Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1912-02-22

mSIuOOH Oh 0C0kVVAu8 your PURPOSES.
Let me at the outset urge upon you to
remember that, while machinery is
important, Il 10 eA0ylto overestimato
IT. Importance; and, moreover, that
each community has the absolute right
to determine for itself what that ma
chinery shall be. subject only to the
fundamental law OF the nation as ey
pressed In the Constitution OF the Uni
ted States. In the first place,
believe in the short ballot. You can
not get good service from the public
servant II you cannot see him, and
there is no more effective way of hid
ing him than by mixing him up with u
multitude of others 80 that they are
none Of them important enough to
catch the eye Of the average, worka-
day citizen. The professional politi-
clan and the professional lobbyist
thrive most rankly under a system
which provides multitude of cleo
tive officers, Of such divided RESPONSE
bility and OF such obscurity that the
public knows, and can know, but little
as to their duties and the way they
perform them. The people have Moth
ing whatever to fear from giving amy
! public servant power so long as they
retain their own power to hold him
accountable for his use of the power
they have delegated to him.
believe In providing for direct nom.
nations by the people. including there
in direct preferential primaries FOR the
election Of delegates to the national
nominating conventions.
l believe In the election Of United
States senators by direct vote. Just
as actual experience convincs our
people that presidents should be
elected Gas they now are in practice,
although not in theory by direct vote
Of the people instead of by direct vote
through an untrammeled electoral col
lege, SO actual experience has con-
WINGED us that senators should be
elected by direct vote of the people
instead of indirectly through the vari-
Gus legislatures.
l believe in the initiative and tho
referendum, which should be used not
to destroy representative government,
but to correct it whenever it becomes
misrepresentation. Here again l am
concerned not with theories but with
actual facts. II in any state the peo-
Pic are themselves satisfied with their
present representative system, then
1T is of course their right to keep that
| system unchanged; and it is nobody's
business but theirs. But In actual
practice 1t has been found in very
many states that legislative bodies
have not been responsive to the popu-
lar will. Therefore believe that the
state should provide for the possibility
of direct popular action in order to
make good such Legislative failure.
Wisconsin Method Praised.
In recent speech Governor Meow
| ern of Wisconsin has described the
plan which has been there adopted.
Under this plan the effort to obtain
1 the law is first to be made through
the legislature, the bill being pushed
| as far as 1t will go; so that the details
of the proposed measure may be
threshed over in actual legislative de-
bate. This gives opportunity to per-
| feet 1t in form and invites public
scrutiny. Then, IL the legislature fails
to enact 1t, 1t can be enacted by the
people on their own initiative, taken
at least four months before election.
Moreover. where possible, the question
actually to be voted on by the people
should be made as simple as possible.
In short. believe that the initiative
and referendum should be used not as
substitutes for representative govern
ment, but as methods of making such
government really representative.
Give the legislature an entirely free
hand; and then provide by the initia-
I tive and referendum that the people
I shall have power to reverse or sup
plement the work of the legislature
should it ever become necessary
AS to the recall, do not believe
that there is any great necessity for
1t as regards short-term elective Of
ficers. On abstract grounds j . was
originally inclined to be hostile to 1t.
know of one case where 1t was ac-
tually used with mischievous results.
| On the other hand, in three cases in
municipalities on the Pacific coast
which have come to my knowledge 1t
was used with excellent results /
believe it should be generally pro
vided, but with such restrictions as
will make 1t available only when there
is a widespread and genuine public
feeling among a majority of the
voters.
There remains the question Of the
recall of judges. One of the ablest
jurists in the United States, veteran
in service to the people, recently wrote
me as follows on this subject:
\ There are two causes of the agi-
tation 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 80 much recall Of judges
from Office as 1t Is a recall Of the adj
ministration of justice back to life, SO
that 1t shall become, as 1t ought to
be, the most efficient Of all agencies
for making this earth better place to
live in. Judges have set their rules
above life Like the Pharisees of old
they said. The people be accursed,
they know not the law Chat is our
rule). Courts have repeatedly defeat
ed the aroused moral sentiment of a
whole commonwealth. Take the ex
ample of the ST. Louis boodlers. Their
guilt was plain. and In the main cen.
fessed The whole state was aroused
and outraged. BY an instinct that