Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-06-30
STATE CONVENTION
(Continued from page onel

ship and county officers should Re
elected by the people. 1t was through
a shameless perversion of this pro-
vision that Ex-Governor Cox foisted
upon the people the Warnes Tax
law, which they repudiated when they
repudiated him
Whence came the sprinkling all
through our statutes of the imperalis-
tic phrase ''by and with the consent of
the governor" which secured to him
autocratic power and gave him the
strangle hold on the salary, the bread
and butter of every employee of the
state? You will search in vain in
the Constitution for such a mandate.
The legislation and the administra-
ton practices that discredited my
predecessor in the eyes of the people
were the measures and the acts that
built up a monstrOus political ma
chine for the benefit of the political
henchmen who automatically" came
to his support.
present administration had no part in
reshaping our constitutional or statu-
tory structure" and charge that l had
neither interest nor sympathy with
his now famous "ffty-six varieties Of
fundamental changes" Let US see.
One of the fundamental changes in
our Constitution which was most ex-
tensively discussed, what is known as
the initiative and referendum. l admit
that my predecessor spoke long and
loud for the reform in 1912. "More
power to the people" was his slogan
then What did he do when he be-
came governor? He had the power
TO determine the sufficiency of peti-
tions placed in the hands of one man
elected with him on the same ticne t,
his Secretary of State. That officer
was authorized to trample under foot
and declare null and void the refer
endum petitions of the people wheE-
ever they ran counter to his par
tisan wish, or the will of his friend
and master, the Governor. In his eff
fort to defeat referendums on his ad-
ministration measures, includi 1g the
Warnes Tax law, my predecessor car
ried his high handed methods so far
that one of his close political friends
got into the meshes of the law and was
convicted of penitentiary offense.
With the mere mockery of a hearing
the petitions of the people were
thrown out by wholesale and the
bosses with a sardonic grin said in
effect, what are you going to do
about it."
The people answered in 1914 when
they hurled the Democratic machine
into the junk-pile.
! When the Republican legislature as
sembled it ripped from the referen-
dunn law the opportunity for fraud
and boss rule and made the common
pleas courts of every county of the
state the final authority to determine
the sufficiency of referendum petitions
We overthrew the throne erected ir
the office of a partisan secretary OF
state and carried out in spirit and let.
ter the initiative and referendum pro.
vision of the constitution which my
predecessor had sought to use and hac
used for selfish and shameless ends.
He charged this administration with
subserviency to the spoil system.
thank him for that, for it invites pub.
lie attention to his record and oul
record on the civil service. When he
came into office he found the civi
service clause in the revised Consti
tuition, coupled with the express man
date to enact laws in accord there
with. What did he do? He first fill
ed all the offices with his partisan
friends and then by the subterfuge Of
a non-competitive examination blank