The Medina sentinel. [volume] (Medina, Ohio) 1888-1961, 1921-06-30

mitative and referendum provisions
OF the constitution Is found in the
popular will formed in the slow and
sure processes of experience, so the
disregard and notification OF those
provisions by the legislature and the
court is thing much to be regretted,
because of its effect upon the con.
ndence of the people in the strength
OF constitutional government.
THE plain people of Ohio placed
this proviso in the constitution, know
ing that they were saying what they
meant and believing that the legis-
lature and the courts would construe
It to mean what they said. That is,
there must be an emergency and the
law must be necessary for the i'm.
mediate preservation of the public
peace, health or safety.
"And the only possible ground for
the setting forth of the reasons is
that the people in making the con.
stitution wanted the right and the
opportunity to see if the reasons
were such as to show them that the
law was passed in an emergency-an
exigency, and was necessary for the
immediate preservation Of the pub
lie health, peace or safety. There is
the unavoidable conclusion that it
was required that these reasons
should be there set forth for the pur.
pose of having them laid before the
people and the court in order to test
their suficiency.
There is absolutely no relation
whatever between any Of the pur.
poses stated in the title of the act
and an emergency. A close study Of
the provisions Of the act fails to dis
! cover any provision which would lead
any one to think that it was being
adopted as an emergency law to meet
the necessities of a sudden or unex-
pected occasion or exigency for the
immediate preservation of the pub.
lie health, peace or safety, or that it
was being passed to meet, as stated
in the Zangerle case, condition
which is extraordinary and unfore
seen.
Surely it would seem to be clear
that the legislature did not feel that
the governmental machinery already
provided and long in existence fol
the preservation of the public health
peace and safety was weak and in
efficient, or that it was confronted
with an emergency which necessi
tated law for the immediate pres
ervation of the public peace, healtl
and safety.
"Not only is there nothing in the
entire body Of the law to indicate
that there is any emergency which
makes necessary the passage Of sucl
an emergency law nor to indicate
that the provisions Of this partcula
law have any relation to such sub
ject, but the reasons for such neces
sity as set forth in Section 5 of tn
act utterly fail to disclose any sucl
necessity or such emergency.
"The legislature has solemnly dc
: clared that because of the fact tina
it has proposed to adopt compre
hensiye and revolutionary ripper bill
the efficiency Of the state government
has been affected and that the az
tivities of the government are i'm
peded while awaiting the accomplish
ment of the impending upheaval.
: amounts to declaration by the leg
islature that it has itself brough
about state of confusion which i
hurtful and undesirable, but eve
then it does not disclose any relation
to the psblic health, peace or safet
! or to the necessity that the prov
sions of this particular law should g
into immediate effect for the pres
ervation thereof.
IF the reorganization Of the at
ministrative departments Of the gov
ernment could be declared to b
made in order to meet an emergenc
it would amount to holding that tn
initiative and referendum was
meaningless thing, worse than a
ordinary plaything, because whe
this is played with it destroys tn
confidence of the people in their gov
ernment.
81 commend the anxiety expresse
in the majority opinion concernin
!, the advance of anarchy, bolshevisr
and communism. The followers @
those dangerous cults are all oppose
to constitutional government. hac
approaches the same destructive enc
but along different lines. They al
oppose property, contract rights an
all the inalienable rights secured b
the guarantees Of our constitution.
know of no more disintegrating il
fiuences referred to than by creatin
the impression that by illegitimat
and unconstitutional practices tn
, strength and vitality of constitutions
: government is being undermined.
! "A thing much to be regrette
about this decision is that it come
at a time when the human rae
|, seems checked and appalled, in tn
. presence of chaotic conditions.
. "The question in this case is nc
whether the referendum is wise Q
0 nnwise. but whether a provision {