The Waterbury Democrat., 1934-09-11

T am pledged to support the Constitution, and it is my intention to bring about EPIC under the forms of the Constitution. The Constitution of the stae of Califor- mia provides that the supreme court shall consist of seven mem- bers. There i$ nothing to prohibit the altering of this number, and If the supreme court of California should veto any of our EPIC meas ures, I will advise the people im- mediately to start an initiative pro- cedure and increase the number of supreme court justices to IT. l have in my notebook the names of 10 lawyers in this state who can be depended upon to construe the Constitution and the laws in the interest of the whole people" Bond Issue Brings Crisis The bond issue for CAM had to be authorized by referendum vote of the people, and this was the cru cial point in the progress of EPIC. Every private interest in the state was opposing this large bond issue. If it failed, the whole plan was crippled. and so the governor car. ried the fight directly to the people. He said:
 'The big business interests of California were willing to see the bonded indebtedness of state, cities and counties increase by 2800 per cent in the last 20 years. That was while the banks were handling the loans, and big business was getting the contracts. But now that you want to do something for your selves, they say that it means ruin for you! They tell you that these bonds will not be repaid. But tell you they will be debt of honor for the state of California. am avoid ing the regular means of selling securities. Take your dollars out of the private banks and bring them to the state of California, and they will be used to buy the best land in the state at bargain prices, and to buy factories and machinery and the materials to put the people to work.
 Tribute Payment at End
 we are going to buy our state, and work it for ourselves and run it for ourselves, and pay no trib- ute from this time on to any pri- vate exploiters."
 The bond issue was endorsed, and the bonds printed and sold. Just as the private banking inter- ests had declared, it injurd the banking system of the state, and the CAM soon had chance to pur- chase some private banks, paying for them the physical valuation of their properties.
 In the meantime the other meas ures of EPIC had been passed; in- cluding that for the California Au- thority for Production (the CAP). The emergency funds had been used to buy lumber yards, brick factories. cement factories, can- neries, clothing factories, and other idle or bankrupt concerns for producing the immediate neces- sities.. Many factories were need ed to provide all the unemployed with work; they worked the seven hour day of MIRA, receiving at the outset the minimum wage of MIRA.
 Open Colony Stores
 For every factory and every stores, in which you could buy any, thing that was produced by any of the institutions of CAL and CAP. You could buy these products at actual cost; and these stores were open, not merely to, the colonists and workers, but to the general public at hours when they were not crowded.
 The process of EPIC was like that of swiftly flowing river eat ing into a sand bank. Private in- dustry began to crumble; and as quickly as any productive enter prise failed, it was made over into