Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1915-11-18
THE EMERGENCY CLAUSE.

The general newspaper comment on the supreme courts recent
initiated law holds to the view that the court merely 'intimated'
that it weuid hold the emergency clause to be ineffective with regard
int THIS error.
We find. however upon reading the text of the decision, that til"
court as unequivoeal in the matter t holds that, excepting in
cases coming within the constitutional definition of emergency, any
law may be submitted to a vote Of the people Ven though 1t has
courts opinion:
1T is urged by appellants that if the Legislature has
tie power to amend or repeal initiated laws, and that if the
Legislature also has the power to prc@cnt Ike operation of the
referendum a to such an amending or repeating statute by
ssssing the same by a twothirds majority vote, with an
emergency clause embodied therein, that then the initiative
sind referendum amendment to the constitution becomes a
farce and of no practical utility. We are of the view that
the premise from which this conclusion is drawn is untrue.
This contention, with relation to such use by the Legislature
.s,ersenev 1rnnos; ;imi IN 1n nnnecf Ho !" with anneInnts' snc.
cad ground Of alleged invalidity of said chapter 258. We
are of the view that where the Legislature enacts a law
be submitted to referendum vote under the same conditions
as may be submitted to vote any and all laws which are the
subject Of constitutional referendum-and this wholly re-
CARELESS of whether or not such amending or repeating act
eaactments by the legislature which are the subject of refer
endum I are not subject to the emergency clause; and, vice
gency clause are not subject to the referendum
Tze court proceeds to elucidate. It points out that the con-
sd ttuaoan PRO-. provides that any laws which the h legislature hsa may e.5 have We
snmhitted to a vote Of. the electors of the state before going into
ervadon Of the public peace, health or safety, support Of the state
government and its existing public institutions.
by aeeessary implication, is only authorized to declare emergencies
in that class Of measures specified in the exception to the referendum
As to all emergency measures and acts within the
pnrview of this exception, the legislature may declare an
emergency to exist, for the purpose and to the end that such
enactment may at once go into effect, and sueh declaration
md finding as TO the existence of such emergency is final
and not within the power Or province of the courts to ques-
uon. But as to any measure, law or enactment clearly not
within the class of emergency measures specified within said
exception, the legislature has no power or authority to
declare an emergency to exist in relation thereto, by any
vote however large the same may be; and the action of the
legislature In embodying emergency clauses in measures
dearly not comprehended within the said exception is
wholly unWarranted and void, and should be so held by
She courts. Not that the act itself would be void, but the
emergency clause would be void, with the result that the act
would mot 60 into effect until the first day Of the next July,
and also with the result that, in the event of a proper refer
enduna petition being filed, as required by law, such enact
nent would not go into effect until approved by a majority
yse of the electors of the state
The Saturday News has reproduced in its editorial columns this
feature of the courts views in order that it may be understood.
clearly that the court does not shirk the responsibility of declaring
that 4 legislature cannot render void the referendum by merely
exercising arbitrary power IN incorporating the emergency clause
INTO ID bill
The court has set the seal of condemnation upon the attempts.
t0 thWart the popular will as expressed through an initiated law
We fancy that in the future there will be no studied efforts by
machine-controled Legislatures to deprive the people Of the right
to hare the final word regarding laws that obviously do not come
wifhin the scope of the emergency as defined by the constitution.
TNe regret is that the legislature has SO long been privileged to
usnrp this power