The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1915-03-04
secure results; but it was well worth

the eHOrt.
We made Direct Legislation"
= plank in our platform, and in 1S9,
made it the paramount state issue, am
t were successful in electing a legisla
r ture and governor that submitted
constitutional amendment proyidjn.
r for the initiative and referendum ONLY
+ This was adopted by a direct vote O.
t the people in 1896, and became a part
OF our constitution.
1t was perhaps our misfortune tina
We were the pioneers, the first state I
the union to enact such a law. ".
had no p~recedents as a guide and We
r also failed to incorporate the essen
tial, protective, enforcing arm: m,
Recall.
BY the initiative we hoped to cure
in part the legislative sins of omissior
by submitting to the voters direct
such lows as a reasonable number Of
citizens petitioned for, and that when
adopted by the people it was clothed
with the same safeguards as the COZ.
stitution, in that it could not be chan.
ed. amended or repealed, except by a
majority vote OF the people.
OF curse the legislature NAV also
submit a law direct to enact, repeal. or
amend. and it was hoped that with
progressive legislatures, embued with
the principles of popular government
that It would seldom be necessary 10
90 10 the labor and expense of initial
Ing by petition.
10 cure the sins of commission We
provided that we might refer doubtful
laws to the people, making certain
specific exceptions Except such Laws
as may be necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace
health or safety, support of the state
government and its existing institu.
tlons) and neither the legislature. nor
any court had or have any legal right
to add to, or take from that list OF
exceptions.
That eternal vigilence is the prize
OF liberty has Deeu demonstrated in
connection with this law in permittina
two violations of the spirit and the
letter 10 pass unchallenged by practi.
cal protest.
Our supreme court, using their
rule of reason" wrote constitutional
legislation into a judicial decision, in
creasing the exceptions; by any law
having the emergency clause attached.
and this has been taken advantage OF
many times since to prevent doubtful
laws from being referred to the peo-
pie. 1t has become a farce. Il is
not: is there an emergency. but have
we the two third votes? Had we in
tended that any legislative law receiv-
ing a two-thirds vote in each branch
OF the legislature should be exempt
from the referendum, we would have (
said SO in the constitutional amend
ment.
Having succeeded in destroying n
great part, the referendum by judicial
decision, the opponents of popular gov
eminent attacks the initiative by an
act of the legislature making it almost
impossible to secure enough signers
TO a petition to initiate without a very
organization back OF it. In
effect the legislature to a great ex-
tent utilities a law adopted by the
people.
Encouraged by their success in
em~asculating the referendum by Judi
cial decision. and the initiative by
legislative enactment, this same re
dictionary element think that they can
now by legislative enactment safely
repeal the only law (the Richards
Primary iniated and adopted by the
people. And surprising it is that it is
this same element who talk so much
about the %sacredness of the constitu-
ton.
III may require just this act TO wake
up the friends of popular government
to the necessity for action. If so | for
one will welcome the contest; and will,
more consider it the paramount
state issue.
The repeal Of the Richards Primary
law will not be the issue: that will be
an incident. The issue will be our
motto: Under God the People
and the result will be to amend
and perfect the law so that South Da-
kota will once more take her rightful
place in the van of live, progressive
popular government states.
H.. l.. Loucks.