10
THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND. SUNDAY MORNING. NOVEMBER 21. 1000.
EXPLAINS INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
One pf lb import! topics of dl ,t havr a mMur( submitted, than le
now provided i,y taw.
Hie I'd' votera are
ruasloa M th annual meeting of th
National Municipal lrao-. khlt
lMt ia.eeaaiun All of Hie lai .ek
at, Ornlanatl. Ohio. waa n
Illative anil referendum. At tbe re
. jtieet of tha t.ffkers uf the -It-aisuu a
paper n this aubject pieiMrxi b'
J. N. Teal of Portland, ami ti a
read Ual Wedneaday aflernnon.
Mr. Tel r-vleed the history anil
practical working of tha Initiative; au-t
referendum In Ihla atatr, reciting tha
fc iMcaalna on whlrn tha poople have ex
ercised tha power conferred upon lhni
by these innaxurra. and dla.um.rd the
' results that hve been obtained. 1U
, taper i In part aa follows;
Oeueee for Adoption.
In my opinion tho causes which letl to
tha adontlon of thea powers are tne
Mint thai ara In evidence throughou
tha country srenorally. The people fel
tha government waa getting away from
. them and tbey desired a more direct
' control. loth In the making of la and
In their enforcement than ttw-y enjoyea
Mora DotenL. liowaver. than thla waa
"" tha failure of tho Inslalntura to re
' apond to tho demand of Mir people for
, tha enforcement or laws respecting ma
control of corrtorntlon, taxation and
kindred subjects sffecttng P'ibllo lnter
eata. Boaa ridden l-gmluturea' and
ouncll wore the rule rather than tha
exception, and the pmple were tired of
, con In it and pleading to aeciire dealred
leclslatloji. Legislatures and councils
" were too often more solicitous for spe
i , clal "than for the public inlereata and
, tha people wanted to secure some er.
, fectlve and direct method of making
their Influence, felt and their wishes
. reapected.
Difficult to Oat Zaw.
The difficulty in securing the enact
ment of tha Australian ballot law. and
tba registration law are examples of
. laws tha peoale wanted, and which
were enacted grudgingly and after long
continued agitation. Other Important
measures failed repeatedly to pass. Tha
combined effect was to create a senti
ment (aa shown by tha vote) over
whelmingly in favor of the new pro
cedure. After Its adoption tax law
and other publio measures were pro
posed under It and paaaed. the conse
quence toeing that tho same Influences
which nravented the passage of the
name character of laws by tha legisla
ture are the Oudlieat foce of the In-
illative and referendum, although this
1s not to say that there are not very
many good cltlxens who are opposed
to It, both on principle and In practice.
Criticisms of Initiative.
Walla .the powers reserved under the
initiative and referendum have a re
straining influence on the legislator and
operate as a check on vicious, extrava
rnnt and special legislation, there is
also ft tendency to cause the legislator
to feel' less personal responsibility ana
to leave to tho people matters wnicn
ha should act on. It also provides what
seems to some too easy and expeditious
a method of submitting amendments to
the constitution. Indeed, some claim
that substantially we have no constitu
tion left ' in the sense it is generally
understood. :
Formerly It required not only a ma
' Jority of those voting at an election,
but a proposed amendment was required
to be agreed to "by a majority of all
the members elected to each house in,
' two successive legislative assemblies,
before submission to the people. Now
an amendment may be proposed directly
' 1 : .1. - Hai,ntd An,. A malAHfV Sif fh f9tH
W-w . l J tliO ... rf - - '
voting on it at any general election Is
sufficient to carry tne proposition.
" When to 7Uo Petition.
The initiative petition tor the sub-
mission of an amendment must be riled
with the secretary of state not less than
four - months before tne election at
which it is to be voted upon, and must
he submitted at a regular general, elec
tion unless otherwise ordered by the
legislative assembly; This direct method
- of amending the constitution unques
tionably imposes very grave responsi
bilities upon the electors..
When originally adopted H-was gen
' erally thought that oniy measures of
" great Importance and of limited num
ber would toe submitted under the initia
tive. In practice it has. been found that
euch ia not . the" ;cam, : although thla
statements subject to some quallflca-
Hmi '. Nm' linnntnrallv vhpn It ' V.A
first adopted quite a ' number of laws
were .5 proposed and nearly all carried.
i tha , enactment of wnlch'had been de
manded over and over, again by the
, people only to be defeated by the legis
lature. -In other words, it was but the
Inevitable - result of the people having
the power to carry out their will, which
.had been" hitherto thwarted by the fai!
ure of the legislature to act at all, or
If it did act. It acted adversely.
: Truth la Critiolsm.
It Is also claimed that laws submitted
under ,'the initiative may be, and are
sometimes, prepared rrom a biased or
partisan standpoint, and thus are liable
to be unfair, lit considered, or poorly
prepared, and, not being susceptible of
amendment.' must be adODted or reiected
as presented. There is truth in this
criticism. At the same time there is
considerable expense attached to sub
mitting a law, and the poople. if they
understand it, will not support an un
fair or one sided measure. The chief
difficulty In this respect, however, is
In getting the facta before the publio
so that they understand them. A popu
lar demand crystkllzed into the form of
. a law headed by a "catchy title !s
; too apt to receive favorable considera
tlon the details and imperfections be
ing overlooked in the desire to obtain
the ultimate purpose.
r Another objection is. that it takes too
much of tho time of the people in study
log proposed legislation. On the other
hand, it might be urged that to compel
people generally to study and under
Stand the conditions under which they
are living could ecarcf-ly be called an
objection.
Vtatasnents Advisable.
However. ven if not necessary, it
lias been found advisable for organiza
tions to issu atMtemrnts to voters cov
ering the qvicstlonn to be submitted
They generally vnFit of a short
statement of the measure with the num-
ter of the ballot nd th recommends
tlons of the organization on the particu
lar question. The fax pa ye rn" league
of thla city lias been sj-lally active
in wis woric but It can be readily un
derstood that the printing and circu
lating of these etetetuenta and reports
tvmim eonaioerabie money, and a ltd elec
tions every year, ope the city, the
othar tha atate and county, it keeps
those Interested pretty buy.
I think the fortarolna- are the -hW
Objections te.tb Initiative, except mcb
ara urgrd by thoee who are nppnuej
to It trrt principle, or the cobaervaUvea
wbe view wltk alarm change In any
lretion. or thoa who wish to limit
ratbr than eeUrjre either tha power
er the rpoajbtirtJes of the peopi
as a bcU. Oa tk other hand, the
I nits tne places la Ura bands cf the
IMpVa tfce cwwer to taawsnu nra r
trma aa4 -harre mt -piTJrv enact
laws as thjr May deasre. er be-
be te "their Nt fntereat. A
- rr cf eiaenses hare bes eve-rested,
n H tbf UHna rae fllewlng: ,
1 , T rrw4 tlat a Urtf Bowiber ft
m. j atet.J W ra-i-irt-a, la order 1
45.144
44,526
16.735
16,779
6,440
C.S80
tight per cent of
now required to
i'0hm any nit-aaure by jvelition.
3 To have Initiative mnaaurea flrat
utniitted to the legislature with tha
i mil i to iajta upon or 'to amend them,
and If anirmjr.l to aubmit the aJternatlva
liuaitioii u Ilia people. 8uch an
miiritdmrnt Iih hern prepared by friends
of the Initiative and la now Under pub
lic conald'-iatlmi
I. Limiting Hi.- number of constitu
tional amendment or laws that may be
ulxuKti.l iu votn at any one election.
4. Uniltntion of aubject matter to a
ainglo propoaitlon In concrete form.
I. It hi also been euggeated that
the initiative ha confined to bllla that
hava been Introduo-d and failed to paas
In the leglaleture and those thai have
beei. vetoed by the governor.
Kxcept No 3, so far as I am .aware,
none of the other auggeated amend-
menta have been reduced to writing or
prepared for publio discussion.
Purposa of Befereadom.
The referendum Is felt to be of great
value In operating aa preventive ofwpe
cial, extravagant or otherwiae obnox
ious legislation. This power operates
as a strong deterrent against extrava
gant legislation or that fitvorable to
apecUl Interesta. ' Tha Indiscriminate
granting of franchises, the bartering
away of public rights and the granting
of special pilvllcgea or all kinds which
have been so prolific of corruption In
the past would not have been Indulged
In to the extent thny have had the peo
ple always reserved this power.
There is but lllfle criticism of the
referendum. - About the only change
suggested la to provide for a larger
number of petitioners.
, Type of Measures.
It could hardly be aaid thnt the peo
ple have not voted intelligently, and
for what they thought to be for the
public interest. yjxn measures that have
been submitted for their consideration.
Moreover, nearly all the laws passed
by the people, though poanlbly differ
ing in language or construction, have
baen rejected by the legislature. The
following list Is illustrative of measures
submitted and votes cast thereon:
1906. Yes. No.
Equal suffrage 86.928 46,971
To amend local option
law 35.397
To purchase a private toll
road road - 31,625
For Initiative ' and refer
endum on local, special -and
municipal laws.... 47,77
Prohibiting free passes.. 57,281
(No enacting clause).
Requiring sleeping car,
refrigerator car and oil
companies to pay an
nual license upon gross
earnings . ' '. 69.635
Requiring k express, tele
graph and telephone
com panes to pay an
nual license upon gross
- earnings 70,872
Ho Enacting Clause..
It win be noted that the act prohibit
ing free pauses had no enacting clause,
and in consequence failed to become a
law. ' , .
Tho ' act to regulate transportation
and commerce, etc., was passed ' at the
legislative session of 1907. Certain pro
visions of this act, In effect, prohibited
the giving of (free transportation.
Notwithstanding the vote of the peo
ple but recently cast upon the question.
the legislature at the same - session
passed an act requiring the railroads to
grant free transportation to state and
county officials aa a consideration pre
cedent; to acquiring land- for corporate
purposes by the exercise of eminent do
main. A referendum was called upon
this act, and at the election of 1908 it
was defeated by a vote of 59,406 to 28,
856. This exemplifies the use to which
the referendum may be put, and Is an
excellent Illustration why It Is ex
tremely unlikely that it will be repealed.
Bef erendum oa Appropriation
A referendum waa also called on an
appropriation made for the state uni
versity. The appropriation was sua
talned by a vote of 44.'116 to 40,535. This
referendum is occasionally referred to
as an Illustration of its dangers. Per
sonally, I do not view it in that way, as
I think the discussion that followed, and
the better understanding the people In
the end had of the subject, did good
rather than harm.
I might add - that the large negative
vote does not really represent the feel
ings of our people toward the state unt
versity. A number of local conditions
and issues swelled this vote, and I think
I am safe in saying the people of the
state generally take a Justifiable pride
In this institution, which I am glad to
say Is growing in strength and influ
ence all the time. .
Among the measurejujwbmltted in
1908, and defeated were the following:
Measures Defeated,
Increasing the compensation of mem
bers of the legislature to $400 for a
regular session and $10 per day for each
extra session, Instead of S3 per day and
mileage.
An amendment increasing the number
of Judges of the supreme .court and
changing the Jurisdiction ' of certain
other courts.
An act appropriating 125.000 annually
for four years for purchasing grounds
and building armories for the use of the
Oregon National Guard.
Scroal Suffrage Amendment,
An act giving cities and towns within
their corporate limits additional and ex
elusive power to license and control or
prohibit theatres, race tracks and the
sale of liquors, ete. This proposal was
considered to be something in the na
ture of a trick to avoid the effect of
the local option law, and received 39.-
4 42 affirmative vote and 52,346 nega
tive votes.
Single Tax Amendment,
The single tax amendment was de
feated by a vote of 60,871 to 13,066.
The following carried:
Permitting the location of state lnsti
tutlons elsewhere than at the seat of
government by act of .legislature and
vote of the people.
Changing the time of holding the reg
ular general biennial election from tha
first Monday in June to the Tuesday
after the first Monday in November.
Two laws prohibiting fishing for sal
mon, 'etc.. were both passed. One waa
known aa the "up river bill." the other
as the "down river bllL" The effect of
the passage of both laws was to prohibit
the taking of salmon, although such was
not the Intention of the proposers. They
only wanted In each case to restrain the
rival interest. While on Ita face It
would indicate that the vote eaat la evi
dence of confusion that may reault from
the uae of the Initiative, yet If the sub
ject was understood as we understand It
here, the reault la not surprising. More
over. It ts not uncommon to find contra
dictory laws as well as acta having Ir
reconcilable provlalona passed by the
legislature.
- Beport ot Oosamlsatom.
ta the report of tba Oregoa conserva
tion eoenmisatoB of 190a. the committee
I n prepared the. paper ea tha aalmoa
niu'try to connection with thla rot
aid 5 .
fere la eome an ironies a sane g tbe
nperSTors of any Binds of gwar aaratast
any Whet- IM-twe- the gll'.netters of
tbm 14 a4 ta wftevnrjen of the urper
rlre-f tte rtea te odmi boattllty. Op-
ps!jg delegations have snet before tbe
legislatures for many years and each
party has succeeded In blocking leglala
Hot) proposed by tha otnere.' At the iaat
election (In June. 1101), each party had
Us bill proposed under tha Initiative.
each legislating the other's method
destruction and preaervlng Its own. The
electors. In an ecceee of dlguat, tinged
with sardonic humor, passed both bill
by different but declalve mojorltlea. Tha
laws thus passed taken together prac
tlcally prohibit fishing by either method
far aa the Irglaistlon of thla stale
alone was competent to do SO,"
BecaU Adopted.'
A law Instructing the members of the
legislature to vote tor and elect the
candidate for l ulled mates senator who
receives the hlghcat number of votes
at the general election, carried by 69.
68 to 11.162.
Au act authorising the legislature to
provide for proportionate repreaenta-
tlon paased by a large vote.
The "corrupt practlcea act. alao
paased by a heavy majority. This act i
la very long. and. while Ita object I
good. It Is exceedingly complicated, and
It la doubtful If soma of Ita provisions
can, or should te enrorcea. i in-re is
no question, however, but what Its op
eration waa noticeable at elections fol
lowing Its adoption, and It certainly had
a. marked effect for the better.
Constitutional Amendment,
A constitutional amendment was also
passed provldrng that no person can be
charged In the circuit court with a com
mission of a crime or misdemeanor, ex
cept upon indictment found by a grand
Jury Trior to the passage of this act,
the district attorney could, uptfn hi
own Inveetisatlon, file an Information
which In effect waa aa Indictment.
nAb analysis of the measures sub'
mttted and thi vote of the people there
on would Indicate that there is nothing
In the vote oa these measures which
would Justify condemnation of the law.
or fear of Its. cousequenoea,!.
At the city election la Portland, held
In June this year, there were IS tnea
urea submitted to the people. Aa the
number of measures aubmltted at this
election la often used as a "horrible
example" of what the initiative aad ref
erendum may lead to. simple Justice de
mands the facta be stated. There were
16 questions submitted, j Of these, II
were proponed amendments to the
charter, which can be changed only by
vote of the people. Of theaa. three
were aubmltted by a charter board ap
pointed for. the purpoae of submitting
new charter or amendment to -the
exlating charter;. IS were submitted by
the council direct, or upon the advice
of a committee of seven citizens ap
pointed to propose changes And none
oy petition through the Initiative.
Ordinances aubmltted.
Nina ordinances' were submitted. Of
these two were aubmltted by the coun
cil and seven by the Initiative petition.
One referendum was called against an
ordinance passed by the council. It will
thua be seen the people, through,, the
Initiative 'and referendum, were direct
ly responsible for .eight of the measures
submitted.- - However. It is but fair to
say that a number of the other should
have, and probably would have been
submitted had not the council acted.
Many of the charter amendments were
of slight Importance, but, as before
stated, as the charter can only be
changed by a vote of lha paofle, had l
be Submitted, Others were or great ii
Dortanca,! A commission form of gv
rnmont waa defeated by t .;
TJ aaalnsL to for. A manictpai
eleotrlo lisht plant waa " proposed. It
waa defeated by 9614 agalnat. to 6011
for. Troposcd ordinances granting to a
Uothenburg aaaoctation ina exclusive
right to aell spirituous liquors In tbe
city of Portland, and a ratner stringent
excise ordinance were both badly de
feated.
An amendment requiring franchlee
holders to keep aornaalble accounts and
report to ih city auditor, carried by a
vote of lu.301 la ita favor and 4444
agalnat
Twenty-seven of Ita recommendations
were adopted, and eight were not Of
the eight two at leaat were of no par
ticular Iraportairce. -'.
Be peal of In Ml stive aad Befereadaaa.
In my opinion, a propoaltioa In Ihla
state to repeal the Initiative and refer
endum, notwithstanding certain defecte
and dlaadvantages. would meet with
defeat. In the future, defects may de
velop that will provoke a repeal, but
thla I doubt. On the contrary, I think
It much more probable that the.de-
fecta will be remedied, and the axe will
not be laid at tbe root of the tree. It
la true the initiative and referendum
la a radical departure from our former
practices, and Imposes a grave respon
sibility upon the people. Thus far on
the whole, they have fully met "this
burden and In my opinion It has worked
for good, nnd nothing le of more Impor
tance In a government such as oura
than to place responsibility directly
upon the people. It Is my belief that
they can be trusted to act upon meaa
urea that may be submitted to them,
and that aa a whole they will act fairly
and Justly, if they undeistaud t lie in
Ttisy taay be tleoelved, but, I do not be
lieve any considerable number of po
pie will knowingly be unjuat or unfair
or act otherwlae than what they be
Iteve to be to the Interest of the coin-
nuiilty, ' i '
Oompartsoa eTrla,
Ida not letre to make any eomparl-
aons between law pad by tha legla
tature and thoae paeeed by the people
direct, but the comparison tr made.
would not be unfavorable to those
paaaed through the Initiative. While
1 favored and atlll favor the Initiative
and referendum. ' I am not a nartlean
ft sMH-la pleader for It, and if I bel
ieved, or waa convinced. It worked for
barra rather, than for g'!, 1 would
aay ao. and urge ta repeal. At times
meaeurea ara auggeated ' and action
taken thereon that create some doubt
aa to tha wisdom of the procedure but
when one thinks of what went on un
der tha old eyatain, and how Indiffer
ent and worse than Indifferent, legists-
lures have been, and are. both aa to
the rights and demand of the people.
one feels that a mistake made now and
then, does not Justify a wholesale con
demnation of the new system.
Beznedy bo Bam.
It Is urged that the people without
this law have the power to elect only
honest and quaiuied men to office, and
therefore there Is no occasion to Inau
gurate what appeara to soma people to
be a revolutionary program. Thla may
be true, but to have a concurrent rem
edy can do .no harm,- Let the people
elect ' honest men, but let them also
retain the power reserved In the Initia
tive and referendum. Its benefit will
then be not In its use, -but rather in
Its potentiality. ; '
In your letter you aakd me to dls-
i-uts the effec tlvms of. the inilletlvs
and refercnifum as Instruments for se
curing a democratic government. I am
sure you oo not dealt an a adenile
dlaciiaalon of this question. You are,
of .course, , aware thai there are o
lines of thought. On holding that It
la deatrut-tlve of. the other that it la
an 'aid of a demmraUo form of gov
ernment. "
Vol Contrary te Ooastltutlea.
It le-asserted, a you know, that un
der It a state 4oee not enjoy the char
acter of government guaranteed by the
constitution of the I'nlted Btatea, and
a case involving thla point la now
pending In the auprfm court of the
I'nlted States on appeal from the su
premo court of Oregvn. However, thus
far the courts have held, Including tha
supreme, court of this state, that the
Initiative and referendum aa adopted
In ihla atate la .not contrary to the
provlalon of the constitution of the
I'nlted Ktatea guaranteeing republican
form of governments, v - !
It la also asserted that the only
method by which our character of gov
ernment ran be maintained, la through
representatives chosen bv tba people.
Wry earnest and ablo men aunnort
both Vlewa. but speaking from our ex
perience thua far. It la my opinion
that the Initiative and referendum
tends to secure, more democrat io gov
ernment. If by that term. It Is meant
government by the people and for the
people, than doea the purely represen
tative form.' ' .
A number jt laws and amendments
to the constitution have been approved
by the people when proposed by Initia
tive petition, after' the aame measures
had been rejected by the legislature.
and are some evidence of the truth of
thla statement . i .
W 4 -
0NIAL
nrri Tm
1 .
.c i
r.
esw
e "
- Especial attention is directed to our
showing of an excellant collection of
Colonial Types. The popularity of
tiLio isiaoo ui jLtu.xui.uic; ciuuiicioieoco
the value of early designs, and to,
better care for our trade in this style
we are showing both the genuine
,and modernized reproductions. In
fact, practically bur entire output is
composed of these types combined
with a variety of Arts and Crafts work
II II ... I, Sill
uirf
tV
5.V:
1 i
tQ Arts an
dCrafis
In the Arts and Crafts work we are showing
attractive designs in pure Mission, Modern
English and simplified .Colonial Nothing has
been spared which would add to the quality
or tone in the production of these goods. You
see the result of "technique" in both design
and execution ill every Imperial Arts and
Crafts furniture.
Irs:.::
i
Henry
Jenning
&
ons
Second and Morrison Streets "Home of Good Furniture"