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The Commoner.
14
VOLUME 7, NUMBER 2
lfpJ
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' JPT r ,
INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
Tho following lottor uppcarod ro
Contly In Honry Wattorson's paper,
'tho Lcrulsvlllo (Ky.) Courlor-Jour-uml:
To the Editor of tho Louisville
Courior-Journal:
In tho Courier-Journal of tho 11th
Inst, appeared tho full text of a chap
tor from my "Swiss Republic" on
tho reforoudum.
As it was written in 1890 a brief
supplement statoment may bo per
mitted. . So much has booiwwritton of lato
years about the Swiss referendum
and initiative .that anything t more
would appear suporflous, wore it not
for a sorious movement to adopt
thoso institutions in this country, a
movement that has taken positive
ehapo in a number of political plat
, forms and advocated by many of our
, -writers and publio men asking that
tho, Swiss example Tjo followed.
Switzerland takes tho lead in dem
ocratic reforms. In. federal and can-
tonal institutions she is rich in les
sons of political instruction. During
tho last GOO ydars every kind of self
government and every form of feder
alism has been exemplified thero.
Since nonp can claim a longer dem
ocratic past, she must be placed in
the first rank as possessing the most
advanced and the mpst thoroughly
tested republican institutions; still
justifying tire opinion expressed by
Burke more than one hundred years
Do it Now! Don't Wait
Until It's Too Late!
" OEEP your body cleanl
Most people are very neat
and clean in their outward
K
; appearance, but hovrabout tho
Inside? ' s ' " .
Aro you clean inside?
And If not, how can you face the world
with clean thoughts, clear Intelligence,
& fair, just, bright mind and get your full
share of capacity for work and enjoyment?
Neglect of exercise, rich over-feeding
End carelessness about stools, often leave
the delicate internal mechanism in a
hasty mess. ...
. The small intestine is compelled to ab
sorb the poison of decaying matter instead
of wholesome nourishment,
I The liver gets inactive; the bile doesn't
"Work off"; the eyes get yellow; the skin
gets dead like putty and pale like dough,
disfigured with bolls, plmple3, blackheads
and liver-spots.
There's only one solution to the prob
lem: Keep clean Inside all the time. That's
Ihe answer.
If you can not diet, or keep your mech
linlsm going by proper exercise, 'take Cas
caret3, the sweet, fragrant, harmless little
Vegetable tablets, that "act like exercise"
on your bowels, and gently but powerfully
clean out and disinfect the whole digestive
canal.
A Cascaret every night before going to
bed will "work while you sleep" and
Jnake you "feel fine In the morning "
If you have been neglecting yourself for
some time, take a Cascaret night and morn
ing and break up; the "constipated habit"
without acquiring a "cathartic habit."
,
Cascarets are sold by all druggists, .10c,
! 25c and 50c. The 10c size trial box is a.
neat fit for the vest pocket or lady's purse.
Be sure to get the genuine with the
"long-tailed C" on the box and the letters
"CCG" on each, tablet. They are never
sold in bulk... ", ", , v . , w4
ago that "tho people at once aro tho
happiest and tho best governed on
earth."
Tho referendum and initiative
havo now bocomo the characteristic
political features of Switzerland. Sir
Francis Adams, late British minister
at Born, in his work upon tho Swiss
confederation, says: "A sufficient
period has elapsed to allow tho peo
ple of Switzerland to form an opinion
of tho working and results of the"
referendum and it hag struck root
and expanded, and no serious politi
cian of either party would think of
attempting Its abolition."
Through it, monopoly has been
overthrown, , the railways have be
come public property; the telegraph,
telephone, tho parcels post and
express service under government su
pervision have become the best In
existence. .
On tho whole, tho Swiss referen
dum has shown itself economical, ad
verse to centralization, to strong
power, to heavy outlays and hostile
to a radical policy. It has placed the
whole government of the, confedera
tion upon a more democratic basis
than is to be found in any other
country, making "government of tho
people by tho people" a thorough,
reality; it has greatly increased the
educated interests taken in pontic's
by the voters. Tho consciousness of
the individual influence as well as the
national feeling has been strength
ened, with a larger participation of
the people in the vote and a keener
interest in political questions.
Direct legislation in Switzerland
has taken politics out of the control
of wire-pullers .and practically de
stroyed the "political boss" and his
machine by placing all important is
sues in tho hands of the electors,
whose decision is at 'once clear and
definite, andV carrying more, weight
man xnat or any representative body,
fn the Bense in which we. use the
term, there are no political or elab
orate party organizations, that exist
with us. The Swiss exercise their
rights with great sturdiness and inr
dependence. Nor do they obey the
dictation of -parties; and this is a
point that merits' particular attention,
for it is essential to the successful
working of the referendum Nand in
itiative system. If indeed In n ih
Whore tho narMfiR nrn na anVtln oc
they are in Switzerland, tho people compel it to submit them to a popu
voted as their political leaders direct- lar vote.
ed, the laws passed by a majority of
pily describes it: "The system has
borne good fruits. The people have
generally shown themselves wiser
than ,tho meddling politicians who
havo tried to draw them into syste
matic opposition. The net result has
boon agreat tranquilizing of public
life. And when the ballot is pro
nounced everybody accepts the re
sult. Adapted to a people funda
mentally democratic, like the Swiss,
tho referendum is unquestionably
one of tho best forms of government
ever attempted. The idea of em
ployer and employed, of tho sender
and tho sent, which lies at the root
of the representative system, bec6mes
an absolute reality. The people still
choose their representatives td make
th6 laws, but' they reserve tho right
of sanction. The craftsman carries
out work to his own satisfaction; tlie
'employer who gave the order is of
a different opinion and sends it back
to be altered. It is perfectly simple;
each has done his duty within linx-.
its assigned him; there is no ground
of quarrel. The legislator is not dis
credited; he is only in the position of
a deputy whose bill is not passed.
There" is no question of resigning and
there Is clearly no want of confi
dence." The effect of the referendum and
initiative in Switzerland indisputably
has been to make statutory legisla
tion more quickly and faithfully re
sponsive to the public wish, and to
render the constitution more easily
amendable than that of any other
country which is embodied in writ
ing. All observant students of popular
government must be Impressed with
the great progress that has been
made in the last few years in regard
to far-reaching political reforms,
which are likely to exert a grave in
fluence upon our constitutional sys
tems. It has not been long since the
terms referendum and initiative were
almost unknown. Today there is
scarcely a country in which great
bodies of the people do not know
that the referendum means the ref
erence of new laws or regulations,
on the petition of a certain number
of voters, to the general vote of the
citizens for approval or rejection be
fore they can be legally enforced,
and the initiative is the method by
which a certain number of voters can
originate bills and new laws, and
in spite of the refusal of the legis
lative ooay to adopt their views can
contains the germ of a great and
glorious truth; for in the long run
the voice of the people will ever bo
on the side of right and justice.
Laveleye, a distinguished Belgian
publicist, says: "If liberty and de
mocracy succeed in maintaining
themselves, it is quite certain that
the desire of the people to take the
reins of government into their own
hands will manifest itself more and
more as they become better educat
ed and realize the close "connection
which exists between legislation and
their individual interests."
The referendum and initiative have
been called the "children of democ
racy. They are defensive, weapons
which can be kept in reserve by the
people against the two iiasty im
pulses of their irrevocable mandato
ries. They are calming and conser
vative institutions, and in the opin
fon of Mr. Bryce in his "American
Commonwealth," "operate as a bit
and a bridle rather than a spur'
Their tendency is to, sever legislation
from politics, having an elevating
and educative Influence upon the
voters, inducing, them to consider
measures upon their merits instead
of mere party proposals.
In fact, the referendum and Initia
tive are not entirely new things in
aur practice. They are simply an ex
tension of what we have in constitu
tion makinc and in a variety of local
matters. The principle that sanction
oy a popular vote is necessary for
the adoption or amendment of a con
stitution prevails almost universally
In the United States and ,is imbedded
not only in state constitutions, but in
our federal organic law. Then we
have something like the Initiative in
our federal constitution, the fifth art
icle of which provides that if the
congress refuses to propose certain
the legislature would almost invaria
bly be ratified at the polls. Not only
is this very far from being true, but
in many cases the parties as such do
not make any camnaien or annvnnn
the country on the referendum and
the popular vote is not cast on party
lines. In one striking feature the refer
endum has been found in practice to
work very differently from what its
advocates believed and its opponents
dreaded. Postered anfl finally intro
duced by the radicals; and violently
opposed by the conservatives, it was
believed, by politicians of both part
ies, to be a powerful weapon for rad
ical measures. Far from being the
case, it is found to act as-a very po
tent conservative agent, as a drag
upon hasty and socialistic law-making,
opposing itself equally to ex
tremes in either a forward or retro
gressive direction. Several very
marked tendencies are observable in
the treatment by the Swiss of the
various measures submitted to them;
The most conspicuous of these is !a
tendency to reject radical laws, and
in both federal and cantonal matters
the people have shown themselves
moro conservative than their repre
sentatives. Mr. Numa, one of the most emi
nent men of Switzerland and for
many years a member of the federal
council ( the. executive: no war) . in re,
f erring, to the rpf orendum, . thusvhaph
Our 3 Uoli for Inrentera mal Ud a meipt of A eta. itaa
n.a.&fl.H.LflUtT.WashlnfitonC. Eatab
1. 1889.
Sir Henry Maine, in his wnrir
"Popular Government," predicts for
these Innovations a "considerable fu
ture in democratically governed
countries."
No system which seeks to secure
the realization of the democratic
ideal can be complete unless some
provision be made, first that the rat
ification of legislation shall rest with
the people themselves, and second,
that in case of necessity the people
themselves shall have the power to
initiate legislation. Both of these pro
visions have worked smoothly and
well with the best results in Switzer
land and in the British colonies.
The inevitable influence of the
wide extension of government pre
rogatives on popular liberties and
local autonomies is beginning to.
make itself discernible. Experience
is demonstrating the fact that com
plete political liberty can only be
maintained in a, country where. the
part played by tho government is
clearly defined and not unlimitedly
extensive. , As dem.Qpr.aQy is older
than 'aristocracy,, pr .monarchy sso
governnient by tho p,eop.le a older
mp, government py a, .part-of the
people. If power be, transferred, to
the people, it is impossible that they
should abuse It, for the interest
which they will try to promote will
be tho interest of all, and the interest
of all is the proper end and object
;of legislation Vox populii vox. Dei'
la an olrf; aaw-of tenisneeredat, but? it
Jefferson's Bible
The Life and Morals of
JESUS OF NAZARETH
Extracted Textually from the Gospels, together -with
a comparison of hU doctrine with those of others.
By THOMAS JEFFERSON
Jefferson' muoioo rru leadership. Without
an effort oa his part expression from his lip
that from other men' would scarcely hare at
tracted notice, became thenceforth axioms,
creeds, and gathering-cries of great masse of Li
countrymen. Henry S. Randall.
Jefferson' Bible is a book ef 106 pages, well
printed and substantially bound in cloth. .It vm
pebUshed originally to be sold for (1.00 per
copy. By purchasing the book in large numbers
vre are able to offer Commoner readersan ex
ceptional price of 75c per copy; scat by mail,
postage prepaid.
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