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1915

DOCUMENTS
DEPT.

it not well to try out that experiment? Let the Governor demonstrate his ability to do some of these lesser things, for which he is responsible enough if he tries to be, before we think about putting him forward for the greater ones. Then we come to the question, is representative government a failure? Don't the people know enough to govern themselves and elect their officers? I remember the question: "Is marriage a failure?" was propounded once and a certain thrifty old gentleman said, "Yacob, if the girl is very wealthy, it might be almost as good as a failure." Are our people ready to confess that they cannot elect people to carry on their business? If so, let us have the emperor come along. They say the people are too busy, they cannot find the man on the ballot. You let them put somebody on the town meeting ballot, which is two feet long, and hide him anywhere you please in there; if they want to "get" him, they will get him, either way. You put anybody on the State ballot, on a ballot ten feet long, and if they want him they will get him. You need not be alarmed. They may be fooled by his recommendations perhaps, in the first place, but they will not be fooled about his location on the ticket after he has betrayed them once. You need not have any worry about that. The people that surrender up their right to the ballot will be a long time seeing it back. I have noticed that the turkey that enters into the Thanksgiving spirit and walks up and lays his head across the block hardly ever gets back again.

If our people are going to be saved in their liberties it is not going to be by lying down and saying "we can not bother with this," but it is going to be by more exercise of the right of sovereignty, more authority in the election and rejection of the people who are doing their business. If their duties are to be taken off their hands gently and lightly by some gentleman who will appoint and do it all for them, it will not be very long before they are unfit to do any of their business and unfit to select the man that is going to do it for them. I hope that I shall never see the strong right arm of the people withered and atrophied by the laziness that shrinks from exercising duties and bearing governmental responsibilities. There is another feature of this bill which I see is not uniform throughout. In one place the Governor is given power to remove without question. That, I think, is as it should be. In the other place he is given power to remove by libel, and slander and expense. It is said that a broad grin is the shortest line between two ears; a straight line is the shortest distance between two points. It is no use trying to set any more tortuous course between the Governor's desire and his goal. If you let him remove. after a hearing, who is going to say whether the hearing was satis

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