenty
ON matters that they desire in the way Of
legislation than their representatives when
assembled for that purpose. But now that
the time has come TO act, some questions
arise, among them the following 'shall a
Majority OF All the Votes Cast at the Elec-
ton Decide or Just Majority Of Those
Voting on the Proposition" II must not
be forgotten, however, that the cry has
been Let the People Rule" and in mat
tiers Of this kind the people are those who
vote at the election where the proposition
is determined. and majority Of all who
vote is necessary in order to get an ex-
preston Of the people II this were not
the case a very small minority might pass
a measure and in that event the people
certainly have not declared for It. Now
keep in mind that the reason given for
the referendum, is that legislatures do
not reflect the will Of the mass Of the
citizenship, but often only the minority, the
thing the referendum seeks to remedy
Does Il follow that those who do not ex-
pressly vote no" fail TO make themselves
felt? BY no means for the reason they
know that their vote will count as much
as IL they had written no" on their bal
lot We can safely assume that Is what
the trainers Of the constitution understood
when they drafted the instrument There
are many who vote for amendments that
do not understand what they are voting
for. For example a large number at the late
primaries voted for the amendment on suf-
frage, who thought they were voting for
woman's suffrage, when in fact they voted
TO deny the franchise to a certain class
Of men for five years.
In the legislature we require msjo, De-
Of all the members elected thereto to pass
bill, no matter how trifling the bill
may be. Minority rule is out OF harmony
with all the reformed movements of the
times. 1t 10 safe to assume that the man
who des not vote for a measure does not
want 1t and he should be allowed to ex-
press his disapproval by not voting for
it, That is the reason amendments have
not carried in the past the people did not
want them and refused to go on record
in their favor In these times OF light
ming reform Let the people rule"
J. II. PRESSON.