Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 10.djvu/733

 POPULAR INITIA TIVE 7 1 7

the ballot for the village assembly. They dwell with great emphasis upon the misrepresentation of delegates in legislatures and councils, upon the alleged fact that the people are thereby robbed of their privileges, and have alleged that they have prac- tically no redress. They take little or no account of the great fact that legislatures are under the check of the veto of an execu- tive elected by the people, or of the still more saving fact of their protection under the Bill of Rights and their constitution, by which laws are measured and decided upon by the Supreme Court, also elected by the people.

Since the agitation began in Illinois for a constitutional amendment to use " the referendum," as it is continually referred to, but always meaning the initiative power, the question has been many times asked : " Did not the legislature pass a referendum law? Has not Illinois the referendum already?"

The Forty-second General Assembly passed the so-called "referendum act," providing for the submission of questions of public policy to the voters. It can best be described by quoting the act:

An Act providing for an expression of opinion by electors on questions of Public Policy at a general or special election.

SECTION I. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, repre- sented in General Assembly : That on a written petition, signed by 25 per cent, of the registered voters of any incorporated town, village, city, township, county, or school district; or 10 per cent, of the registered votes [voters] of the state, it shall be the duty of the proper election officers in each case to submit any question of public policy so petitioned for, to the electors of the incorporated town, village, city, township, county, school district, or state, as the case may be, at any general or special election named in the petition. Provided, such petition is filed with the proper election officers in each case not less than sixty days before the date of the election at which the question or questions petitioned for are to be submitted. Not more than three proposi- tions shall be submitted at the same election, and such proposition shall be submitted in the order of its filing.

SEC. 2. Every question submitted to the electors shall be printed in plain, prominent type upon a separate ballot in form required by law, the same as a constitutional amendment or other public measure proposed to be voted upon by the people.

Special attention is called to the fact that this permits ques-