| Show r t TIUt mirn SOCIA11431 There Is I much to bo said < In favor of f the principle couched In the Phrase 1 if initiative and referendum that lathe I I iJ la-the siiggcstltin and determination of legislation by the people themselves Provided means for putting Such n i1 system Into practical operation could 1 I e be no devised as to separate It from ho l evllj that threaten to accompany It should It ever bo adopted A new t charter is lnlng prepared I for San Tnim q Cisco and It Is proposed to embrace t > nlthln It the following provision for I the Initiation of legislation by the people J Ii peo-ple I direct and Its passage or rejection L it the lx > lis Instead of In I some leglslo live body I I Whenever there rlmll be presented to the lioard cf election I bUa rl petition I Icd by n number of voters equal tu fifteen per ntllm of tile votWedst nt 1 the preceding state lor city 01 county tlvctlon 1 nulling 1 that tn Ordinance to to set forth In such ptlltliMi be sub nltted to A vote ot the electors of tho fly and County the bool of election ommlslunro must submit such fire t Posed ordbuincet Ih vote of the elec ra a tile next election It 1 fh jo Itfe majority of the vot co cast In m1wh rdlnone hall bo In for of the doplln thereof the board of election omm let lotion hall within thirty dav s nln the time of such election U 5 Ialm such fact and upon mich proola motion such ordinance thall have fie mine force and elteet as an ordinance ad by the supervisors and up Proved by the mayor anti the Mme limit not be repealed by the Puller Isoro But the suponisors may sub nit n lrol1Oo81otlon for the repeal of tuch irdinance or for amendments thereto t orvote nt any siding election it nd hould Such lrIllIon 00 Bull i Bi 1 receive n moJorlt of tho votes t thron ot uch Iellun uh ur rnI I 1 be rpcaled or oL1cndd y At a i cursory reading this Provllon If I acres a simple and harmlo moan of eertalnlng the wishes of tho voters In I tBl Iet > to some proposed ordinance rhtther or not they dtslre It to be come Hw Hut the San Francisco Chronicle l points out that under < such a section of tho city charter bonds to on Indefinite amount could be Issued and the proceeds expended In response to aments popula demand for Public Improvements Improve-ments nr for employment for Idle 1 < labor The Chronicle reasons as follows The Chronicle Ixllevcs that there aro many Improvements which San Francisco might profitably make and does flat hesitate to xprlB the opinion that the rot or them should not devolve wholly Un the generation making them Rut wo think It would Ira a fatal mistake to make It too easy to Initiate such Improvements This the proponed charter does by provldlnB that nn ordinance ordi-nance must be submitted to the people often th demand 01 fifteen per onum ofiho voters Under this provision all sorts of fantastic projects may he suggested sug-gested anti < entertained If the privilege privi-lege would cease with the acquisition of certain utilities the trouble might not prove RD grace lout there Is nil nsur once lhlltr that hnlng once ell tered upon a comprehensive system of I public Improvement the Illusory tern orory I 1mIprlt which follows the x pcndliuro of In > rroweo money woul < l not > Ile 14len fur something Permanent 01 Induce the filling up of n big mu nlelpal debt The constitution of tho state of Call rornla forbids the incurring or tiny munlellint Indebtedness nbove a certain limit without Uiewnsent of twothlrtls of tile voterl of the municipality but tho Chronicle denies that the restriction restric-tion would be availing under such a provision pro-vision ns Ihat nbove quoted and strongly opposes Its adoption Here Is I o came In which It to I deem1 unwlo and unsafe to permit the wishes of the majority to become law to allow the majority to rule That Is I the Chronicle tnkeslhls view Were the provlflon under consideration considera-tion actually the law In a city like San Francisco were times to become hard and many mn 10 Iu thrown out of employment anti wr nn agitation to be started In favor of borrowing money for public Improvements It Is I easy to see Hint grievous burdens might lie placed Km taxpayers fur In such a mn Ity the miners of taxable prop rt tyue always In the minority Such ortyM a uso of the Initiative and referendum light easily produce that dlxeasct of the body politic which has been facetiously called hondlcltls And It Is I very obvious that the minority who own the property anti pay the taxes ought to be protected from possible opacity on the part of n majority which does neither How to enlarge mans liberty without with-out Increasing the danger that he will plunder life 1 fellow man continues to be the Panic old problem |
