The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1913-01-03
A REAL AUSTRALIAN BALLOT;
INITIATIVE, REFERENDUM, AND
RECALL RECOMMENDED.
A Simpiified Primary Law and Other
important Acts Noted For
Consideration.
Our New Governor Addresses The
Legislature In Plain Terms and
Makes Many Valuable
Suggestions.
Gentlemen of the Legislature:

We are entering upon new era IN
statecraft. A general awakening is In
process of evolution. The people are
coming to feel with force the time-hon-
ored quotation, "A Government OF the
people, by the people and for the peo-
ple." They are not over-zealous as to
the particular political party that an
official represents; in fact, the three
great political parties in Michigan
agre on essentials and 1t ought, there
fore, to be easy for the legislators rep
resenting these three great parties to
work together tremendously and eff
ficisatly in securing these common
ends. We are, indeed, colleagues in our
effort to join in common service for
the highest welfare of our great state.
In other words, we are citizens and
public servants first and our party diff
ferences are secondary. I can assure
the present Legislature that l shall
take great pleasure in encouraging
hearty cooperation from start to fin
ish. Most Of the measures that shall
recommend have commanded the at
tention Of the people for at least a
decade.
Primary Law.
The secrecy of our ballot is the
foundation Of our liberty and the law
wisely provides that this should re-
main inviolate. Our present pri-
mary law violates these funda-
mental principles by providing
that every voter shall tell the
town board to which party he be-
longs, be publicly recorded as such a
partisan, and his name sent to Ian
Eing as such partisan. He can only
change his label on certain days Of
the year as provided by law. This pro-
vision should be repealed. l suggest
that registration day and primary day
be one and the same. This would in
sure full attendance at the primary.
All party tickets should be printed on
one ballot, the voter marking one
ticket only in the booth. In order to
sprsvent minority, nominations, provis-
choice column.
The abolition of party enrolment
would do away with the absurd Is
per cent proposition. BY having regis
tration day and primary day the same,
thousands of dollars could be saved.
BY giving the people the initiative and
referendum to amend the constitution
and make laws; by giving them sim
gle and secret ballot and a primary
law to nominate and elect their pub
lic servants; by giving them the re-
call to discharge unworthy and misrep-
ersentative public officials, you place
in their hands the necessary tools
whereby they can easily get such re-
form legislation as they desire. The
above are the fundamental things that
should take precedence over all other
legislation II we are to have in this
state a government truly of, for and
by the people.
Initiative and Referendum
In order that the people may rule 1t
IL essential that they be given the
proper tools to work with so that they
may attain their own salvation. The
most important of these measures is
the Initiative and Referendum. This
system has been adopted by nearly
one-third Of the states in the union,
but in one-half Of these. the system
is ineffective because of some Joker"
inserted in the amendment. A Consti.
tutional Amendment should be sub
mitted providing for the Initiative and
the Referendum. or all the states. Or
egon has had the Initiative and Refer
endum the longest. 1t has been In op-
GRAFTON there for over ten years and
during that time the people have initi-
ated or referred over one hundred
measures by popular vote. The per-
centagc Of petition signers is reason
able and the amendment is self-oper-
ating. ! suggest that it should be
adopted without any substantial
change. It's operation after series of
years has been so satisfactory. that
after ten years the peopel voted down
the attempt to repeal 1t by an over
whelming majority.
Recall.
A constitutional provision should
also be submitted providing for the
recall Of all executive, legislative and
administrative officials. The petition
for the Recall should not require more
than 25 per cent OF the voters of the
district. This percentage has the ap-
prevail of all of the authorities on this
subject.
Ballot Reform.
II the people are to rule through
the agency of the ballot at the election
primary, they must simplify our cleo
tion primary laws. Possibly we are un-
DER the delusion that we have had the
Australian Ballot system for many
years, but az matter Of fact. such is