The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1916-05-11
LIVE WIRE SPARKS
Have you registered :?


that everyone must register before he
can vote. The State Grange has fought
this bill for year working on the
theory that it was framed to olsen
franchise the farmer. About year
ago the Finley Grange held debate
on the subject of the new initiatives
and referendum laws which made nee
essary this registration measure, and
after carefully studying the provis-
ions of the new laws, and examining
the defects of the old laws, they APP
proved the new measures by an over
whelming vote. Their reasons can
be briefly summed up as follows:
That the initiative and referendum
laws were not framed to provide the
Legislation needed by the state, but
were rather devised for use in emer-
gencies-when the legislature refuses
to pass needed legislation, or passes
pernicious laws. Under the old sys-
tenn, any experimenter, any ousted
politician, could prepare petitions on
any subject whatever, and, by going
thru the saloons and among the riff
raft of our big cities, could get the
necessary signatures without any diff
fculty. That 900 Of the initiative
measures were placed on the ballot in
this way by the most undesirable ele-
ment in the state. That large per-
centage of the signers were not quail
fled voters, and that practically all
of the petitions showed an enormous
per cent of forgeries. That the sys-
tenn promoted freak legislation Of the
worst kind. That legislation was so
easy to initiate that the ballots were
loaded down with pernicious measures.
On the other hand, If a real need
existed, it would not be difficult to
get the voters to go to their place Of
registration and sign the petition. The
voter desiring to find petition would
always know where to find one while
under the old system, the farmer could
seldom locate petition unless it was
backed and circulated by the Grange
or some similar organization. I'm
questionably the new law would pre-
vent many freak measures from en-
numbering the ballot, and would allow
the states citizens to provide their
own legislation without having freak
measures forced upon them, crowded
the voters would get out and register
Could anyone imagine that in times
such as these an apathy should exist,
that only 1870 of the rural vote has
registered so far? In the face Of such
Indifference, is it any wonder that the
farmers have never secured an effic-
lent rural credit law, national mar
keting measure or that they are the
poorest paid class in the nation?
No. Decidedly the State Grange is
working on the wrong principle. The
law won't disenfranchise the farmer:
he is Merchandising himself. Those
who don't take enough interest to reg
lister are those whose vote is annually
herded to the polls like his cattle to
the stock yards. Because our state
Grange officers realize that it is
mighty hard to arouse the farmer to
register and vote, they prefer to have
our legislation framed by the riffraff
of the populace. In their efforts to
choose the lesser Of two evils they
have chosen the evil which can't be
cured. The Finley Grange has gone
on record as favoring universal regis
tration, and then making the citizen
register.
Our community is as bad as the rest
of them. It is the tendency to say.
"There's lots of time yet" and to put
it off until too late. In fact, many
don't even know that they must reg
lister. It is decidedly up to the grange.
the commercial club and the various
wide-awake organizations of the state
to get the people out. 1t was sug-
gested at the Pomona Grange held at
Benton City last Saturday, that reg
istration parties be given to which the
clerk of the precincts should be in
vited to come and bring his registra-
ton books so that all attending might
register. Other entertainment could
be provided to insure a good atten-
dance. The question was raised as to
the clerk could take the books
from his Office, for the instructions
seemed to provide that this was i'm
possible. One Of the clerks near
wrote to the Secretary Of
State for instructions, and was adj
vised that he must keep the books in
his possession, but could take them
anywhere in the county to facilitate
We believe that this
for registration parties is
q good one, and that the oranges, COM
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