Show CITY government DIRECT legislation AND THE RECALL this is the tenth donth of a series of twelve articles appearing in in this paper on city government the object af these articles is to seek improvement in our government by educating the voters on some facts concerning city government th facts as presented here tire are data cellec collected ted and compiled by some of the best political scientists in tio tie world they lire are indeed worthy of being read the object of this particular piece is to discuss the inia tive referendum feren dum and recall in the cities these forms forma of government lire arc entering blo our etty city an affairs airs as well its as our state affairs they are a great experiment in the governments of america although used to some degree in europe they had never been put to the test until they were adopted in ill america as it a result to io deficiencies lit in our system ot government they have been adopted we should therefore examine them to see whether they are worthy of being adopts as a part of our representative government if you people would read more about government and be better able to understand it you gouid appreciate the which you live you would at the same time be more competent to elevate the existing imperfect systems under which you are governed read this and other oilier articles in order to understand your government milton A melville in taking up the inia tive referendum feren dum durn and ana recall it will first be necessary to define them the inia tive means the right of a definite percentage or of the voters of a city to propose charter and ordinances and to require that they shall be submitted to the voters at an election for approval or rejection the referendum is mount meant the right of a proportion of the voters to demand that any ordinance passed by the city council shall be withheld from going into lorce until the expression of the voters can be obtained upon it at an election the recall is the power delegated to the voters to recall or put out of office any officer who tails fails or nexuses to do his duty the reason why these measures have been adopted in many cit is is because of the inefficiency of the cit council to carry on successfully Iss fully the administration of the city government the qu quality acty ot the ine men n running the city governments used to be ol 01 the best now they have declined so that important measure cannot be leu leit entirety entirely in their hands another reason tor for the adopt ln of these measures ot 01 government is because of the logrolling log rolling tactics which the council has used in the past in shifting important measures measured to a vote of tile people by their avoid responsibility and entrusting it lit in the hands ot 01 the people they have built up these measures which we are discussing As I 1 have already said the ini iriv 1 and dum are not american ori gion they have been used in switzerland for a long time the states of the union first incorporated them into their constitutions the state constitutions and various statutes yere were first submitted to the people tor for approval or rejection later the li inia native tive and referendum became a part of the constitution suit ution so that the beope could express themselves at their discretion arom rom the states the referendum and recall passed to tile the cities at firel ue inia tive and ret rel eren duni duri applied only to chart charters charte ert ih later many ordinances could be with hold held or passed at the wil of the electorate such issues as bonding and gr grantie gra ninni antim ot chases passed to the people one of the most important reforms in the adoption of thu the referendum was that of local option sy by this means the people had a chance to prohibit the sale ox or in ill toxicants toxic ants from the cities it spread to the states and now ilov we have national prohibition during the last ten tell or twelve years the initiative inia tive and referendum have been used extensively in some of the larger cities rony submitted to the voters every year it is to early to judge whether or not they are they have not been given a full trial in tile the cities ie ll 11 of f america they are however ne attempting to adjust the evil alls of the older systems of gov 5 ern ment As a result of balty anty As to the success or fail MAO v the inia and referee i A ju 0 advanced rom 0 t ot us ua turn to 1 A I thega uT utilio lio bof rits and i j weaknesses of direct legislation the arguments in favor of dir ct legislation are L 1 representative government cannot be secured without it ahe people must have the final word in regards to government in order to make it purely representative senta tive the old system becomes to autocratic and not responsive spon sive enough 2 the educative value of direct legislation is promoted among the voters when they are to adopt and pass uon laws they study them and luu out their meaning bedfor acting public interest is aroused to such euch an extent that most ot of div people make an ail effort to become with ane lawa presented before them for their decision by so doing the people become more educated govern v 0 o is given to the measures which are adopted which would not have been given it if they had not been presented to the people 3 it increases popular respect t for th law many ot of our laws are not enforced because the people do not respect them because they had no part in making them the tobacco law is a good example of this there are many people in utah who disregard this law entirely if the people vote upon the laws and pass them they feel duty bound to respect them As aa a esula they are respected mu i more than the laws thai tedi are enacted by the leg bodies 4 direct legislation does not result in ill drawn statute many would naturally believe that inasmuch us its the people pass upon the laws lawa they make them also the laws are generally drawn up by legal skill superior to the legal skill of the city attorney tins this results in as good arbetter or better drawn up laws as are arc passed by the legislative bodies bodi les along with these arguments for direct legislation comes the conservatives argument against them these arguments are as aa good as those in favor of direct legislation let us discuss them briefly 1 direct legislation impairs the ca calibre of the councilmen if the power of the councilmen is taken from them and placed in the hands 0 of the people it reduces the prestige of the council as it a body As a result little is taken in the election of the councilmen and inefficient men are placed in as it a result it is contended however that the good effects of direct legislation offset tile the inefficiency of the council 2 it is an effective means of prompting promoting class legislation A certain class of people by working harmoniously can get toge to ge ther and put through direct legislation for their benefit beni fit 3 it places a heavy burden upon thu the voters the lawsure laws are some times so difficult to understand that the ordinary voter cannot use his ballot intelligently at all times 4 it secures only a partial expression of public sentiment Gert generally yally less than half of the people vote upon measures that are presented to them for approval or rejection fertl more the majority only are sat continued on page 8 CITY government continued page 1 isfried the minority not getting any voice in the laws that are passed 6 5 the voters are often actuated by emotion or prejudice the recall meets with about the same arguments as do the inia tive and referendum experience has qu 1 conclusively that direct legisla zion rion and the recall have been successful in our own town when we have it in a limited extent oxe exe only good measures have hav e been adopted by the people fur th remore the council bas ns disregarded appeals from the people to pass other good legislation this is something the council should not nob do let us work for i or the inia tive referendum and recall for our city |