The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1912-03-02

uum can De USED, not as substitute,
for a representative government, but
to make representative government
genuinely representatives. see II cor.
rected IL 1t becomes misrepresenta
tive.
my Position is Simple"
MY position Is simple. II is that ~
the people know enough to make the
Constitution, they know enough in the
last resort to say what it was that
they meant when they made It, | wish
to call your attention to the entirely
different character of the national
and the state constitution. In the ia.
tional Constitution we deal with an
instrument designed to define the
limits of power between the nation
and the several states.
so that as regards the national
Constitution there must necessarily
be somebody capable of deciding what
those limits are when we come to
discuss relative claims OF conflicting
sovereignties, each sovereign in its
own sphere.
The state constitution of any state
has nothing analogous to that about
It. There is no question in a state of
any conflicting sovereignities. There
is only one sovereignty, the sover-
eighty of the people.
Who Are Sovereign
'You are not the sovereigns, mel.
ther is the executive, neither is the
judiciary. All three of you possess
powers delegated to you by the peo
pie, but not parted with by the peo.
pie, and therefore as in national
Constitution, the legislative branch
has no power save that which is ex-
pressively granted to II by the Con
stitution Under the state constitution |
the legislative body has all the pow
err that Is not forbidden by the con
stitution. II Is fundamental differ |
ence.
Il am not advocating a recall of
judges am advocating a measure
which, II adopted, will prevent the
necessity of the recall of judges.
MY proposal applies only to the leg
islative acts which the courts declare
unconstitutional. refer especially to
laws passed in the collective inter
ests of the whole community, passed
by the legislative body in exercise of |
the power to promote the general
welfare, in the exercise of political
power, which is inherent in the leg
islature. If such a law duly dealing
with the collective interests OF the
community as whole,passed by the
legislature and signed by the COVER
nor is declared unconstitutional by
the court, | ask that the people be
given the right II they choose to ex-
ercise that right themselves to pass
final Judgment upon the proposition
Popular Whims
at has been stated that this will
substitute popular within, the whim OF
moment, for the decision OF the
judiciary. Consider my proposition
for a moment. In the first place, the
house that has to pass the law has 20
be elected. Then the law is introduce
ed into the committee and threshed
before the committee. Then 1t goes
into the house, is argued to and fro,
and passed by the house.lt then goes
up to the governor arguments for
and against ii are put before him and
it receives his signature.
1T then is tried in the courts, and
it cannot possibly come to the final
court before six or eight months. 1t
is then argued before that court, the
court makes its decision again, going
over the case in full, stating the rea-
sons for its decision. by that time
over year will have elapsed.
MY proposal is that then, If the
court has decided that the legislature
plus the executive have exceeded the
power granted by the people to them
under the constitution, that the PEG.
pie shall themselves have the right
TO say whether their representatives
in the legislature and the executive
officers were right of whether their
representatives in the court were
right. Provisions should be made that
no vote could be had save a, the
regular election not less than six
r,onths distant after the appeal tc
the people is made
In that case you see that the min
imum time would be two years OF
discussion by the people, two OF
discussion which would include the
first election, which would include