OCR Text |
Show LODGE OPPOSES TflEJIiTIHIK PRINCETON, N J., March S. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, of Massachusetts, Massa-chusetts, proachod vigorously In op-, position to tho initiative, referendum and recall here tonight before tho stu dents of Princeton university. His speech was ono of a series on public affairs dollvered under the Spencer Trask lecture fund. Mr Lodge denounced the Initiative, Initia-tive, referendum and recall as both ob-solote ob-solote and Impracticable, and subser-sive subser-sive of the fundamental ideas of representative rep-resentative government In emphasizing empha-sizing the latter point, he quoted ffeo-ly ffeo-ly from books written by Governor "Wcodrow WMlson while p'resldent of Princeton university. "It Is quite true," said Mr, Lodge, "that the voters aro the means by which we necessarily 'obtain an expression ex-pression of the popular will, but a majority of the voters' aro necessarily tho people and do nbat all tlpios ! represent the real wishes" of tho people. peo-ple. The majority of thoao who vote on any given question may be a vory narrow one It may bo a very ephemeral ephem-eral ono. Tho majority of one yoar' may bo tho minority of tho next, and yet you will ob3eryo that in all the practical arrangements for the com pulsory Initiative, referendum nnd for tho recall of Judges, tho peoplo who can compe) the Initiative aud who in practice carry the referendum, tho number who can force a recall and who In Us practical oporatlon may be able to carry It, are a small minority of the voters. "To start tho Initiative or tho re-! call in all tho provisions that I have soen, only a minority, sometimes a , very small percentage of those who , voted at tho last election. Is roqulrod. t When the act asked for has been re- I forred, It appears that a large pro- j portion of the - voters express no J opinion, either from Indifference or 1 from not comprehending the . qucs- tion, while tho small and lntorested j minority takes palnB to vote for tho j law, the 3ubmIsBion of which tho ' voters has compelled by the original action " , , Mr. Lodge quotod a reference by Woodrow Wilson to the U3e of tho Initiative and referendum as the "virtual "vir-tual abandonment of the representative representa-tive principle and an attempt to put in tho hands of the voters thom3elvea the power to Inltiato and nullify legislation leg-islation In order to enable to do for ', themsolves what they havo not been nble to get done satisfactorily through '. the representatives which they have . hitherto chosen to aot for them." ,lWhilo it may bo better or worso to adopt legislation "by a direct vote ' as a substitute for representative government," gov-ernment," said Mr Lodge, "there can bo no question that to abandon representative rep-resentative government and -to tako ' up In Its placo is to rolurn to a stage of evolution to a lower and moro prim-, J Ulvc one " The senator cited Instances in history his-tory where policies such as the initiative, initi-ative, referendum and recall of Judges had not met with success. 1 "Representative government and J liberty." ho said, "faded away togeth- j. er and the executive became all pow j erful " 1 |