The Alaska citizen., 1912-03-18

or rej.ct the same, independent of the legislature. The referendum may he defined as a similar power which tue people reserve 10 them selves ro approve or reject any act passed by he legislative assembly
 The initiative and referendum are n new iu democratic governments On the other hand. if may be said that il 5s stlf-goyernmeut reduced 70 is simplest form In Switzer- land direct legislation has existed for centuries. and since 1872 as a national system In speaking of the Swiss government. a prominent Eastern college professor said re- gently. The Swiss confederation is the most successful democracy in the wrrld. Unlike almost every other state in Europe il has no irreconcilables-t only persons in it's territory who could in any sense be classed under 'hat name being d mere handful of anarchists, and J3ltse, as in our own country, are t5reigners. The people are con tented The government is patri- otie. far-sighted. efficient and ec1- nomical steady in it's policy and not changing ifs course with party fluctuations. Corruption in public life is unknown Appointments to offices are not made for political purposes. Officials are elected on their merits and retained as long as they can d their work. yet the evils of bureaucracy scarcely exist and wealth is comparatively evenly distributed"
 New Zealand also has a system of direct legislation very similar to Switzerland. < me localities in France and England have variations of the same system. although in these countries il k not nearly so broad in it's s~ope. Perhaps the most spectacular use to which the referendum has ever been put was ill Norway, where the people, by an almost unanimous vote, decided to separate from Sweden. and later chose king by divine right of the popular vote.
 In the United States. with which We are most concerned. direct leg islation is older than the govern ment itself. In the town meetings of colonial New England are found eXcelleni examples of the underlying principles of the initiative And while that system Of holding mass meetings is not possible in our twen- tieth century cities direct legisla- tions applies the same idea by use of the ballot
 The application of the system was not made general by any state until 1902, when the people of Oregon adopted a constitutional amendment for ii; the vote being II 10 1. Early the following year the legislature supplied the details Since that time the following states have adopt ed the initiative and referendum in whole or in part: Oregon, Washing ton, California, Montana, Utah. Ne vada, Colorado, South Dakota, Mis- souri, Texas, Illinois and Maine The new state of Oklahoma entered the Union with an elaborate provision for direct legislation.
 In Oregon petition is necessary to call an election. These petitions are usually circulated by the Peo- ple's Power league. This is a voluntary organization to bring about good government. Ii is accomplish, ing for the people of Oregon what the Peoples Lobby has attempted to do for the whole country, at Washington. It frames the bills, conducts the educational and publicity bureau and circulates the petitions. All this is done independently of any state official and without the undue excitement which usually ac- companies political contests. When sufficient number of voters have subscribed to the petition it is filed with the secretary of state and an election is called in accordance with the statute.
 One of the most frequent objec, tions offered to the referendum is that it is Socialistic in it's tenden, cies. A criticism so often made perhaps merits some attention If the people, when allowed to exercise their choice freely and without re sistance, in matters of government tend to enact or favor SocialistiC legislation, then perhaps some weight should be given to this criticism The proposition, however, has neith CT the support of history nor oi fact. Socialism has not been the result of too much power entrustef to the people, but on the contrary has resulted from oppression ol some sort. either real or imaginary Socialism does not follow too mucf