Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1917-03-30
The Initiative And Referendum.


To the Editor of the Montgomery County
Sentinel.
For eighteen years in one or more of the
States of the Union laws have been passed
by direct popular vote under the initiative.
A small percentage of the voting popula-
ton has by petition caused to be presented
to the entire electorate laws or constitu-
tional amendments believed to be in the
public interest and these propositions have
been accepted and rejected. From this
experience useful lessons have been learned
with reference to popular government,
some of which | shall endeavor to point
out. in the hope that the citizens of the
State may be more ready to adopt the
initiative.
Laws to be passed by the people are
more carefully drawn as a rule than laws
passed by the legislatures. This statement
is so different from the impression sought
to be created by those opposed to popular
government as to deserve an explanation.
Before any initiative proposition is placed
upon petition it is usually thrashed over
by committee of men interested in Its
presentation to the public in the best posi-
BILE form. This done, its friends have not
trusted to their own judgment. but have
circulated the proposed law widely among
groups of men Of like mode of thought to
the end that every possible objection to
phraseology should be eliminated and the
utmost clearness of expression obtained.
Many such propositions have been printed
and reprinted score Of times before COM
pletion. The farmers have understood that,
once brought before the public eye, the
text would be criticised by thousands Of
men. viewing it from every standpoint.
Perfection, therefore. becomes the ideal in
preparing an initiative law.
Bills prepared for submission to the leg
islature are usually the product of the
minds of interested persons knowing exactly
what they want, and not always desiring
the interest of the people. So prepared.
they may be given an examination, usually
hasty, by the legislative committees to
which they are referred, and generally no
examination whatsoever by the great mass
of the legislators. who accept without ques-
ton whatever Is reported from committees.
An act, therefore. going through the leeis.
lature does not receive the careful detailed
attention given an act to be passed upon
by the people.
We are told that the people are not suf-
ficiently intelligent to themselves enact
laws. Those who say this forget that our
constitutions are adopted by the people
and this body, which is intelligent enough
to pass upon the fundamental law. ought
surely to be regarded as sufficiently intel
lieent to pass upon any amendment to it
In so doing, the people act upon the initia-
tive Of the constitutional convention which
proposes the constitution to them. There
is no difference in principle between the
whole mass acting upon a constitution
proposed by constitutional convention
and acting upon an amendment thereto
presented by five per cent Of their own
number. The same grade Of public intelli
gence is demanded in the one case as ir
the other. Greater efficiency. however. il
secured under the popular initiative be
cause the attention of the people is con
centrated upon the narrow proposition:
instead of being confused by multitude
Of subjects.
1t is again insisted that the people arr
not sufficiently intelligent, and that unde
the Initiative the ignorant rule. Again g
mistake. At the present time the Ignorant
and indifferent exercise a tremendous
power in government through their influ-
ence in the selection Of officers. Under
the initiative they largely eliminate them
selves. We have not then necessarily the
rule of the majority in numbers. but the
rule of the thoughtful. interested and in
formed majority, something we scarcely
obtain in the selection of officials.
We may illustrate. In recent votes in
the State of Maryland upon constitutional
amendments about forty per cent of the
entire electorate has taken part. but the
propositions adopted have received heavy
maiorities among that forty per cent and
have been propositions of vast Importance
to the citizens of the State. People have
to a greater or less degree informed them
selves as to the merits Of the different
amendments and voted accordingly. The
uniformed, the careless and corrupt. have
automatically eliminated themselves. This
is vastly better. therefore. than any edu-
cationaI or property qualification which
with a certain measure Of justice might
be the subject Of criticism Thus under
the initiative the real law makers are the
more competent
Some years ago. fifteen different propo-
sitions were submitted by initiative and
referendum to the voters Of Oregon. Be
fore the election the professors in the State
University Of Oregon canvassed the situ-
alton among themselves and comparison
was had afterward between the results OF
their vote and the result Of the vote in the
State at large. In fourteen instances on,
of the fifteen, the vote Of the State and OF
the college professors agreed. In the If
teenth case disagreement ensued, but two
years later the majority Of the State came
over to the views Of the majority Of the
professors. We may. therefore. believe
that the people Of the State Of Oregon
have an intelligent as well as a popular
government In these votes in Oregon the
Ignorant electors largely eliminated them
selves, for, as was shown at the time. the
ightest vote on popular questions was cast
in those wards Of Portland where the aver
age intelligence Of the people was the
lowest.
When we consider, therefore. that the
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