Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/769



It probably would not have been possible to have secured the results shown by the above popular votes had not the movement been preceded by the adoption of the Australian ballot law as related in a proceeding part of this chapter ; and also by the law requiring a registration of voters preliminary to the right to vote at the election. This registration law was adopted in 1899.

Oregon was the first state in the union to adopt this form of law making. The movement started at the little town of Milwaukie six miles south of this city. It is the most remarkable application of civil government since the forma- tion of the federal union in 1789. It lacks only the experience of time and trial to show how far it is useful to American society and institutions. Thirty- two measures, involving all sorts of questions and subjects are now upon the ballot to be passed upon by the people at the general election to be held Novem- ber 8, 1910. The result of that election will be added hereto, as this chapter is written before the election. The movement has now spread to many other states in the union, and has been in some degree adopted by some of them, while the agitation in its favor sometimes is in nearly every state.

Of the value of the "referendum" part of direct legislation, there can be no doubt. It will never be given up. On this item, the late Harvey W. Scott, editor of the Oregonian, tersely stated its manifest importance and merits in the fol- lowing words :

"The referendum is an obstacle to too much legislation; to surreptitious legis- lation; to legislation in particular interests; to partisan machine legislation, and to boss rule. No predatory measure could be carried before the people. The legislative lobbyist would be put out of business."

While the original movement in Oregon is in general the work of many minds its propaganda was almost solely the work of one man, who but for his dogged perseverance and unyielding courage might have been worn out with delays and financial difficulties. To William S. U'Ren an attorney of Oregon City, a grower of fruit trees at Milwaukie, and an enthusiast of the highest type, is due the honor and credit of following up, this movement — call it a reform or what you please — year after year, through good and ill report, and against all sorts of op- position from secret enmity of political bosses to open ridicule of scholastic wise- acres, until the great mass of the voters were informed and converted to the support of the principles of direct legislature by the popular vote of the electors.

Mr. U'Ren having been requested to give some history of the movement, sub- mits the following:

"A. D. Cridge in the Oregon Vidette, and Max Burgholzer, a native of Switz- erland, in the Pacific Farmer, advocated the initiative and referendum in news- paper articles in Oregon as early as 1886. I settled in Oregon in 1890. Alfred Luelling gave me the first copy I ever saw of J. W. Sullivan's work on direct legislation in Switzerland. I had heard of the initiative before. The Milwaukie Farmers' Alliance on my motion asked the state executive com- mittee of the Farmers' Alliance to take the matter up and invite the State Grange, the Portland Chamber of Commerce, The Portland Federated Trades, and the Oregon Knights of Labor to combine in appointing a joint committee of one from each organization to agitate and educate for the initiative and referen- dum in Oregon. I think this was in November, 1892. The invitation was ac- cepted by the state executive committee of the Farmers' Alliance ; the Portland Chamber of Commerce never acknowledged the invitation. The first committee was composed of Hon. W. D. Hare of Hillsboro, from the State Grange, chair- man ; Hon. W. S. Vanderburgh, from the Knights of Labor ; A. I. Mason, from the Portland Federated Trades, and W. S. U'Ren, secretary from the Farmers' Alliance. The Federated Trades was afterwards represented on the committee at different times by Charles E. Short, T. E. Kirby, and G. G. Kurtz, all of Port- land. These men constituted the committee until September, 1898, when a state non-partisan direct legislation league was organized. O. C. Sherman, of Salem, was elected president, and there was an executive committee of seventeen mem-