Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1915-04-30
The Constitutional Amendment
Providing For Referendum.

local Home Rule amendment, TO be sub
mitted to the people this fall, and discussed
in recent letter to your valued paper
desire to take up next the constitutional
amendment to be voted on, providing for
the Referendum. The words Initiative and
Referendum" have become familiarin public
print, but their meaning is not well under
stood, at least in our State. The Initiative
will not be submitted this fall, the number
Of State Senators in its favor at the last
session being one short Of the Constitu-
tional three-fourths. The Referendum,
however, was voted by both houses by an
overwhelming majority to be submitted to
the people. and with that alone shall now
deal.
By the pending proposal laws Of gen.
eral character passed by the Legislature.
except certain emergency laws necessary
for the immediate preservation Of public
health and safety, and laws for the main
tenance Of the State government or pub
lie institutions not exceeding the next
previous appropriation. may be submit
ted TO the people. In order to obtain
such submission. petitions therefor have
TO be presented to the Secretary of State.
signed by ten thousand qualified voters, Of
whom not more than half shall be resi-
dents. Of Baltimore city, or any one county.
and purely local laws may be submitted to
the voters Of the counties affected or the
city Of Baltimore. upon a demand Of ten
per cent.
The petitions for such submission have
to be filed before the first day Of June,
although If only half have signed by that
time, an additional thirty days is granted
for obtaining the balance Of the signatures.
II at the election majority vote against
the law, it is defeated. otherwise it con-
tinues in effect.
At the present time only one man in
the State, the Governor, can veto law.
Under the Referendum, ten thousand men
may veto until they have a chance to
carefully examine the subject. any law Of
the character indicated, passed by the
people and signed by the Governor. and
we may believe that ten thousand men
has as correct ideas as to the interests Of
the public as may be possessed by single
occupant Of the gubernatorial chair We
have in the Referendum an enlarged, al
though temporary. veto.
The general principle of the Referendum
is not new. Constitutional conventions
and legislatures submit constitutional prop
ositions to the vote of the people With
this we are familiar. Our only unfamil-
iarity is with the idea that a considerable
percentage of the people may submit to
the whole people the determination Of the
question whether particular law shall or
shall not 60 into effect. We are now simply
looking at new phase of an old subject.
The Referendum does not come to the
people of Maryland as an untried idea.
There are now some eighteen States of the
Union which have embodied it in their
Constitutions. and which have practiced it
for periods running from one to fifteen
years. Among the States possessing the
Referendum are California, OREGON Wash
ineton, Arizona, Nevada. Idaho, Montana,
Colorado, one of the Dakotas. Nebraska
Oklahoma. Arkansas. Missouri, Michigan
Ohio and Maine. this including Northern
and Southern States. Republican and Demo-
cratic States. In no one of them has any
serious proposal ever been made to dc
away with il, once il has been adopted.
The Referendum wherever adopted has
awakened people up to their political
necessities, and in many Of these States
important reforms have been brought about
through it. and in no one State have the
fears Of its opponents proved to be justified
The Referendum in those States adopt
ing ii has had a SOLDERING effect upon the
legislatures. Their members have had to
confront the fact that their acts were subject
70 revision, IL very far wrong. by the veto OF
the whole people. and they have kept them
selves within the bounds of prudence. In
this respect the Referendum has proven to
be a very efficient gun behind the door,
as President Wilson termed it,
The fear has sometimes been expressed
that If the Referendum were adopted III
Maryland, the ignorant vote of the State
would control its affairs. This fear is with
out any possible foundation. The Ignorant
vote is felt in the selection Of candidates fol
Offices, in whose success the less intelli-
gent have felt personal interest. When
however. there has been necessity for the
submission Of questions to the people
experience has demonstrated throughout
the United States. that only those who felt
a real interest in the matters at issue
would express themselves at the polls. The
more Ignorant and debased have not felt any
personal interest in the questions of large
public policy. about which they were often
incapable Of forming an idea. In States,
therefore. like Oregon. 1t has been found
that the votes on measures were from sixty
10 ninety per cent Of the votes on men.
Those voting expressed their idea, whether
they we're night or wrong. and we will
concede that the man who has an idea
ought 10 be given the fullest opportunity
Of expressing it and that it is only by such
means that in the end truth-which always
is parallel with the best interests Of the
Iaree maiOrity-vill find success.
At the present time selfish interests
naturally have an influence over legiSla-
tive bodies out Of all proportion TO their
relative Importance in the community.
They can organize and threaten or cajole
or deceive members Of the legislature. but
when a proposition is brought before the
the entire people. these selfish interests
are Lost sight Of In the GREAT diversified
interests Of the whole mass Of the pOpula-
tim