The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-10-15
FIRE losses Of the present month com.
pared with those of last
VOTING AS OCCUPATION.

S'edt nuInbeT Ol PIpI'OslIoHa thdI lbt
Oregon voters will have To decide at
the coming election. There will be the
Presidential ticket, the state ticket.
and local tickets in each of the several
the coming election. There will be the
tbirty-eight questions submitted to the
people for their decision. The most i'm.
portant Of these will work radical
change in the State government of
Oregon. The proposed new plan will
practically merge tho Legislative and
Executive departments into one. The
Governor will appoint the State Of
ficers as his Cabinet, aud the counties
will be in effect sem. independent prov
inccs, running their taxation and other
local affairs pretty much as they
please. Under this proposition the
Governor alone has the power to intro
ducc appropriation bills in the Lcgis
Iaturc, which is TO bc composed of
but ono body. the Senate being abol-
iShcd. The Legislature will not have
the power to increase any approprla'
tioD without the consent OF the Cover
nor but il may reduce the amount
asked for, and the Governor viii be
helpless to prevent that reduction. The
situation suggests immense opportuui-
tics for "trading' and for corrupt
bargaining Of all sorts.
The Governor also will have a vot-
ing power in the legislature equal to the
number of votes cast for him. and the
defeated candidates for Governor will
also be, we might say, cx officio mem
bers of the Legislature, casting in that
! body the number Of votes that they re-
ceive Mt the polls. Each member of
the legislature will cast also the total
number of votes that he receives in his
constituency: but it is manifest that
! the Governor will be immensely more
! powerful in voting strength than any
member Of the legislature; in fact, he
may be practically equal in vot-
| ing strength to the aggregate OF
the votes that the majority party
| the Governor and the majority
legislature will probably be elected
| by substantially the same vote. The
votes Of the minority of the legis-
| lature, without the votes Of tho de-
feated candidates for Governor, would
not be sufficient to offset the vote of
the Governor of the State on any prop.
osition. while the votes of the Cover
nor's supporters would be overwhelm-
ing in his favor, as against the com
bined opposition. Small chance as a
minority now has in legislature body,
il would have much smaller chance
under conditions such as those pro-
posed
But that is not all. It is not enough
that the voters OF Oregon shall vote
on November 5th on all these PROPOSE.
tions: they must also by that date have
mastered the subjects upon which they
are to vote, and they must have work.
ing knowledge also Of the State
printed book Of Instructions to voters,
which comprises 260 closely printed
pages. Over 10000 copies of this vol
ume have been printed at the State 5
expense. 1t carries the official state
ment of the thirty-eight measures TO
be voted upon under the initiative and
referendum, with the arguments for
and against each measure prepared by
the advocates and the opponents of
each respectively. The total number
of words in the book is said to amount
to l25,000 OF course, it is not only the
duty Of every voter to master this
book and all the subjects treated in it,
but unless the voters do this the whole
matter is abortive, and money and work
are thrown away; for the only purpose
in printing book Of this kind is that
the voters may understand fully what
they are voting upon and about. And
yet it is extremely doubtful if one
voter in thousand will fully master
the subjects set forth in the book and
the arguments carried therein for and
against the thirtyeight various PROPOSE.
tions TO be voted upon, besides the reg.
ular tickets as presented
But not only do the voters of Ore.
gon have to attend to all this, which
is practically several months expert
work for each of them, the people OF
the city Of Portland are required to
vote on November End on twenty-five
municipal propositions affecting the
charter of that city. This election Of
November End is a special city election,
and the subjects upon which the voters
must give their decision are as fol.
lows. rs we find them in the Oregonian:
/. Commission form OF government.
2. Amending the charter TO authorize
the purchase Of Ross Island $500. 900.
3. SS5O,OOO bonds Tor construction OF
bridge across willamette river.
4. Garbage crematory bonds: 500, 900.
.. Park and boulevard bonds, 81 O0O, 600
6. Auditorium site. 5000, 900
Z. Regulating sale OF city property ana
providing for manner Of vacatIng streets.
8, Street and sewer assessments.
., Salary of City Attorney.
10. Salary OF City Treasurer
II. Salary OF City Engineer.
L.. Duties City Attorney: office City
Prosecutor,
13. Bonding street extension accounts.
II. Civil service.
II. Water bonds direct nblioutipn Of