The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-05-02

nzct in Bridgeport every year. They are well meaning intelligent men mos6 Of them4 Most of them enter the body not very familiar with pubic affairs. Some of them are 1ndzced Do Eun by men who uakeaashusaness of politics These 7xrEn expec&sthe aldermen they help matters i'm which they are deeply 1rfarssteds which is usually some masters that brings a fee OF pay meut Other aldermen are sub 5ec4 10 pressure from their enn- racyers when certain legislation Is mzo9ved- Others vote as they nHsssa.. and- accept employment, Ia Gen, --sEhasoma public service cor poraEion- or, through the 1nflu- eucs m suc1z-a. corporation, get a poRnoaz Job.
 Xek. In the main the aldermen are wen meaning and honest Most Of the. things they do are done to the satisfaction of nearly everybody. The lobby isn't inter-
 
 ssted in every measure. The pulp flo service cooperation Isn't inter- estedt1n every measure. The un- ra1r employer tan't interested in every measure. or may be inter eated in good measure. The a1- dsrnaen do ninety-nine and nine tsu1hs per cent. Of their work to ~ SSSSS f ss ,nf a majority of the community.
 Occasionally, however, some thing win go through Co which the citizens are much opposed
 Such a case was the twenty year water contract. which the alder men adopted some years ago.
 Such a case was the creation of the police ordinance. employing fifty new men.
 The twenty year water contract compelled the city to pay s15,OOO a year for water that should have been free Before the evil effects of that contract were overcome the citizens had paid out about $10O,-f GOO that should not have been paid
 Suppose the twenty-year water contract had been submitted to the people before it became valid? The people would have beaten 1t, and they would have saved that $1Oo,- 900 and all the expense of the meters that were inflicted upon private consumers.
 The police ordinance works an immediate increase of more than $eo.o0o in the payroll of the citys Suppose that ordinance had been submitted to the peopIe2 Would it have been sustained2 Ought not the people to have the right to scrutfnize such g measure, which proposes to inf1ict large expense upon them, which they must pay2
 The Democratic party in the United States, The Democratic party fin Connections and the Re- publican party in many states be- neves the people should have such a right.
 They believe the people should have the~Hght to veto not only the acts of subordinate tribunals, like the common council .but upon the laws of legislatures
 In twenty states the people of the cities and other subordinate jurisdictions have the right of ve- to over local legislative tribunals.
 In eighteen states the people have right of veto over the acts of their legislatures. The people may veto in those states laws which their legislatures pass and which the people do not like, or they may propose and adopt laws which their legislatures have re- fused to pass.
 On Friday such an amendment Eo the constitution of Connecticut was proposed, in the house. The bill had been offered by Represen- lative Wilson of Bridgeport, fol- lowing instructions from an infor- nal caucus of the Democratic rep kosentatiyes and senators. It was 1 bill drawn in accordance with 
 Btate platforms of the Democrat. lc party. It was 9 bill approved in the platforms of three other parties, platforms upon which 1z0.O00 men of Connecticut had voted, while only 7o.OOO men of Connecticut voted for platforms in which the initiative and referen- dunn clause did not appear.
 For this bill all the Democrats then in the House, and all the Pro- gressives, voted
 Against this bill all the Republi- cans voted It was not in the plat form of their party. The vote was 1o2 to 100 and the bfI1 was lost by but two votes.