The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-10-19
VOTE NO ON
AMENDMENTS,
]. E. ROBINSON
Venerable League Associate JUS
tice Raps Seven Out of Ten
Proposals.
BONDING PLAN TOO VAGUE
Jurist Does Not Believe People
Should Be Asked to- Vote
in the Dark.
BONDING PLAN TOO VAGUE

-n+'DC you care for the opinion of YOUR
humble servant on the ten cOnStitu-
tlonal amendments to be submitted to
the voters in November?'' asks AS
sociate Justice James e. Robinson, the
venerable member OF the supreme
bench whom the league elected two
years ago by vote only second to
that OF Governor Frazier, and whose
independence of thought and action
have time and again been found dis
concerting by the league managers.
Seven Of Ten Are Bad.
Seven Of, them" continued
Justice Robinson, in his Saturday
Evening Letter which for the last
two years has been featured by
The Bismarck Tribune, "are by in
itiative petition; three by the leg
islative assembly. AFTER CARE
Full CONSIDERATION DO
ADVISE YOU TO VOTE AGAINST ,
ALL OF THEM EXCEPTING
THESE THREE:
Il. The initiative and referen-
dunn as applied to legislation
"2. The constitutional amend
ments, or the manner of amending
the constitution n
"3. Public ownership of indus
tries"
Old House Bill ~.
The league is proposing for the ap-
proval of the electors at the November
election ten constitutional amend
ments, seven Of which embody the
Soul of House Bill A." the famous
draft through which the league in the
last general assembly sought to legis-
late new constitution for North Da-
kota. These amendments have been
attacked from many sides, but the
league managers, apparently, were
wholly unprepared for. flank attack
from one of their own generals, who
only recently joined in the majority
Nonpartisan league supreme court
justices opinion holding that these
amendments should be given place
on the ballot This opinion reversed
a unanimous ruling OF the North Da-
kota supreme court in 1916 holding
that the initiative amendment to the
constitution under which the league
sought to place it's seven amendments
on the ballot was imperative and not
self-executing.
SuH SuSpCHu All LAWN
Judge Robinson proceeds to discuss
the leagues socialistic program in his
Saturday Evening Letter in today's
Tribune as follows: 49, -... +
"Under the first two amend
nlents it will be much easier for
the people to make and amend the
laws and the constitution. To the
first measure there is just one OBJ
lection. 1t provides that 1000
electors at large may by refer
: endum petition suspend the op
GRAFTON OF any measure enacted by
the legislature, excepting on emer
gency measure. That makes it too
easy for few dissatisfied voters
to suspend the operation of nearly
all legislation. 1t is a serious de-
4 feet which it will be necessary to
remedy in two years.
The public ownership amendment
is by far the most important of the
whole bunch. Under it the state, each
county and each city may engage in
any industry, enterprise, or business,
the same as natural person. 1t may
learn to make an honest existence in
stead OF forever remaining a beggar,
a nursing or a tyrant exacting trib-
ute from the people. If the state cor
poration cannot learn to live or exist
the same as other corporations. the
same as New Zealand-without levy
ing tributes, it deserves to perish from
the earth.
The Bonding Amendment.
The purpose of the bonding amend
ment is good and beneficent but it is
subject to several objections: 1t is