Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-26
For Initiative and Referendum.

Lets get another step deeper. I hope
YOU won't any of YOU think that l am
going too far in even mentioning in your
presence those extreme doctrines of the
initiative, the referendum and the recall
1t is the last word that makes most men
shrink. Let no man deceive himself by
the fallacy that anybody proposes to sub
sttute direct legislation by the people or
direct reference of laws voted in the
legislature by the vote of the people for
representative government.
The initiative is d means of recapturing
the seat of Legislative authority on behalf
of the people themselves. The referendum
is a means of seeing to ii that unrepre-
sentative measures are not put upon the
statute books. but are checked by being
submitted to the vote of the people. When
YOU come to the recall. the principle IS
that if an administrative officer, for we
will begin with an administrative officer. is
corrupt. or so unwise as to be doing things
that are likely to lead to all sorts of
mischief in the future it will he possible
by a sedate and SLOW process prescribed
by the law to get rid of that officer be-
fore the end of his term. ! don't see how
any man who is grounded in tn" tradi-
tions of American affairs. particularly as
they derive their origin from New Eng
land can find any valid objection to the
recall of administrative officers
Opposed to Recall of Judges.
1T is another matter when it comes
to the judiciary. l myself have never
been in favor of the recall of judges.
Not that some judges haven't deserved
to be recalled-that isn't the point. But
because that is treating the symptoms
instead of the disease. The disease lies
deeper and sometimes it is ver" very
virulent and very dangerous. Gentle
men, there have been courts in the
United States that We're controlled by
private interests. There have been SUI
preme courts in our states at which men
without privilege could not get justice.
There have been corrupt judges; there
have been controlled judges. There have
been judges who acted as other men S
servants and not as the servants of the
public. And there can be no moral OBJ
lection to removing such men from pub
lie service.
''Ah, there have been some shameful
chapters in that story. Think OF it, the
reason you applauded just now is that
YOU feel Just as ] feel that the judiciary
process is the last ultimate safeguard of
the things that we want to hold stable in
this country. But suppose that that safe
guard is corrupted. suppose that it does
not guard my interests and yours, but
guards merely the interests of It very
small group of individuals, and that
whenever your interests clash with theirs
yours will have to give way, though you
represent per cent of your feloW-cit
liens and they only 10 per cent. Then
where is your safeguard, and what is it
safeguarding, | would like To know. The
great processes of equitable thought must
control the Judiciary they control
every other instrument of government.
But there are ways and ways of CON
trolling it.
This thing that grows like cancer in
our vitals must be cut out though | grant
YOU it must be cut out with the skill and
the knowledge and the tenderness of the
surgeon who will not disturb the vital
tissues to which this ugly thing is at
Ia chcd.'