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The Commoner
JONB, 1918
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Underwood on the
Referendum
From, the Alabama Citizen.
We are printing this speech of Senator Oscar
W. Underwood before the Catholic Club of New
York City to show that in 1911 he was publicly
ppposed to a referendum on, measures, urging
that we adhere to our representative form of
government He and his friends are now urging
a referendum on national prohibition. Ed.
The trainers of the federal constitution were
familiar with repeated failures of governments
based on tho principle of a direct democracy,
where tho people were the direct law making
power and in some instances the ultimate judicial
power of the country.
They knew from the history of the past that
these governments had failed in their purpose;
that the liberties of tho people had been -destroyed
by the extremes and excesses which
marked the administration of a government
where the. laws were made in tho forum by the
assembled multitude and were not the mature
product of selected men especially trained for
the work in. .hand.
They knew that the failuro of every direct
democracy was due not to the lack of honesty
of purpose on the part of the aggregate citi
zenship assembled in the forum, but to the fact
that they were often swayed by their desires,
passions and prejudices, and lacked intimate
knowledge of thev resultant effect of their ac
tions; Realizing the danger and excesses of a direct
democracy! the framers of our constitution
would protect the rights and liberties of the in
dividual and at the same time reflect ultimately
the will of the majority in the enactment of the
Jaw of. the land. . "
To accomplish this end they established a
representative form of government designed to
create a law-making power responsive to the
will of the people and at the same time they
.wrote in the. cpnstitution certain checks and
balances designed to prevent the mere brutal
force of a majority from destroying the liberty
and property rights of the individual.
(After enumerating the rights reserved to
the states.) It is evident that the framers of
the constitution were unwilling to trust a se
lected legislative body, held in check by the
veto power of the executive, fearing evon then
an unbridled use of power. They established
constitutional guarantees of liberty. That a
majority of the people could not trample upon
or the government itself destroy.
Some may. say that a majority of the people
will not endanger the rights and liberties of- the
individual. , I wish that this were true, but
the history of every government has shown
that at times tne people, when unchecked by
constitutional guarantees, have destroyed indi
vidual rights and. individual liberty.
It is now proposed by some that we shall in
. part abandon the representative government en
acted by tho revolutionary fathers, and adopt a
system- that in the end would establish a direct
democracy when the ultimate power to make
the 'laws would be placed directly in the hands
of all the people and the independent judiciary
intended to protect the constitutional guaran
tees of individual liberty, would become sub
servient to the will of the majority through po
litical compulsion.
We may forget that Madison and Hamilton
soldiers of the war for American independence
brought their great minds and mature judg
ments to the framing of the constitution of the
United States, but there is one whose sincere
judgment will not be doubted as to the value of
a representative government as compared with
a direct one.
I recognize that in some local matters when
a distinct issue, one tha't is clearly and easily
understood, has been presented to the people,
the Initiative and referendum has worked out
satisfactorily. The temperance laws of our
state provide that a certain number of our
voters may petition and the people can then de
termine whether the county shall be wet or
dry. , Here tbe people clearly understand the
issue and the result probably expresses true de
sires. Can it be truthfully said that the congress
has failed ultimately to place on the statute
books the laws that a majority vof the American
people wero in favor of as at result of their
permanent and deliberate judgment?
The response may not be as rapid, but It is
probably more permanent, and there is certainly
not as much danger of enacting hasty legisla
tion. Can not-a committee of congress, com
posed of representative men, initiate legislation
within tho limitations of the constitution, guard
against excesses and abuses, protect tho rights
of tho minority, voice the wishes of the ma
jority, as well or better than the partisan friends
of a measure who, in order that they may ac
complish one result, are tempted to reach so
far that they leave. a wave of destruction as to
collateral matters the measure touches?
It is true that under tho system proposed, a
petition by a percentage of tho voters would
have to be obtained.
But let every man ask himself how often ho
has signed petitions to please or get rid of tho
person who presented the paper, to determine
what thought and deliberation will bo c-xerclsed
by the average man who signs a petition.
Can it bo said that the voting population of
the United States will give the mature and care
ful deliberation to the technical questions that
arise in the enactment of laws where the per
centage of responsibility is far removed when
it is referred to them for approval, that is given
to the passage of the same law by selected rep
resentatives who must record his vote and be
responsible to his constituency?
You tell me that the people can not elect
lionest and faithful servants. I tell you the
masses of the people are far better judges of
men than they are of measures and are far more
likely. to select an honest man ttfan an honest
measure.
liEAGUE STATEMENT? IN THE ANDERSON
BRYAN CASE
The following report of a special committee
appointed by the executive committee to pre
pare a statement in reference to the Anderson
Bryan matter was adopted by tho executive
committee of the Anti-Saloon League of Amer
ica as the league statement in the case. The
v American Issue.
Your committee to which were referred the
publications of Superintendent William H.
Anderson concerning the Honorable William
Jennings Bryan and related matters, reports as
follows:
The Anti-Saloon League of America is com
posed of state leagues. These leagues have
common interests and the officials of each state
league should conduct the i-ffalrs of their league
with due regard to the success of the work at
large. It follows that in matters of national
scope a state superintendent should not take
action .without conference with, and tho ap
proval of the national officers.
1. In the presqnt instance it Is the judgment
of your committee that Superintendent Ander
son made a mistake in the following respects:
(1) In putting forth an utterance upona
matter, which, while it had its local aspects,
was national in character, and called for con
sultation with, and the approval ofrthe general
superintendent.
(2) In making an attack of a personal nature
upon an outstanding friend of prohibition, in
which he departed from the established policies
and fundamental principles of the league.
2. Notwithstanding this mistake Superin
tendent Anderson has shown himself an un
usually able and efficient leader, as evidenced
by the results achieved under his leadership in
New York and elsewhere.
3. That we have given full consideration to
the communication from some of our fellow
prohibition workers in New York; that we ac
cept and appreciate the assurances of their
earnest desire to co-operate with tho league,
which desire for co-operation we heartily share;
that we are sure that tLcso friends will cheer
fully recognize that each organization must de
termine for itself the personnel of its officers
and will not allow this fact to affect in any
way, or to any degree, their co-operation either
in spirit or in deed.
4. That we hereby record our deep sense of
appreciation of the devotion of Mr. Bryan to
'prohibition and of the efficient and far-reaching
services ho b.as rendered and is rendering to
this, our common cause.
5. That the executive committee hereby ex
presses its approval of the statement recently
made in The American Issue by the national
officers of the league with, reference to the Na
tional Dry Federation. ,.
CLEAN BOYS N TUB AMERICAN ARMY
Dobaucliery and Intoxication havo beon
doomed well-nigh essential to successful war
fare. Tho soldier of fortune was so often a
libertine that loose morals wero accepted as a
part of tho price of lighting. Not so now.
Tho soldier Is a much moro "moral" individ
ual than the civilian. Tho lighting man U pro
tected from temptation to a degrco hitherto
unimagincd.
Hygiene, not purltanlsm, accounts for this
marvelous change Tho soldier, to be effective,
must bo well. Health is a part of the price of
victory. Consequently tho morally degrading
conditions which eventuate in disease aro no
longer tolerated.
At tho beginning of tho war vice was con
doned in many quarters. In consequence it was
reported that more Austriaps wero rondered
unfit for fighting by certain diseases than by
wounds.
Incredible figures were given to show the
manner in which tolerated lewdness destroyed
tho morale of a fighting force. Secretary Baker
waB convinced, and from the beginning of Amer
ica's participation in tho war took steps to pre
vent it in the American army. The benefits of
tho precautions decreed aro now revealed. Ac
cording to an apparently authentic dispatch
fromPrance, only one soldier In every thousand
is receiving hospital treatment for diseases of
that typo. This is an unprecedented record.
The most trustworthy reckoning places tho fre
quency of such infections among the civil pop
ulation at a much higher figure.
It is encou-aging to learn of the soundness
of the boys in France. They are being safe
guarded from contamination. Parents and
others concerned about the welfare of tho sol
diers given to the nation need have no fear pn
this score. The boys are clean.- San Francisco
Examiner.
The government is asking intelligent, whole
hearted and enthusiastic co-operation from the
people in its food and fuel conservation pro
grams. It is not asking anyone to deprive him
self of what he actually needs. It desires him
to have sufficient food to make him an efficient
soldier in the home army of producers, and It
wants him to keep fit in every way. What it
is doing is simply to impress upon every citizen
the fact that If good common sense is used and
a spirit of sacrifice shown there will bo enough
to go around for everybody, ourselves and our
allies. Doing this or that thing will not In
itself win the war. It helps. That's what the
government wants you to do.
The order of the government that every man
must work or fight is aimed at the pool hall
loafers, the carba'ret frequenters and the gam
bling house devotees. Here is another use of
the power of the government that is certain
to bring such good results that it is likely to
be continued after Jthc war. Just why the gov
ernment permits the manufacture of loafers and
criminals for whom It must later provide meth
ods of restraint is an Inquiry likely to be
pressed witb considerable force when we get
around to re-ordering our affairs.
Most of the perturbation seen in profiteering
circles these days is over the excellent demon
stration the government has given that when
ever it wants to fix prices it can fix them. The
people have suffered so long from monopolistic
extortion that they will never bo willing to en
dure it again after the war Is over when they
havo found a weapon that has so strongly proved
its effectiveness.
The democratic party can well afford to be
charged with playing politics when it determines
upon holding congress in session all summer for
the purpose of passing's, new revenue law that
will place a greater burden of taxation for war
uses on excessprofits and large incomes. Any
party that has the nerve to undertake to take
the profits out of profiteering will not suffer ia
the public esteem.
At the Nebraska university the board of re
gents is trying a dozen professors on charges
of failure to verbally support the war, and one
of the specifications against one Is that he said
that if he had to live under the rule of a dic
tator he would just as soon live under kaiser
Wilhelm as Kaiser Teddy. If T. R'. ever heari
of that he will have the laugh of his life.
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