3 8o TEE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



and the most vicious," remarks President Butler. 27 In view of the 

 diverse forms which the initiative takes in the several states, this con- 

 demnation is altogether too sweeping. One's judgment should be gov- 

 erned by the concrete form which the initiative takes. In Oregon, a 

 measure goes directly to the voters in the form in which it is initiated. 

 In Ohio, it is first considered by the legislature. If not enacted into law 

 within four months, or if passed in an amended form, it is submitted to 

 the people in either its original or its amended form, provided a supple- 

 mentary petition " signed by not less than three per centum of the elec- 

 tors in addition to those signing the original petition " is filed with the 

 secretary of state. In Oregon, eight per cent, of the legal voters are 

 required to initiate a measure ; in Wyoming, the plan submitted to the 

 voters in 1912 required twenty-five per cent. In Missouri, an initiative 

 petition must be signed " by not more than eight per cent, of the voters 

 in each of at least two thirds of the congressional districts in the State." 

 The larger the population of a state the more difficult it is to 

 secure the required number of petitioners. In Michigan, more than 

 twenty per cent, of the voters " voting for secretary of state at the pre- 

 ceding election of such officer " are required to initiate a constitutional 

 amendment. The petition must be signed at a regular registration or 

 election place and the signatures must be verified by the registration or 

 election officers. No amendment can be submitted to the people if the 

 legislature disapproves. Finally, an affirmative vote of not less than 

 one third of the highest vote cast at the election for any office is required 

 to adopt such an amendment. 28 A movement that is marked by so many 

 signs of caution offers little occasion for alarm to the owners of property. 

 A common objection to the referendum and the initiative is that 

 they will destroy representative government. By a similar course of 

 reasoning, namely, by excluding everything but one fact from the 

 mental horizon, one might prove that the earth is destined soon to fall 

 into the sun. I am not aware that the most radical advocates of direct 

 democracy propose to do away with representative government. The 

 yearly grist of legislation is so large as to render such a thing impossi- 

 ble. The chief object of direct democracy is to render our representa- 

 tives more truly representative. If our legislative bodies were the de- 

 liberative bodies they are supposed to be, the demand for the referendum 

 and the initiative would hardly have arisen. Many bills are originated 

 by interests outside of the legislature and are rushed through in the 

 closing days of the session without opportunity for amendment or de- 

 bate. Instances of minority rule through laws enacted by a majority 



27 « < Why Should We Change Our Form of Government, ' ' p. 25. 



28 Charles A. Beard and Birl E. Shultz, op. cit., pp. 80, 203, 169, 178-179; 

 Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer, op. cit., p. 397; "The Constitution of the State of 

 Ohio," published by Chas. H. Graves, Secretary of State, 1913. 



