New Britain herald., 1914-11-21
The Halcyon Days.
 (New York Times.)

How did we ever get along with out direct legislation? The octopi must ask that question every day; the Cali fornia octopi at any rate. In the east the predatory rich, the soulless cor porations, and enemies of the plain people generally have not yet been emancipated; direct legislation has not yet struck off their shackles; they can only look westward and cheer up. But in California and the other di- rect legislation states the halcyon days have come for the octopi The sun shines bright in their old Califor- mia home. the birds make music all the day, the coin crop is ripe, and the graft is in full bloom in their Califor- mia home so far away. All the things that couldn't be done under the old system without causing a riot are now done easily-not by violence, but by letting the plain people do them. All you have to do is to submit forty or fifty amendments to the people and insert a joker or two somewhere about half way down the line. The honest voters eye grows weary after he has rerused the first half dozen amend nents, and if they seem all right he takes the rest on trust. In this way so much can be done that we wonder at the moderation of the robber barons and the criminal rich. No bribing of legislators any more, no anxious days at the state capitol. no scrutinizing of the expense accounts of lobbyists who have been giving dinners to senators who never existed; let the honest voter do it all.
 The honest voter in California is in eff fo hi that in the mass of amendments he was called upon to deal with at the last election was one which vacated Ill the ol dinances of San Francisco and other cllies fixing rates for any kind of public service. This abolishcs all the regulations restraining the ap- petite of the taxicab companies and other public ma1efactors. Henceforth they can charge what they please. If they had asked legislature to give them any such grant of revenue there would have been a revolution at tho very least; but the plain people have given it to them and are estopped from complaining. The honest voter cannot even say he did not mean to do it, because there is in the best of us a human reluctance about looking foolish.
 What the honest voter thought he was doing was to give the railroad commission the right to fix rates. but the artful language of the amendment deceived him. He also passed an amendment which he was told would simplify city government It did. He now finds that what the amend ment really effected was to prevent the people of San Francisco from ob- taining an amendment of their city charter next year by initiative petition. 1 City government has been simplified | to the extent that the honest voter 1 will not be permitted to complicate it l by any reforms. The opponents of re- | form would never have had the heav- I en- defying audacity to ask any leg | slature to pass such a law, but the | honest voter, reading amendments until atrophy of the optic nerve set | n slipped easily over the joker. Let us, by all means, have direct leg station in the east as soon as possi- ole Under our effete system the toiler the honest voter, he humble proletariat, and the man n the street still remain possessors n fee simple of their clothes and heir watches. Let us introduce direct egislation and they will go home in barrel.
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