The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1912-02-22
simple majority vote Of the two houses
OF the legislature whenever the repre-

uceUS Oh CHe9 people HelulIe iSuCli@IS>
smoval. New York has the right TO
have 4 long term elective Judiciary,
Ohio has the righttp havea short term
elective judiciary without the recall.
California. Oregon and Arizona have
each and every one Of them the right
to have short term elective judiciary
with the recall. Personally of the four
systems | prefer the Massachusetts
one if addition be made to it as I here
matter indicate.
In the first place, l believe in the
short ballot. You cannot get good serv-
not see him, and there is no more eff
fective way of hiding him than by mix
ing him up with multitude Of others
50 that they are none of them impor-
tant enough to catch the eye Of the
average workaday citizen. The crook
in public life is not ordinarily the man
whom the people themselves elect di
rectly to a highly important and re-
sponsible position. The type of boss
who has made the name Of politician
odious rarely himself runs for high cleo
tive office. and If he does and is elected
the people have only themselves to
blame. The professional politician and
the professional lobbyist thrive most
rankly under system which provides
a multitude Of elective officers, of such
divided responsibility and Of such OBJ
scurity that the public knows and can
know but little as to their duties and
the way they perform them.
Direct Nominations.
I believe in providing for direct nOmi-
nations by the people, including there
in direct preferential primaries for the
election Of delegates to the national
nominating conventions. Not as mat
ter Of theory, but as a matter Of plain
and proved experience. we find that the
convention system, while it often re-
cords the popular will, is also often
used by adroit politicians as method
Of thwarting the popular will. In other
words, the existing machinery for nom-
nations is cumbrous and is not de-
signed to secure the real expression of
the popular desire.
I believe in the election Of United
States senator's by direct vote. Just
as actual experience convinced our
people that presidents should be elect
ed las they now are in practice, al
though not in theory by direct vote
n the people instead Of by indirect
vote through an untrammeled electoral
tollege, so actual experience has con-
vinced us that senators should be elect
ed by direct vote of the people instead
Of indirectly through the various .legis-
latures.
believe in the initiative and the ref
erendum, which should be used not to
destroy representative government, but
to correct it whenever 1t becomes mis-
Iepresentativ Here again>I am con-
cerned not with theories, but with &C.
tual facts If in any state the people
are themselves satisfied with their
present representative system then it
Is. OF course, their right to keep that
system unchanged, and 1t is nobody's
business but theirs. But in actual
practice it has been found in very
many states that legislative bodies
have not been responsive to. the popular
will; therefore believe that the state
should provide for the possibility Of d.
rect popular action in order to make;
good such Legislative failure:
Recall Of Judges.
As to the recall. do not believe that
there is any great necessity for it as
regards short term elective officers. On
abstract grounds | was originally in
clined to be hostile to it. / know of
one case where it was actually used
with mischievous results. On the 9TH
er hand, in three cases in municipali-
ties on the Pacific coast which have
come to my knowledge it was used
with excellent results. l believe it
should be generally provided, but with
such restrictions as will make it avail
able only when there is a widespread
and genuine public feeling among a
majority of the voters.
There remains the question of the re-
call of judges. One of the ablest ju-
rists in the United States, a veteran in
service to the people, recently wrote
me as follows on this subject:
"There are two causes Of the agita-
ton for the recall as applied to
judges First, the administration Of
justice has withdrawn from life and
become artificial and technical. The
recall is not so much q recall Of Judges
from Office as it is a recall Of the ad-
ministration of justice back to life, 80
that it shall become, as it ought to be,
the most efficient of all agencies for
making this earth a better place to live
in Judges have set their rules above
life. Like the Pharisees Of old, they
have said, The people be ,accursed;
they know not the law chat is, our
rule0. Courts have repeatedly defeat
Fed the aroused moral sentiment Of a
whole commonwealth. Take the lex
ample of the st. Louis boodlers. Their
guilt was plain and in the main con-
sfessed. The wholerstate was aroused
and outraged. BY an instinct that goes
to the very foundation Of all social
so,<1or <hoy doroondo6 fhaf tho sni1fv 11o