The record. [volume] (St. Maries, Idaho) 1913-1918, 1915-01-29
Friday Jan. 20, 1915.
WHY NOT MAKE 1T STRONG
ENOUGH


initiative or referendum or re-
call measure should not be per-
mitted to attach his signature ex-
cept he should demand the right |
to do so at the muZzle of a re-
peating rifle, after having demon
strated his ability to hit the mark
four Oat of every five shots, fired
while approaching the official
having such petition in charge?
Such Requirement would be
about as sane an application of
the principle of direct legisla-
ton as that proposed in a meas
ure now pending before the leg
islature which, according to the
newspaper reports of its prOvis-
ions, proposes to require one de-
string to sign an initiative ref
erendum o rrecall petition to go
to the court house Of his county
without solicitation and ask per-
mission to sign such petition
which shall be kept there.
Some politicians regard it as
eminently proper for a rich can
didate for Office to employ an
army of paid workers to boost
his candidacy; to engage auto
mobiles and carriages for the
purpose of purchasing a vote by
means of the double or treble
wages paid 10 the drivers and
workers who adj in transporting
voters to the pOlls; to buy other
votes by employing men and WO-
men to go about the different pre-
cincts taking lists of the names
of the voters, he only purpose
and advantage of which is to af-
ford an excuse for buying the
; workers vote without coming
under the law against buying
votes, and for other vOte-buying
methods be employed under the
more polite methods so common
: among politicians, but they are
Mortified at the though Of per-
sons genuinely Interested in bet
tering governmental conditions
going about among their friends
and associates, without pay and
without hope of any other reward
than that which comes from work
we'll performed, asking them to
join in a movement to give the
whole people of the state public
opportunity to express their
views.
If these measures are valuable
at all they are valuable only be-
cause they can easily he made
available to the busy masses of
the people. The legislature
should not make these reform
principles subjects for joke and
rldicule.
The constitutional amendments
submitted four years ago for the
purpose of embodying these prin-
ciples into the constitution of the
state, made a joke of direct leg
islative principles. The joke
has been carried far enough and
we are mistaken at the temper
Of the people if they will endure
to have the legislature this year
make sport of them by pretend
ing to favor those principles by
enacting an even more ridicu-
lous law under the pretense that
it is for thep urpose of carrying
direct legislation into effect.
There has been prepared, and
will be submitted to the legisla-
ture, an initiative and referen-
dun measure which is better thar
anything now on the statute book
of any state or Of any country
1t guards against evey fault thai
has been raised against direct
legislation save the one singl,
objection to the principle itself
One opposed to the direct legis-
lative principles, should oppos,
that measure: those who favor
the direct legislative principI,
will support it.
The amendments providing fol
the initiative, referendum an,
recall were submitted by men un.
friendly to the principles. TIL,
result was that the people wer,
fooled. Legislation enacted +,
carry these amendments into er
feet, if enacted by men oppose,
to the direct Legislative principI,
will make foolish amendments
= even more foolish in the law.
It is this legislation force,
from unfriendly sources that ha
caused every reformatory meas
y ure it worst troubles. Their
has never been any friendly leg
islation in Idaho from friendI,
sources to the direct primary