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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (March 4, 1910)
"r --( -f r i"S ' jJUjiMINWIIlWft- r t, t The Commoner. VOLUME 10, NUMBER 8 4 EDUCATIONAL SERIES The Initiative and Referendum in Switzerland The Commoner. ISSUED WEEKLY. Entered at tho Postofflco r.t Lincoln, Nebraska, nn nucoml-clnaH matter. ?5?5?SBiSE)Wwi P i V p !A !; I Li I !' Wim.iam J. IIJIVAH Ktlltor mid 1'injtrlotor ItlCIIAHII I MKTCAI.I'K AmocIdIo lOlltnr ClIAIII.KH W. JillYAN PuMlrtier I'rtltorlnl Itoornn unci HusIiicnj 0(11(0 324-320 Hotith 12th Btrwl Our Ycnr $1.00 Nix MoiiUin K0 In ClubH of Five or more, per year.. . .75 Three Mondin. . . ... 25 Single Cony 03 Sainplo Copies Free. Foreign Pont. Be Extra. SUHHCHIPTIONS can bo nont direct to The Com moner. Thoy ran alno bo nont through newspapers which have udvertlned a clubbing rate, or through local afrentH, hero mib-agcntM have been appoint ed. All remlttanecH should bo Hont by postomco tnonoy order, cxproHH order, or by bank draft on flow York or Chicago. Do not uend Individual checkH, ntampH or money. DISCONTINUANCES It In found that a largo majority of our nubucrlbcrH prefer not to havo their HUbHCM'Iptloiui Interrupted and their flics broken In cane they fall to remit boforo expiration. It In therefore aHHiimcd that contlnuanco Is desired tinless subscribers order discontinuance, either when subscribing or at any tlmo during tho year. I'ltlSNiSNTATION COIMIOS Many persons sub scribe for friends, Intending that tho paper shall Htop at tho end of tho year. If Instructions nro Riven to that effect they will rccelvo attention at tho proper time IlllNMWAIiS Tho dato on your wrapper shows tho tlmo to which your subscription Is paid. Thus January 21, '09, means that payment has bcon re ceived to and Including tho hiBt lssuo of January, 1909. Two weeks aro required after money has been received boforo tho dato on wrapper can bo changed. CIIANGIO OF AnniUQSS -Subscribers requesting a change of address must givo old as well as new address. ADViflitTlSING Rates will bo furnished, upon application. AddrM8 all communications to THE COMMONER, Lincoln, Neb. nowspapor a description of their alleged desire to got rid of tho speaker In order to servo them solvcs at tho next election. In mimic tones, tho North Carolinian charged with hypocrisy thoso who opposed tho speaker. Thoy woro really not against Mr. Cannon, he Insisted, but thoy woro masquerading before their constituents In ordor to obtain re-election. Mr. Cannon, ho said, was but carrying out tho will of tho majority and tho "near insurgents," In fact, woro acting wltlr him, ho assorted. "In murdering Caesar, Brutus promised Homo a hotter than Caesar," shoutod Mr. Kitchen. "But sou only promise a weaker rather than a bottor man for speakor. For myself, I'd rath or see a Hon than a jackal In that high placo in this houso." WHY GARFIELD LOST OUT Boforo tho Ballingor investigating committee Spoclal Agent Horaco G. Jones, testified that Donald A. McKonzio had told him that ho had talked with James A. Garfield, secretary of tho Interior in tho Hoosovolt cabinet, and that Mr. Garfield had said that his hostility to tho Alaska claims was such that "thoy brought pressure to bear upon senators and others to prevent his being retainod in tho cabinet and that was tho reason ho was not retained by President Taft. Thoy wanted some ono in tho cabinet who under stood tho needs of Alaska." Jones said ho and Glavls folt that if Mc Konzio and other claimants in Alaska had power onough to romovo a cabinet ofllcer, thoy them selves would bo removed if their reports "didn't suit." PINCHOT ON TIIE STAND On Fobruary 2G Gifford PInchot appeared be fore tho Ballingor investigating committee. Tho Associated Press says: "Tho dismlssod chiof forester, before being sworn, dramatically declared that when his story had been told, tho country would demand a ver dict in 'harmony with tho general conviction that tho secretary of tho interior has been un faithful both to tho public, whoso property ho has endangered, and to the president, whom ho had deceived.' " On this occasion Mr. PInchot said: "That Ballingor deceived tho president by making an explanation to him that was essentially false that Ballingor broke tho backbone of tho con servation movement, which, up to the time of his entry had been progressing splendidly: that Glavls was a hard-working, thoroughly reliable man; that President Taft was misled or mistaken in tho conclusions which brought about Glavls' dismissal; that Ballingor is opposed to conserva tion and should bo dismissed." The following article entitled "The Initiative and Referendum in Switzerland" by Theodoro Curtl, with introduction by Georgo Judson King, Hold secretary of the Ohio Direct Legislation League, was printed in the October number of the Twentieth Century Magazine: Note: In order to givo the American people through ono of Its leading magazines a clear and authoritativo statement as to the workings of direct legislation in Switzerland, the following paper was especially prepared, at my request, by Theodoro Curti, the distinguished Swiss statesman and journalist. Now that direct legislation through the in itiative and referendum is passing from the stage of advocacy by reformers to an active issue in American politics, there naturally develops among thoughtful people, to whom this method of law-making is a new subject of thought, a great interest in the success of the workings of the "experiment" in Switzerland, where it has been most fully utilized. Unfortunately, the bulk of our information comes from non-Swiss investigators French, English, German, Bel gian, American and conclusions vary with what one wero tempted to call tho predestined view point of tho writers. It is not a little strange that the most able Swiss writer upon this subject, Theodore Curti, is almost unknown to English and American readers. Yet Curti's great work, Tho Referen dum: A History of Popular Legislation in Switz erland, has been translated from tho original German into French and Russian, and stands today the most complete and authoritative utter ance upon the theory, history and results of direct democracy in the Alpine republic. While studying the initiative and referendum in Switzerland last summer, I was constantly directed to "see Mr. Curti," by all classes of in formers. I was assured that "Curti will know." . But Mr. Curti, since retiring from the Swiss federal congress in 1902, has been chief editor of the Frankfurter Zoitung, was a long way off, and was bound to be a very busy man. I went, however, and was well repaid for that long ride to Frankfort, Germany, because Mr. Curti not only "knew," but I found him vitally interested in tho progress of direct legislation the world around. A partial result of the visit is tho present article, fresh from his pen, which is a notable contribution to the literature of the subject in hand. Mr. Curti's qualifications as a writer upon the referendum may be indicated by a brief account of his career. Born at Rapperswyl, Switzerland, in 1848, he received a university training in medicine and law, but being more interested in social and, political problems, began writing for political journals. At the age of twenty-two wo find him war correspondent in Alsace during the Franco-Prussian war, for the same paper he now directs. He was Paris correspondent for tho samo journal in 1877, during the critical days of tho French republic. Returning home in 1879, he became one of tho founders of the Zurich Post, a democratic newspaper which has wielded a powerful influence In progressive Swiss politics. Sent to the federal congress from Zurich in 1881, later elected to various posts of responsibility, both legislative and administra tive, in the local governments of Zurich and St S111 Yas ?galn in lm? elected to represent bt. Gall In the federal congress, where he re mained for eight years, resigning in 1902 to ac cept his present position of director of one of tho greatest liberal-democratic newspapers of world-wide circulation, which he conducts with signal ability and success. in aamuon to Ms great history of the Swiss Referendum, Mr. Curti is the author of Tho Rights of tho Swiss People, A History of Switzer land in the Nineteenth Century, and sev'ta poetic and dramatic works. several A man of scholarly instincts and attainments of democratic view-point, vast knowledge"? fi tornational affairs, and twenty years' experience in helping form that body of laws and institu tions which has placed Switzerland in the van guard of enlightened nations, it is evident that 7to tTVn C,Urti a ltr ite as capable (to put it with extreme modesty) of understandi ng what direct legislation means to the pSiScal life of his native land as the transient investi gator, who, as a usual thing, estimates the value of the new or.der of things solely upon his own judgment as to the desirability of certain laws which have been accepted or rejected by the Swiss people. As will bo observed, Mr. Curti has adopted the form of an open letter for his essay. In trans lating, I have collaborated with Mr. William F. Renz, a capable German scholar. The result has been submitted to Mr. Curti, who responds that "tho" translation renders my opinions exactly." GEORGE JUDSON KING. Dear Mr. King: During your recent investi gating trip in Europe, you paid me the honor of a visit, asking my opinion regarding the value of the initiative and referendum as factors in the political progress of Switzerland. You also asked me to answer, in an open letter, some specific questions pertaining to the subject, urg ing as a reason that my ideas would interest and carry weight with the American people, since I am the author of a book and many articles upon popular legislation in that country. I now take the pleasure of complying with your request. Naturally I do not care to set myself up as a judge of the affairs of a foreign country, and I shall confine myself to setting forth the value' and necessity of the Swiss referendum, particu larly as applied to statute law, which institution several American states have added to their con- -stitutions and others are considering. The similarity of the Swiss and American forms of government makes my task an easy one. The referendum is not a principle which concerns one or two countries only; it concerns all countries. It is a political omen; it signifies a general awakening of the people to their right to build the state. This omen and this awaken ing has a historic back-ground and will be a vital factor in the future development of the na tions of the world. At least I am convinced that this system of law making by the people will follow the world-wide adoption of the Eng lish parliamentary system and eventually per- feet' or replace it. It is easily understood that the United States should postulate the same democratic principles as Switzerland. Both are republics; both aro federal unions; the structure of the Swiss con federation was patterned after the American union. In former years Switzerland was a' fed eration of states. At the time of the French revolution she made a short-lived attempt at unification. Under the protection of Napoleon she became a loosely combined, flexible union which, after the downfall of the protector, again gave way to a federation of states. In the revo lutionary year of 1848, in consequence of a civil war in which the progressive party was victor ious, she finally became a union of states and this time a real one. The champions and found ers of this union, more than once in the accom plishment of their task, have been prompted by the example of the United States. They vested the law-making power in an assembly of two houses, one of which represents the people, the other the cantons The main difference in the structure lies in the executive branch. In Amer ica it is placed in a president, elected indirectly by the people, while in Switzerland we have a Bundesrat," or executive cabinet, composed of seven members, elected by both chambers of the federal congress. In methods of legislation in civil and religious liberties, the two countries have much in common. They are closely related also in their efforts to achieve popular govern ment, and in the means employed. Many cantons of Switzerland had retained from olden times tho "Landsgemeinden," which are lelslatf semblies of the whole people similar to the New England "town-meeting." Stimulated by tZ spread of democratic ideas during the eighteenth Sern7dum ""' " Step for theSS The constitutional referendum was known in America before Switzerland acquired it MaBsa chusetts and New Hampshire employed it aThSX time after the Declaration of Independent w we find it used In Switzerland first in 1802 Whn a constitution was adopted by a vote of people. It did not last, however on account the unsettled condition of thVumea In 1MO the constitutional referendum cme to Jay when several cantons revised their conaHhitESk and made it a part thereof In 5 R4 ! nS made a part of the national ConstituOon 1LWI?. provided further that all cSdtSolS 4 s; Y i- -Um