SCHISMS AND INJUNCTIONS 



setting forth that the state government had 

 decided to take possession of all such lands, 

 and accordingly the owner or tenant of "the 

 following premises to wit" (a blank being left 

 here for a description of the property) was 

 notified to vacate such property on or before 

 a given date, or failing to do so the state 

 would forcibly eject him. 



These blanks, filled in with the names of 

 owners or tenants, adorned with a false seal, 

 and apparently attested, were served in large 

 numbers upon foreign-born and ill-informed 

 farmers in remote regions of the state, and 

 made a great impression, the more effective 

 because this device was held back until within 

 a few days of the election, so that there should 

 be no tune to refute it. 



The referendum involved seven measures 

 passed by the General Assembly. It was as- 

 serted by the League champions that these 

 seven were so chosen as to avoid a direct issue 

 on fundamental principles of the League plat- 

 form, but to increase at the same time the 

 likelihood of a League defeat that could be 

 asserted as an inferential overthrow of the 

 League's whole plan of reform. What truth 

 there may be in this I am unable to say. I 

 may not deny, however, that the first two 

 measures in the referendum were the least 

 liked of all the work of the legislature and 

 were not League program bills. These were 



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