The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-02-24
The Initiative
and Referendum

The following is a part OF paper
on THE Initiative and Referendum. !"
read by G. c. Garnet, attorney at
law, before the Richmond branch of
the Equal Suffrage league. Other
parts OF the paper will be printed in
order from day to day:
ntroductory--Forn1s OF Government
Subject 70 the Laws OF Evolution.
The student OF government Is
struck by the fact that no form of
government has yet been framed
which resists the law OF change. In
no field is the law of evolution better
exemplified than in that OF the eel
eflce OF society. 1t was Aristotle who
first classified governments according
to the three elements or ideas, the
monarchical, the oligarch.cal and the
democratic ideas; but the democracies
formed in some of the cities OF an
cient Greece and far removed from
the democratic governments of Eu-
rope and the government of the
United States today. 1t Is likewise q
far cry from the time when Louis
XIV could boast, The state? Huh,
am the State" and 1t was claimed
that the king could do no wrong and
that all sovereign power was derived
from the king, to the ideals OF JET
ferson and Lincoln when they plead
for a government s.of the people, for
the people and by the people"
Even In our own national and State
governments, we see that they resist
not the law OF change. Although in
the United States We have a written
Constitution, yet when we consider
the history OF our government. and
look at the vast and growing work
of IT'S many departments and commits
sions, we are forced to admit that our
actual Constitution is not dead writ
ten law, bat living growing organ
ism. having its seed In English and
colonial history. and with its ever
growing roots and branches EXTEND
ing to catch thesustenance necessary
Cor the healthy condition Of the whole
plant.
In the. stats governments. corsss-
tutional changes have been constant
~ taking place In Virginia, for in
stance. there have been FIVE constitu-
tional conventions, and our Constitu-
tons have been many times amended
between the times for the conyen-
tons.
Within the last two or three decades
we have seen great changes take place
in our national and State government.
A revolution. peaceable, but never
theless revolution, has swept over
the country.
In the words of Woodrow Wilson:
tarhe life Of America In not the life
II was twenty years.arn II Ia Not
the life II was ten wears aro. we
have changed our aconnrnic conditions
from hottom 10 ton. and with our eco
nomic conditions has changed also the
organization of our life. The old
marty formulas 40 not AZ the prexert
problems. $50 we have SO eomnii-
Gated our nachfnerv ~ government
We rave made a an d,ff,c,,I so f,,lI ~
ambusbes ana hidfnu n,ares so tndi-
rect thar i,,etesaA ~ I'm wing trre rem
reserfnffve rovcrnnent. We have
great inertr,cahlc Jungle Of organixa-
ton infes-yeranr 5fefwcrn the. ncnrIa
ana the nrnrrrses ~ their psyer,,-
rncnt. a. that M stages. wtthou. in :
tending n vvfsho,tt hainr awara ~ /.
we have Test ire nurity and dtreca.
nose ~ r.n,...rt.fsye rowcr-,,~,,.,,, :,
In nfhAr uords Ybe new 5daa ~
poveru,nant. devafnped NV our Ary,o-
saxon nnrss4nrx and aeror,irataa
rsprasenta ficn q. IN danger ~ hasnr
lost nv the GRADUAL processes 81 fine.
and insteaa ~ . eovernment ~ the
neop,e. for the neopie and bv the
neonIe ma have nanv tpv,arca. ~
an invixbra styvernment Of q mach,n q
Tor the fYYtererts and nv corruntinr
n is fr,,e that many good neonla
depy this charge and n 10 a oacuyia p
fact sYhat there IN yirSinta mont n,,h.
lie men ana many newsnaDars rerar-
nfze that such a conditior lonv ~.
tained II New Jersey ,ntil woaarn,,,
Wilson'S election 10 The of-ice ~ Gov.
ernor. in california. until the earrnnt
machine broke down Of its own