The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1916-10-06

$4,000 has been expended, and while
there will yet be some further eX-
pense connected with the election of
November T. the probabilities are that
a considerable portion of the balance
will be turned back into the general
fund at the close of the 1915-17 bien-
Num-
1t is only fair to say that a consider
able portion of the amount that has
been expended was wasted through
the absurdly expensive methods Of
Secretary Howell, who has seized up
on the opportunity offered o bring a
lot of people to Olympia to waste the
states funds in absurdly demoralized
methods of Checking petitions, in
the hope that giving out such political
"jobs" could be turned to his political
advantage. Howell is an enemy of
direct legislation, and seeks to make
the method unpopular. This waste
should not be held against the prin-
ciple of direct legislation-it should
be accepted as a condemnation of this
officers political trickery.
1t is astounding that a newspaper
like the Post-Intelligencer would at
tempt to fool the people with such a
glaring misstatement of facts, es-
pecially after nearly four years of
operation under the system Of direct
legislation, during which its actual
expense has been definitely fixed.
The legislature for the biennium of
1913-1915, the first two years of the
operation of the system, and before
the cost could be very definitely de
termined, made an appropriation of
100000 Friends of the act at that
time protested against this large APP
preparation and charged that it was
being made for the purpose of preju-
dicing the public.
More than $25o,ooo of this appro-
priation was turned back into the gen.
eraI fund at the close of the biennium,
for according to the figures issued by
Secretary of State Howell in his re-
port at the close of that biennum the
total cost of the initiative and refer
endum proceedings was $45,975.21.
In the face of the POst-Intel-
ligencer's false figures, it is interest
ing to note that the total cost of in
itiative and referendum figures for
the four years in which the system
has been in use is only about $4,000
in round numbers-not half million
dollars.
Where do editors get the nerve to
go behind such monstrous falsehoods?
The initiative and referendum has
not cost -four times as much as the
entire expense of legislative SEES
sion" In the four years that we
have had direct legislation, the two
legislatures have cost the people
about $265, legislation has
cost about $SO,000-all of which goes
to show that ''while figures do not
lie" liars sometimes do some tall
figuring
It's Value Is That of a Safeguard
And yet the real value of the in
itiative, referendum and recall is not
to be compared to the expense of
legislative body-it might be matter
of real economy to the people, even
though it did cost -four times as
real value lies in its power to protect
the rights of the people, where the
legislature falls under the influence of
the peoples enemies and refuses to
pass needed legislation that requires
the referendum for the protection of
popular rights.
Nearly all the initiative measures
set on foot in this state and all of the
referendum measures were prepared
and fathered by secret organizations,
dominated and controlled by a few in
dividuals." walls the POst-Intelli-
gencer. | challenge the Post-Inteli-
gencer to tackle the job of Control
ling" any of these organizations with
"a few individuals" 1t would have
merry job on its hands-these organ
izations are not in the habit of being
controlled by the methods to which
the Post-lntelligeneer is accustomed
and by which standard it judges all
others.
also challenge the Post-lntelH-
gencer's statement that these are
secret organizations. All the proceed
ings by VIII CHI the bills of the joint
legislative committee were drafted and
fathored were open to the public
were participated in publicly, openly
in broad daNlicht. and the people in.