Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1912-09-20
POPULAR LAWMAkING
 AND THE RECALL

The ballot used in the recent state election was a long one, and was the first to contain acts and amendments submitted under the Initiative and Referendum. This new feature, and the length and complicated nature of the ballot in measure account for some of the unlocked for results.
 Perhaps not more than ten per cent of the 150,00O votes read all the meas ures in full at any time before they marked their ballots Despite the fact that full publicity was given the various proposed acts and amend ments by the newspapers of the state there were thousands of voters, many of the them men of high order of in telligence, who had tput hay, ill- formed half-ideas as to- the import and effect of these measures when they entered the polling places. On some of the measures as many as 30,000 voters failed to register all opinion either for or against-showing de- plorable lack of interest, or wide sp.Aad ignorance, or both.
 The electors ill this state, previous to the recent election, had had no experience as lawmakers. Popular lawmaking, if in any degree success full and in the interests of good gov ernment, must receive the time and attention of the voters to the end that they may pass intelligently upon the measures submitted to them. 1t is to Ee hoped that, in future elections at which the people are called upon to enact or reject proposed laws. they enlighten themselves with regard to the matters involved in order to form fair and accurate conclusions as to their merits.
 If, under the Initiative and Referen-. dlm the people trustingly take the word of the politicians as to the worth Of the measures submitted to them, and do not investigate and form opin- ions of their own, then is popular lawmaking a failure and farce, a delusion and snare.
 Unless the voters inform themselves carefully as to the matters they pass upon. the voice of the people, in- stead of expressing the will of the people, will shout the will of the bcsses
 It is argued that, taking it by and large and ill the long run, the sense of the majority of the electorate can be safely trusted-that nine cases out of ten the people will return q true verdict regardless of how we'll or how poorly informed they are re- s,arding the nature Of the measures uLon which they are asked to vote
 Apparently this was the case in the recent state election. The tenth in- stance-thc exception is the recall measure.
 Amendment No. 14 to the constitu- tiCn of Arkansas, providing for the recall of all elective public offi- 
 COTS, including judges, is one of the measures submitted to the people in the recent state clecto on which car ricd This amendment was initiated by the Arkansas Federl:lon of Labor and advocated by the Socialists.
 Though the Socialists showed con siderable strength at the polls in the recent contest, the recall amendment must needs have been hopelessly lost had it not received support from other sou.ccs. It is indeed strange that a measure, diametrically opposed to those tenets of Democracy which touch uIon the theory and practice of rep rcscntative government, should car ry in Southern state ruled by the ,,a.ty of Jefferson and Jackson
 Of all the proposed acts and amend ments none should have received closer scrutiny and deeper study than the recall. But the prohibition gues-