The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1914-06-12
LEARN HOW TO VOTE
HELPFUL SUGGESTIONS
Secretary Roach lnauguarates An Id
ucational Campaign So As 10 Ac-
quaint Voters With Issues


paign of education recently inaugural
ed by Secretary of State Cornelius
Roach which has for its object an ex-
ercise of discrimination between the
good and bad propositions in the con-
stitutional ballot by the voters next
November is bearing fruit. Last
week there were 278 rural newspapers
in the State that gave to their readers
the substance of the twelve measures
that are proposed. eight being am
endments to the Constitution and Tour
referendum acts. These newspapers
have an everage circulation OF 1000
and thus directly reached approx
mately $4,000 of the 750 600 voters IN
the State. The fact that there is
manifestly no probability OF an early
constitutional convention impresses
the average citizen with the necessity
of exercising his judgment at the
polls on these measures as they are
submitted separately at successive
general elections. The history of
constitutional legislating by popular
vote reveals that many measures de-
feated the first time submitted have
been adopted at subsequent elections,
and that voters in recent elections
more favorably consider these pro-
posed amendments than formerly. II
this were not the case, the initiative
and referendum amendment would
not have been approved at the polls
in 1908, for all that amendment did in
this State was to add the enactlng OF
statutory law to the power of con
situtional law-making, which the
Missouri voter has had ever since the
adoption of the Constitution in 1873.
One important and interesting fact
in connection with this subject which
is better understood than formerly is
that the majority Of those voting on
a measure decides the fate Of that
measure If measure receives one
hundred housand and one affirmative
votes and one hundred thousand neg
alive votes it becomes the law regard
less Of how many hundred thousand
votes more or less may have been
polled at the same election for candl-
dates for any Office, or for any other
measure.
The law in this State now provides
for the printing Of a ballot with the
names of all candidates thereon sep
arate from the ballot containing the
legislative measures. The voter that
does not use the latter ballot is not
counted either for or against any
measure on that ballot. If he knows
or cares nothing about these measures
he displays better intelligence by not
using the ballot than does the voter
who tabes the ballot and votes indls-
criminately either for all the measures
or against all the measures, with no
regard for the merits of each. Friends
of the initiative and referendum law,
and the friends of good government
generally will advise that every voter
exercise q discriminating judgment,
favoring the good and opposing the
bad. This ought not be expecting
too much from citizens enjoying re-
publican form of government in a
State that has had universal free
schools for generations.
Boiled down, the questions to de-
eide this year in the order as they
will appear on the ballot are as fol-
lows:
/. DO you, or do you not, want
taxation questions handled by the
general assembly only, or by popular
vote too?
. Do you, or do you not, want to
permit Kansas City to own its public
utilities?
8. Do you, or do you not, want the
State to levy mill tax for use in i'm
proving public roads?
a Do you, or do you not, want to
make the salary Of u member of the
Legislature one thousand dollars a
year?
5. Do you, or do you not, want TO
give st. Louis debt-maklng power to
build or buy a subway for the purpose
of rapid transit?
6. Do you, or do you not, want to
give voters Of a special or general
road district power by majority vote
to levy a local tax for good roads 7?
7. Do you, or do you not, want the
State to provide pensions for the de-
serving blind?
s. Do you. or do you not, approve
of making it easier for Kansas City
and st. Louis to amend their char
ters?
8. Do you, or do you not, wish to
fix by law the number Of men a rail-
road company shall employ to make
"full crew" for operating certain
trains?
10. Do you, or do you not, approve
making the county the basic unit for
regulating the liquor traffic?
IL. Do you want st. Louis or the
State of Missouri to name the excise
commission that administers the liqu-
or laws applicable in that city?
12. Do you want st. Louis or the
State to name the police commission
that controls the metropolitan police
department of that city?.
The words, "Yes", "No", will APP
pear on the ballot opposite each of
these measures. The voter that
scratches out the "Yes" votes against
the proposition. He who marks out
the mo" votes in favor of the propos-
ition. All the propositions this year
are so simple a school boy can under
stand them. Each measure may be
remembered by its number, or may
be recognized by its ballot title. The
number, title and full text will be
found on the ballot. but no voter is
expected to wait till he gets in the
voting booth to read the full text.
The man that waits till that hour to
acouaint himself with the text then
in order to decide which way to vote,
better entirely ignore the constitu-
tional ballot and refuse to vote any
- .r ~ Iptallivent Judgment is the