The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1912-02-26
ATTACKS THE RECALL
As NATIONS REAL PERIL
II Ignores Lessons of History and
Means Mob Rule. Says the
Rev. Mr.. Hill.
CALLS IT REVOLUTIONARY
Brooklyn People Cheer Assertion That
II Aims at Destruction of
Our Government.

The Rev. John Wesley Hill attacked
the initiative. referendum and recall in
a lecture delivered to about 1000 people
at the Academy of Music in Brooklyn
Yesterday afternoon. His points with
out exception were applauded by the
audience. DIR. Hill is giving a series of
lectures on the creative forces in national
life under the auspices of the Brooklyn
Institute of Arts and Sciences and the
constitution was the subject OF yester-
days lecture.
After describing the town meeting AS
the germ of our system OF government
as 1t stands to-day he pointed out that its
practicablity is doubtful in State or
nation. saying that the founders Of the
republic notwithstanding their town meet
ing experience deliberately chose the
representative system when establishing
their permanent State and Federal gov
ernments. They removed the choice Of
United States Senators from the mass Of
voters and gave it to the legislatures and
they removed the choice,of the President
and vice-President still further from tn.
people. he said. by placing it in an cleo
toral college.
not ignorant of the past, he said. "They
were thoroughly familiar with the history
of the ages. They had discovered the
failure of absolute democracy to preserve
liberty. Justice and equality. Our mod
ern agitators either know no history or
have forgotten all they ever knew. Some
of them seem to be under the delusion
which Thomas Paine attempted to inn
press upon the colonists when he declared
We have it in our power to begin the
world over again.
Later on he said:
We are confronted with an ins.dous
undermining conspiracy 10 destroy our
present form of Government. The revo-
luton is deep seated, thoroughly organ
lied. increasing in momentum with the
passing hours "A determination. II YOU
please, to destroy our representative form
of government and 20 uprear upon thu
ruins a socialistic democracy
1T is proposed to destroy all tHe
barriers which the trainers OF the Con
stitution established to prevent hasty
and impusive action. The removal Of
these barriers il to be accomplished first
by neutralizing the representative system
through the initiative t.uu referendum
and finally by destroying the uliimate
application of the method of recall.
! mis- programme is not progressive; il is
purely reactionfry. Ii is now proposed
by the so-called progressives to return
to the darkness end disaster of that
ancient system of popular democracy.
This is not progress. 1t is turning from
the goal to the starting point. beating
an ignominious retreat abandoning u
great orderly advance and returning to
an ancient discarded system. discredited
alike by reason and experience.
Serious and vital as are the perils OF
this red programme in relation to the
init tiative and referendum, yet these
| proposed changes are not to be compared
in their ruinous influence with that greater
menace which threatens the undermining
and overthrow of the majestic Judicial
system.
! The trainers of the Constitution recog-
nizsd that there should be no power
capable of swerving a Judge from the
deliberation of his honest convictions:
no threat of personal loss. no pro mise
either as a bribe or bludgeon to in
fuence his opinion. But now after our
| judicial system has been established as
the ultimate unit of authority it is pro-
posed to batter down the sacred tribunal.
TO recall the decisions OF these high
tribunals, submitting them for. final
action TO the unframed and unrestrained
| multitude in the public square
"Is it probable that n tumultuous
assemblage of the people of ?, large COM
munity would find it feasible to handle
directly or indirectly matters of legisla-
tion? The man in the street may be
intelligent. Some are ignorant. some ere
besotted. Would you like to trust them
as body with the details of the work of
! government"
Before he closed the Rev Mr. Hill said
| the founders of the Constitution had
provided for the recall but that il was
safeguarded, directed with wisdom. eau
tion and prudence, saying:
-The difference between this funda-
mental principle of recall and the modern
patent right rapid fire exterminator is the
difference between civilized government
and mob rule"