The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1912-10-18

well as to statute laws?
2. Are you in favor of the standard
percentages on petitions-not more than
per cent for the referendum, not more
than per cent for the initiative and
with no distribution in counties? No
state should require more than $4,000
for the initiative and 10000 actual sigma
lures for the referendum.
3. viii you oppose an emergency
clause which will permit the legislature
absolutely to deny the people the right
of a referendum vote on any law it sees
fit to say is necessary for the immedi-
ate preservation of the public peace,
health or safety?"
4. Do you think measures should be
adopted when they receive a majority of
the ''vote cast thereon or would you
vote to require them to have a majority
of 'all votes cast in the eection?"
5. Will you favor a modern, efficient,
economical system of informing the vot
ers on the questions submitted, similar
to the Oregon publicity pamphlet sys-
TEN, and give the people the right to
include arguments for or against meas
ures, they paying the actual cost of the
space taken?
Each one of the points covered by
these questions is necessary to the sue
cessful working of the initiative and
referendum There are other "jokers,"
but these are the most dangerous. In
order to drive home their value, let me
illustrate their significance by giving a
few illustrations from recent experience
of those states which have direct legis
lation in operation.
First Question-South Dakota, Mon
tana and Maine do not have the consti-
tutional initiative. You have heard of
nothing vital being done in these states
although South Dakota has had the in
itiative and referendum since 1898. If
the people of Oregon had not had the
initiative, the tremendous
progress made there would have been
blocked. Out of the siXty-four questions
voted on by the people since 1902, eigh-
teen have been amendments to the con-
stitution, of which eleven have been
adopted and big majority of these
have been initiated by the people These
constitute the backbone of
Oregon's progress.
The states of Washington and Idaho
will vote upon the adoption or rejection
of the initiative and referendum at the
election, but the constitutional
initiative is omitted from these proposed
The corporations permit
ted the legislature to grant the statu-
tory initiative but refused it on amend
ments.
Second observation-disclosures adopted
the initiative and referendum in 1906.
Never heard of even statute law being
voted on in that state, did you? Why?
Because petitions must be signed by the
required percentages IN EACH OF TWO
FIFTHS OF THE COUNTIES OF THE
STATE. That makes it costly and bur
densome. The State Federation of
Labor tried in 1907 to get an initiative
petition for the direct election of United
States senators and some other meas
ures and fell down. In 1911 they tried
to get a referendum petition on the in
famous Dick military law as enacted in
that state, and failed-until helped out
by the Peoples Power League of Mon
tana. which completed their petition for
them. They could have gotten the petit
ton in the cities and towns, but when
they had to 60 to the country it was too
costly. A provision in the Missouri
amendment distributing petitions in two
thirds of the congressional districts has
been found unexpectedly burdensome
Next November the people of Nebras-
ka will vote on an amendment which has
this ioker in it. These last cases are a
rttle less severe than in Montana, but
will be found burdensome. This Joker
is especially aimed at organized labor
because it eompels the unions to pay
the EXPENSES of men to go out into the
rural counties to get their petitions
completed, when they could more easily
do II in their own localities and in in
dustrial centers. Do you see the point
in this Safeguard?
This fall the people OF Wyoming and
Florida will vote upon initiative and
referendum amendments in which the
petitions are fixed at 25 per cent for
botb the initiative and referendum.
Mississippi votes on one which requires
20 per cent for the constitutional IN
itiative, Is per cent for the statutory
initiative and 10 per cent for the refer
ondum-all entirely too high. 1t is well
To note at this point that this fall a
LARGE number of questions are to be voted
ON in Oregon and Colorado, due to the
NEGLECT of the legislatures to attend to
tbe business of the people, and that dur
;n, tbe next two years these examples
will be held up as excuses in all the leg
islatures for requiring high petitions IN
futura amendments. These questions
are not on the ballot because it is easy
to get petition but because the people
are determined to have these questions
settled.