The weekly Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1911-1922, 1912-03-07


! erty. 1t is very economical meth
cd of law making. 1t cost Oregon
only forty-seven thousand dollars t,
put through those sixty-four propos
ais. They were passed on with car,
and wisdom.
"Here is an illustration of how
the people there do their own think
ing. The professors of the Univer
sity of Oregon were asked to indi
cate how they would vote on thirty.
two of the propositions. Their vote
was found to be identical with the
vote of the people on every PROPOSE
ton except one. The professors
voted for Woman's Suffrage, and the
people voted against it.
SIN the slum districts of cities
where the people are least Informed
the vote on these proposals of gov.
eminent were much neglected, show
ing that the ignorant vote of the
State can be depended upon to
eliminate itself This is a very i'm
portant matter. 1t shows that the
vote was the vote of the more in
telligent classes.
Some of the most important and
progressive laws enacted directly
by the people of Oregon had pre-
viously been rejected by the legisla-
ture.
No one watching the progress of
popular government can have failed
to note the remarkable growth in
State politics of the movement for
the nomination of candidates for
elective office by direct vote. Thus
during the legislative sessions of
1909 and 1910 important legisla-
ton concerning direct nominations
was enacted In a dozen States. In
fact, at present only Colorado, Utah.
Wyoming, Montana, West Virginia
and Vermont are holding entirely
aloof from the general movement
toward direct nominations.
The conservative, with his face
turned to the past, complains that
these various reforms were not con-
templated by the fathers of the ma
ton when they framed the Constitu-
ton. But neither did the fathers
foresee the astounding changes which
have come about in the actual physi-
cal conditions of our civilization.
The proposed changes of political
method would, indeed, have been
practically impossible Of application
under the old conditions of trans
pOrtation and communication. But
now, thanks to the telegraph and
ubiquitous press, any proposition
can be submitted simultaneously to
all the voters not merely of State,
but of the whole nation. Because
the machinery of intercommunication
has become incomparably more eff
cient it becomes possible to make the
machinery of government more
simple, more direct, and more re-
sponsive to the will of the people.
Why should we hesitate to do so?
Value of Responsibility.
But far more important than any
question of precedent or intention
is the consideration of the results
that these new devices are likely to
produce. In the case of Oregon we
have an opportunity to study the
kind of laws that a people will make
for itself. and this object lesson af-
fords no ground for pessimism.
But more important again than the
fact that good laws have been writ
ten directly upon the statute books
by the hand of the voter is the
growth and development that must
come to people, individually and
collectively, through the exercise of
this legislative power. A nation.
like an individual, grows through
responsibility. And the more every
individual is made conscious of his
share In the national or communal
responsibility, the greater becomes
the hope, the more noble the posi-
bilities, of that nation.