Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1911-08-18

erendum and every one of them were
rejected at the polls, not because they
were all bad, but because, as am In
formed upon high authority, the mass
OF the people would cot take, the
trouble to distinguish between the
good and the bad. but vote against
tnem all In utter disgust at the unwei.
come task which they had been called
upon to perform.
THE People LOSE INTEREST.
All the objections which apply to
the modern referendum apply with In
creased force to the initiative; and,
In addition, there Is the further obIec-
ton that the proposed law is not even
framed by any deliberate or RESPONSE
sible body. Under the Arizona consti-
tuition 10 per cent. Of the qualified
electors are given the right to propose
any measure and 15 per cent the right
to propose any amendment to the con.
stitution. A more sweeping
and comprehensive reputation of
representative legislation could not
well be imagined. Apparently the
constitutional convention realized that
perhaps they had gone too far, and so
1t was provided that initiative and ref
erendum laws should not transcend
the constitution. This provision itself
SHOWS the confusion of mind under
which the trainers labored, because to
provide that an initiative law shall mott
transcend the constitution is of little
avail when the constitution itself may
be altered by an initiative amendment
with equal ease and simplicity. Here
there are no limitations, and therefore
legislation of any character may be-
as readily tackled on to the constitute
ton In the form of an amendment as
1t may be passed in the shape of ordi-
nary law.
| 1t is not difficult to obtain signatures
to any petition, and the initiative petit
ton Will constitute no exception to-
the rule. Given an active, energetic,
self-constituted committee, the ten per
cent. OF the voters of the state can be
readily obtained to sign petitions pro-
| posing any kind of law that anybody
will want. Those who sign the petit
| t1on-at least ten per cent. Of the
voters of the state-will be committed
to 1t In advance; its sponsors will be
active in advocating it; what Is ev-
erybody's business Is nobodys busi-
ness" and in all likelihood, after the
novelty of the system has worn off,
interest will largely disappear ana
very few people will be found who.
will take the trouble to combat even
foolish or bad provision. A very.
large proportion of the voters will re-
frain from voting at all upon the ques-
ton, and under these conditions, with
active and intedested work done IN
behalf of the law and a half-hearted
opposition, or none at all, the chances
are altogether In favor of the adop-
tion of more unwise laws than ever
get through our legislatures.
l should not like to suggest that any
of these visionary schemes are being
advocated by anybody from motives of
self-interest, and yet that sort of thing
sometimes happens in this cold and
selfish world. / remember hearing OF
an Individual who appeared before the
common council of certain city and
in fiery speech denounced a proposed
ordinance restricting the speed of au-
tomobiles within the city limits as be-
Ing tyrannical and unwarranted in
vasion of the personal rights of the cit
liens. A councilman asked the object
or how many automobiles he owned,
to which he replied: 4 don't own any.
I'm an undertaken
THE MISCHIEVOUS RECALL
1t is the recall provision of the Ari.
IONA constitution, however, which, to
my mind, is fraught with the greatest
mischief. That provision, briefly stated,
is that every elective officer in the
state of Arizona Is subject to recall by
the qualified electors of the electoral
district from which he was elected
whenever such recall Is demanded by
petition signed by electors equal to
Is per cent. Of the votes cast at the
last preceding general election
The grounds upon which the recall
is based must be stated in not more
than zoe words The officer is given
the alternative Of resigning his office
within five days after the filing of the
petition. If he does not resign, a spe-
cial election must be held not less
than 20 nor more than 80 days after
the making Of an order to that effect.
The reasons given in the petition for
demanding the recall are to be set
forth in the ballot, together with the
officers justification In not more than
200 words. Other candidates for the
office may be nominated, to be voted
for at said election, and the candidate
receiving the highest number Of votes
mainder Of the term. No recall petit
ton shall be circulated until the Off
Ger has held his office for a period of
six months, except as to members OF
the legislature, in which case a petit
ton may be circulated at any time
after five days from the beginning Of
the first session following his election.
The power Of the recall, 1t Is seen,
includes all officials-legislative execu-
tive and judicial. Attempts have been
made to show that the recall Is not
new thing In this country, and we are
referred to Article V. of Confedera-
ton. which reserves to each state the
power to recall its delegates at any
time within the year for which they
were appointed and to send others in
their place for the remainder of the
year. Passing by the distinction be-
tween an officer elected by the people
and a mere delegate appointed by a
was little more than a general conven-
ton, 1t Is sufficient to say that the
whole scheme Of the Confederation
was found to be so utterly Ineffective
that 1t was abandoned at the end of
a few years, and the enduring national
government which we now have put
into its place. The trainers of the
Federal Constitution evidently regard
ed the recall feature of the confedera-
ton as an unwise precedent to follow. \
and it found no place in that great in |
strument, as for more than 100 years 4
the ballot box recall found no place in |
the Dlan OF gOVernma Of anv ctafa 1