The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, May 26, 1919, Page 13

People to Vote on League Bills Governor Frazier Sets June 26 for Referendum—Anti- Farmer Combine Plan to Confuse Voters Fails z=|HE people of North Da- | kota will decide for them- selves whether ™ or not they believe the program .adopted by the farmer legislature which recent- ly adjourned is for the best interests of the state. A state-wide referendum has been called for"June 26 by Gover- nor Lynn J. Frazier, when seven of the bills will be placed before the public for approval. These bills have to do with the state ownership program. The referendum is the result of agitation started by a group of malcontents known as the Independent Voters’ association. It was this organization that first began to circulate petitions for the refer- endum. Believing that the people had ~a'right to pass upon the bills, Gover- nor Frazier readily consented to the popular vote, and even announced that he would call the special referendum election if those demanding it would present petitions from 15,000 persons, although he could have demanded that 30,000 signers petition for the election. An initiative petition also was of- fered by the association in an attempt to becloud the issue and bring con- fusion in the minds of the voters. . Through the initiative, the organiza- tion planned to propose laws which would in effect kill the state laws. When Governor Frazier offered to call a referendum election, nothing was said about the initiative sought. The announcement by the governor admin- isters a severe rebuke for the attempt- ed political trick on the part of”the association, and also makes the issue to be settled at the election clear to every voter. “The initiative petltlons are in bad faith and they were intentionally cir- culated by the Independent Voters’ association to confuse the referendum issues,” said the governor. “I have decided on a date for the referendum on the legislature’s acts early enough to invalidate the initiative petitions and to prevent a hopeless confusion on the part of the voters. The referen- dum petitions place before the people for a vote seven measures adopted by the legislature and the issues should, and must, remain clear, so that a verdict of the people can be ob- tained. “If the acts initiated by the I. V. A. are voted on at the same time the issues will be so mixed that a fair, intelligent verdict can not be obtain- ed. The acts cover largely the same field as the acts that will be before the voters-on the referendum, for the I. V. A., which is known to be oppos- ed to state ownership, is dishonestly attempting to initiate a mill and ele- vator act, a home building act and others along the same lines as those ' . passed by the legislature, but is pro- posing in each case to do it in just a little different way. INITIATIVE TENDS TO CONFUSE VOTERS “The constitution gives me discre- tion within certain limits in fixing the dates for the referendum and I am using that discretion to prevent hopeless confusion. If I permitted this unfair initiative to be held at the same time as the referendum the voters would have before them at the same election two mill and -elevator bills, and two home building bills. For instance, the people might, not understanding * the proposition, vote for both the legislature’s and the I. V. A. mill and elevator bill. It is too much to ask any electorate to decide as complex equations as would re- sult from the referendum and initia- tive being held at the same election. These bills, both initiated and refer- was discussed about the red, would go on the ballot by title only and it would be impossible for all, or even a large per cent of the voters, in the short time that re- mains, to become so familiar with the complete text of both referred and initiated bills that they can cast an intelligent ballot by voting in each case for one of the.-bills and agdinst the other, the titles of both as they would appear on the ballot being so nearly alike. “I feel that I would be-derelic in my duty if I permitted the initiative and referendum to be misused by po- litical tricksters in this way. There is also proposed a referendum June 26, which is less than 90 days after the iling of the initiative petitions. Since initiative petitions must be filed 90 days before an election in order to get on the ballot, the I. V. A. initia- tive petitions can not be voted upon when the referendum is held. The issue will, therefore, be a clear-cut one whether or not the people of the state want to approve or reject the acts_ of the last legislature carrying out the industrial program and allied measures to which my administration and the legislature were pledged be- fore we were elected. There is also some doubt as to whether initiated acts can be voted upon at a special election of this kind, the date of which was not fixed when the initiate peti- tions were filed. ANXIOUS FOR PEOPLE TO PASS ON MEASURES “It will be recalled that I appeared before the legislature during the last session and promised that, while the law required 80,000 signatures to re- fer emergency acts, I would, under the discretionary power given me by the constltutlon, call a special refer- endum election if only 15,000 peti- tioners asked it, providing the names were valid and fairly distributed over the state. At that time omly the in- dustrial commission, the mill and ele- vator and the bank act were under consxderatlon I do not know how many fiames the I. V. A. will file on . their referendum petition but I stand ready as I promised the legislature to call the referendum June 26 if they have - only 15,000 names, providing they fill the requirements I mentioned when I appeared before the senate. It is well known that I favor the bills passed by the sixteenth assembly which I signed, but I am not only willing but anxious for the people themselves either to approve or re- ject these measures as they see fit. I will not so long as I am governor lend my aid to any political tricks that will confuse the issues and de- feat the will of the people by bring- ing on a bad faith intitiative election at the same time this referendum on the legislature’s acts is held. I will place no obstacles in the way of the L' V. A. or any other organization if they desire at a future time to hold an initiative election on bills similar to those adopted by the legislature, if they can get enough names, but as long as I am governor neither this association or any other will be per- mitted, if I can help it, to bring about an electlon with the issues so con- fused by dishonesty and trickery that an intelligent verdlct can not be ob- tained. “This initiative is a -development later than the referendum. Nothing initiative until after the legislature had ad- journed. At the time I promised to call a referendum election nobody had an inkling that an initiative would also be asked for. The initiative was " proposed later to confuse the referen- dum issue.” PAGE . THIRTEEN' - such a crop the use of the Grajn-Saving Wind Stacker will save 10,000,000 bushels that would otherwise be lost —a cash gain to farmers of $22,000,000. Grain-Saving Stacker Get your share by insisting that the machine which threshes your grain is equlpped with the Grain-Saving Stacker. This improved stacker returns to the separator the grain blown to the stack in the ordinary process. Itsaves more than enough to pay the threshing bill. 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