The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, September 21, 1916, Page 7

e — ‘change the fundamental law of the state ; by petition. So Declares North Dakota’s Supreme Court “_,' NY amendment or amend- A ments to this constitution A may also -be. proposed by of state, at least six months previous to - anygenmldeefion,afaninifiafivepe— least 26 per cent of the legal voters in each -of not less than -one-half of the counties of the state.” ; . -By a' vote ‘of 43,111 to 21,815, over two to one, the people of North Dakota’. in November, 1914, adopted - the above plain language as a part of their eonsti- tution. - In a provision clear and specific they reserved to themselves the right to Last week the supreme court of North Dakota decided that this amendment did not mean what it plainly says. Out of a clear sky ‘has come a bolt of lightning that has shattered the foundations of self-government. : SUPREME COURT IGNORES PEOPLE'S PLAIN MANDATE Ignoring well-defined rules of law . and the plain mandate of the people, the supreme court has made void, as itstands,aptofipion of the state " constitution put there by an over- whelming ' vote. of ' the people. IT HAS DENIED THE. RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE BY PETITION TO INITIATE CONSTITUTIONAL A- MENDMENTS: IT HAS SET IT- SELF UP AS AN AUTHORITY TO PASS UPON AND REJECT CON- STITUTIONAL PROVISIONS THAT PLAINLY RESERVE TO THE PEOPLE: THE RIGHT OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. Relying on the clear language of the 1914 constitutional amendment, people in the state some time ago started an agita- tion to move the state capital from Bis- marck to New Rockford. Many people were and\still ‘are opposed to moving the capital. They have good reasons fo¥- this position.™ Those who desired to move the state, capital had good argu- ments. Regardless of the merit of either side of the controversy, the mat- ter soon became something more than a mere fight between New Rockford and Bismarck business men. It became a state issue. There was a real .demand to have it submitted to the people to_be decided by them. It was a fundamental question of government and one proper- ly to be decided by the people. Peti- tions were filed ‘with the secretary of state under the 1914 amendment to the constitution quoted above asking that the people be given an opportunity to ‘vote on the matter. : These petitions fulfilled the easily understood and plain language of the constitution. The petitioners were re- quired fo have “at least 25 per cent of the legal voters in each'of not less than . one-half of the counties of the state.” This made it necessary for: them to get- @ quarter of the voters in 26 counties on the petitions. Actually over one-fourth of the = voters. in 84 counties were required to have 21,707 names. - They got 29,091, or over 7000 more than that the petitions were sufficient. He beld” the constitutional amendment per- mitting amendments to the constitution had béen lived up. e published the ‘ Accordi - their court? It is not capital removal that is at stake. shall not rule,” s: " gue came inta being. 1t has ng idea of starting a new party: it ng to the state : | The people. of the state of North Dakota pre- - vided by ceonstitutional amendment a method of amending the state constitution by initiative. . With orle stroke of the pen the supreme court has nullified this law. It has declared that the people CAN'T HAVE WHAT THEY VOTED FOR - because “the legislature INTENDED 'THEY SHOULDN’T HAVE IT, THOUGH IT PROVIDED THAT THEY SHOULD. Never was the will of . the people more flagrantly and shamelessly defied - by a high court. e s The Leader Just One Year Ago Hlonnartiséin Teader e e —— o Fired! The Things This Journal Stands For - This journal belongs to-the farmers of the Northwest. 1t is founded by them 2o vorce their protest against unjus®) and unrighteous conditions—to voice that protest and make -it may secure their just share of representation in the affairs of government. ) . The Leagne is publishing The Leader to helpthat cause. vumkfiminmmmm.mwm J Thrfan’mg'eb&hmhmrvwkmi:fifm-jwwihm ‘We start ThedLeader with the largest subscrip- tionately the smallest return. e * tion fist any jowrnal ever began within this state. We have gone & mnmmamumqtmflmkw'fi:mnwumwmunhfim;.wa or bettered until farmers, organized for theie own protection. achievement. and usefulpess. 1f all the friends of fair play will -‘.u'na'rmuumwarm‘ummwfi»‘nm-nnne-imugu‘.uumx,mnuu-‘duinm.hmmd 5 .- That is why the Farmers’ Nop-Partisan Organization: Lea- Read this paper from week to week. You wi bow: r ew party: it great ¥ the opportunity o tum injustice ';fi_‘fip’#fl, Nwfinhdeflmth!-lh(é&nienfinbruudfmm S5 SR TSI § the state supr urt, in Deciding Capital Removal Case . moving the capital in the official papers preparatory to placing it on the ballot this fall. Here was a legal demand on the part of the people to be permitted to vote on the proposition of moving the state eapi- tal. Thousands who doubted ‘the advis- ability of moving the capital signed the petitions. They believed however, that . the people themselves should have the right to vote on the matter, which had become a state isswe. They believed al- so that the constitutional amendment adopted by the people in 1914 meant what it said—that it 'was a.guarantee of popular government and that it reserved to the people, the source of all_just gov- ernment, the right to vote on constitu- tinol questions without first having to obtain the permission of the legislature as formerly had to be done. The matter ,was a proposition bigger than the fight between New Rockford and Bismarck for the state capital. It involved the right of the people, when a sufficient numbez made. the demand, to decide constitution« al questions. This was the situation when the busix nessmen of Bismarck and others inter« ested in keeping the seat of governmen€ where it was decided to attack the peti« tions in the courts. They had a perfeck right to test the petitions in this way. They had a right to know whether suffi- cient names had been obtained, whether they had been obtained fairly or by fraud and whether the provisions of the con< stitution and state laws governing the matter had ben lived up to in good faith by the petitioners. BUT THE PLAINTIFFS IN THIS SUIT DID NOT ATTACK THE SUFFI+ CIENCY OF THE PETITIONS. THEY ADMITTED THAT NEARLY 30,000 BONAFIDE VOTERS OF THE STATE, MORE THAN ENOUGH UNDER THE CONSTITUTION, HAD SIGNED THE PETITIONS. THEY DID NOT QUES- TION THE FAIRNESS OF THE ' PRO« CEDURE OR ALLEGE FRAUD. THEY ASSERTED THAT THE PEQPLE SIMPLY DID NOT HAVE THE RIGHT UNDER THE AMENDMENT THEY HAD ADOPTED IN 1914 TO VOTE ON CAPITAL REMOVAL AT THE ELEC- ‘'TION THE COMING NOVEMBER. The people of the state noted this at~ tack on one of the constitutional guar- anties of self-government without much alarm. They looked at it as a desperate effort of Bismarck businessmen to pre- vent 2 vote on the matter by the people. They had no reason to suspect that the supreme court' would go so far as to make void a plain provision of the con- stitution put there by a two-te-one vote . of the people, from whom all powers of government are derived under principles the forefathers fought and bled for. They felt that the right of ‘self-govern- ment as guaranteed in plain and easily understood language in the amendment to the state constitution adopted-in 1914 was safe in the hands of the supreme court. ; BUT THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE HAD ANOTHER GUESS COMING. - Friends of popular government stand aghast today at a decision by the state supreme court’ that wipes out the right of amendment of the constitution by pe« tition of the people. astonishment a supreme court daring to make void a:provision of the constitu- tion, put there by overwhelming vote of the people, and which secured to the people their right to change the funda- “ui o - (Continued on- page 19) < ~ | cupreme court “at least 25 per cent”means any per cent ABOVE, TWENTY - FIVE the legislature may de.ide to fix. The legislature then could re - CENT OF ALL THOSE WHO VOTED IN THE LAST GENERAL ELECTION, thus making it impos- _ sible to amend the state constitution by initiative. If any person beside the judge of a high court had advance he would have been hooted as a fool or a knave. What do the people think of quire ONE HUNDRED PER e SR gy % & ! ‘ “The People Shall Not Rule” They view with - T, } 1t is the right of the people to rule. “The |