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THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
OCTOBER 8,-lSOS.
12
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Big Discount to Reduce Our Enormous Stock Before
the Building Season Closes.
as
If you intend building a house, barn,granary or corn crib we want to give you an
estimate on your lumber, shingles, windows, doors, and mill work. It will cost you noth o
ing to get our. prices and we can save you money, carrying, as we do, a large stock at
Lincoln, and having the most complete planing mill in the state. We make water tanks o
of all kinds, store fixturesin fact everything that can be made in this line. No matter
where you live write us for prices of goods delivered at your station, O
We invite a visit and personal inspection of our lumber at our yards, 700 0 street
and of our planing mill and equipment at 21st and Y streets. O
If you cannot Call yc
& Prompt and Careful Attention
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6 . - O
Fo Wo Brown Ltamlber Co
700 0 STREET,
LINCOLN, NEBR.
The People's Rule
BY;
Geo. H. Shibley.
DETAILS OF PROPOSED CONSTI
TUTIONAL AMENDMENT, REC
OMMENDED BY THE NATIONAL
FEDERATION FOR MAJORITY
RULE
In view of the experience In Switz
erland, South Dakota and In Oregon,
the following details for a constitu
tional amendment are insisted upon:
For the securing of a referendum
vote a petition of five (5) per cent of
the voters, except on petition demand
ing a special election.
That the direct initiative shall ap
ply to" the constitution and city charter
as well as to statute law and ordi
nances, the percentage of petitioner
to be eight (S) for statute law and or
dinances, and fifteen (15) for constitu
tion and city charter.
The urgency legislation shall be
passed only by a two-thirds vote of the
members elected, and should not in
clude a bill that infringes the prin
ciple of home rule for municipalities,
. nor a franchise or license to a cor
poration or individual to extend longer
than one year, nor a bill for the sale or
purchase of real estate.
That th nernentaefl of petitioners
shall apply to the entire state or mu
nicipalityshall not be pro rated by
districts. And
That the other requirements shall
conform as nearly as may be to the
system in South Dakota, Oregon and
frdp.ral Switzerland.
BLANK FORM FOR REPLY.
To Majority Rule League of .......
(name of place). -Gentlemen: Reply
ing to your letter concerning the ref
erendum and initiati 2, 1 desire to
state that, If elected to the legislature,
I will vote to give the people of the
state an opportunity to ballot upon an
extension of the people's Vdto through
th optional referendum, and the adop
tion of a direct initiative in addition
ti the indirect srstem which now ex
ists, the details to accord with the
provisions suggested by the national
federation for majority rule, a copy of
which I have received from you.
....
Candidate for the Senate (House) of
the party for the ......
district of the state of
" The resolution adopted by ths Wis
consin state grange at its last annual
meeting is as follows:
"Whereas, The principle is estab
lished among us that the lws should
cenform to the will of the peopie; and,
"Whereas, The laws enacted by the
legislative agents of the peopie often
fail to reflect the popular will, promi
nent instances being the refusal of
the United States senate to provide
for the election of its members by pop
ular vote, and the failure of congress
to pass the amendments to the inter
state commerce act which would give
effective control of railroad rates;
therefore, be it,
"Resolved, Thac the Wisconsin state
grange holds that the people should
protect their rights from the growing
power of the few by taking to them
selves a-veto power, through the op
tional referendum, and a direct initia
tive."' , '
The following letter is from the mas
ter of the West Virginia su.te grange,
who is also dean of the College of
Agriculture: - "
. "Hon. Charles E. Edgerton, Secre
tary National Federation for Major
it j Rule, Washington, D. C My Dear
Sir: A resolution indorsing the op
tional referendum and direct initiative
wa3 unanimously adopted by 1
Virginia state grange at its recent
meeting at Charleston. Evidently the
referendum idea Is growing, in this
country.
44 A political revolution of-sonw kind
U not very far in the future. Just
what form It will take It Is now im
possible to say.
"With very best regards. I remain,
cordially yours, T. C. ATKESON."
The program 1- the suggested reso
lution for county and local granges Is
adopted to the states that elect legis
latures this yearOhio. Iowa, Ken
tucky, New York, New Jersey, Massa
chusetts, Rhode Island, South Caro
lina and Mississippi. Where legisla
tures are to be elected next year the
following can be Inserted In the "re-
I solves" as sl third paragraph:
"That we request our delegate to the
next meeting to the state gransre to
work for an instruction that eieh Po
mona and subordinate granee shall
appoint a majority rule committer,
and tht the legislative committee of
our Ptate organization be instructed
to stimulate activity for majoritv rile
In the press and in all other wv pos
sible, and shall see to It that through
out the state the nominees for the leg
islature are questioned, and questioned
early in the campaign, as to whether,
if elected, they will recognize the long
established doctrine that the people
are the sovereign power, and therefore
have the right to vote upon the pro
posed alteration in the system of gov
ernment." In place of this as an additional par
agraph, it can, if thought best, be put
in place of the second "resolved."
RE-ENFORCEMENTS "FROM THIRD
PARTIES.
It has been shown that re-enforcements
have come from organized la
bor and organized farmers. A new
source of power for the cause is the
co-operation of third parties. All the
third parties except the prohibition
party demand the establishment of the
referendum and the initiative, and the
prohibition party leaders are coming
to believe in the need for this system.
In short, the third parties demand
that the system of government where
by the people are fleeced shall be over
thrown. That system is party gov
ernment government in which the
final power as to legislation is in the
political party, an organization con
trolled by the few, and controlled
largely through the use of money.
To overthrow this system requires
the establishment of a people's veto
through .the optional referendum, and
the establishment of a uirect Initia
tive. This placts the final power in
the people it Is the people's rule.
Their will is determined by the major
ity, therefore it is usually termed ma
jority rule. The opposite term is rule
by the few, or trust rule, machina rule,
boss rule, or corporation rule. The
system through which the few oper
ate Is party government.
Third parties, then, demand the
abolition of party government, which
would terminate thn odious autocracy
of which all our citizens are complain
ing, except the few who reemlngly
profit from the system, but really are
injured "on the whole and in the
long run we must all go up or down
together."
THIRD PARTY TACTICS FOR
ABOLISFTNC, PARTY GOV
ERNMENT. The easiest and quickest war to ter
minate party government establish a
people's veto and a direct initiative. Is
for the third parties to co-operate wlh
orsnlzed fanners and oreanlrM la
bor In flecuring the system. Tht Is.
co-operate with them for the follow
ing purposes:
1. To pledge candidates lor the leg
islature to vote to give the people of
the state an opportunity to vote on a
constitutional amendment for the op
tional referendum and a direct initia
tive. 2. To pledge the candidates for con
gress to vote to Install rules of pro
cedure for" the optional referendum
aud a-direct initiative; and
3. To pledge candidates for the
legislature (1) to vote only for a can
didate for United States senator w; o
Is pledged to vote for rules of proced
ure for majority -rule. (2) to vote to
instruct the hold-over senator or sena
tors to install the rules of procedure,
and (3) to vote to amend the election
laws of the state so that the people
may vote direct on national questions
whenever congress so requests.
Success along these lines is far ad
vanced. Last year a majority was se
cured in seven legislatures, and nine
of the sixteen congressmen from 'Mis
souri were pledged, also Congressman
John Lind of Minnesota and several
others, and two of the newly elected
United States smators ex-Governor
Stone of Missouri, and ex-Congressman
Hopkins of Illinois. While sev
eral cities, including Detroit and To
ronto, have emancipated themselves
from party government. Greater suc
cess wa9 attained the first year than
has been secured by forty years of
old-line tactics of third parties. And
unparalleled reinforcements have
come, as we have shown. One more
step is required to perfect the cam-'
palgn machinery:
A party is needed an organization
that will make nominations. If nec
essary. In other words, a party organ
ization should declare that should
both" the old-line nominees refuse to
pledge for majolty rule, a majority
rule candidate will be placed In nomi
nation, thus centering the fiht on ma
jority rule versus rule by the few.
This will insure success at once, for
no candidate dares to combat such an
Issue.
Populists -are seeing this, and In
Kentucky, under the leadership of
Hon. Jo A. ParfcT. the Kentucky poo
ulist party joined with the united
lnhor prty in calling a state
tlon. The pMform adopted at I ou
ieville, September lfi. Is as follows:
ADDRESS TO THR PEOPLE OF
KENTUCKY.
Issued by the United People's Labor
Party of Kentucky.
An Appeal to All Patriotic Citizens to
Unite to Secure Majority Rule