Watson's Magazine, Vol. IV, No. 2, April, 1906Various
History
Watson's Magazine, Vol. IV, No. 2, April, 1906
Various
United States -- Politics and government -- Periodicals
All these organizations have learned or are learning that the questioning
of candidates immediately terminates the machine’s power to sidetrack
the live issues, provided there is an organization to take the case to
the voters. One individual in a state can easily co-ordinate the forces
for the questioning of candidates, and thereby secure the immediate
termination of the machine’s power to evade the live issues. One person
in a state has repeatedly secured this result; in fact, every reform
within a state is largely due to the engineering tact and skill of some
one individual. Today, as never before, it is easy and practically
costless to terminate machine rule by establishing the initiative and
referendum.
A NEW THIRD PARTY
Heretofore the essential element in questioning candidates as to people’s
sovereignty has been a State Referendum League, in order that the
business and professional interests shall be represented. But in January
a new departure occurred in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Referendum
League changed its form of organization to the REFERENDUM PARTY OF
PENNSYLVANIA. The platform is as follows:
The Referendum Party urges the following legislative action as
the only certain peaceable means of forever eradicating the
gigantic evils that have gradually crept into our system of
government:
1. The calling of a constitutional convention to revise the
state constitution.
2. Granting to the people the right to veto unjust laws or
ordinances by direct vote; this right to be exercised only if a
vote is demanded on any law or ordinance, by petition signed by
two percentum of the voters of the state or locality affected.
3. Granting to the people the right to enact, by direct
majority vote, needed laws which their Legislature fails or
refuses to enact.
This is known as the Referendum System. Wherever it has been
in operation it has effectually stamped out bribery, graft,
bossism and ring rule, and has made “government by the people
and for the people” a practical reality instead of a mere
theory.
The Referendum Party invites the co-operation of all who favor
this action.
The members of the preliminary committee on organization are:
Clarence V. Tiers, Chairman, Pittsburg, Pa.,
Clement V. Horn, Wilkinsburg, Pa.,
H. F. Lea, Bellevue, Pa.,
H. W. Noren, Allegheny, Pa.,
Walter Becker, Allegheny, Pa.,
John C. Innes, Pittsburg, Pa.,
George D. Porter, Philadelphia, Pa.,
John E. Joos, Allegheny, Pa.,
Nathaniel Green, Swissvale, Pa.,
J. Ludwig Koethen, Jr., Pittsburg, Pa.,
Hon. W. F. Hill, (Master State Grange) Chambersburg, Pa.,
James Wm. Newlin, (Member of Constitutional Convention 1873)
Philadelphia, Pa.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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