THE ROLL CALL
The National League Will Help you to Organize a Progressive League in your Community ON FEBRUARY 27, 1911, Senator Jonathan Bourne, Jr., delivered a speech in the United States Senate on how to...
...It furnishes the same tools to every individual...
...It is not my intention to take the time of the Senate in giving a repetition of the subject matter contained in the speech referred to, but rather to show that recent and further demonstrations on the part of the electorate of Oregon corroborate the assertions and deductions made in that address...
...This is a condition which must result almost necessarily in service by the public servant to the selfish interest governing the campaign contributor, who certainly is not actuated by patriotic motives, but dominated by expectation of receiving in return for his large contribution some special privilege against the general welfare...
...Milwaukee Journal...
...What Constitutes Popular Government...
...Aggressive state organizations have been formed in Michigan, Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Washington...
...Other States are taking similar action...
...We give here the opening portion of that speech: "Mr...
...To insure good service, responsibility and accountability must go together...
...The greater the centralization of power the wider should be the distribution of accountability...
...Popular government insures equal opportunity...
...The progress, advance, or success of the individual depends entirely on his limitations and not on special privilege...
...In all these states the local leagues are rapidly extending their organization into the various counties...
...Thus selfishness instead of general welfare becomes the motive power of government...
...Subservience rather than independence is the doctrine taught by the political boss and temporary leaders...
...nor have they any voice in the selection of their public servants, thus debauching public service, because of the direct accountability of the public servant to the delegates nominating him and through the delegates to the political boss and through the political boss to the real principal, the greatest campaign contributor...
...The day of party and individual platforms made up of verbal souffle is passing, and the people will elect, whenever they have opportunity, individuals who stand for concrete improvements and remedies and will hold them rigidly responsible for specific performance of their pledges...
...There may be delays, temporary failures, and disappointments, but the ultimate accomplishment is certain, and the onward sweep of the movement for the full measure of human liberty can not long be stayed...
...And that it is a real awakening is evidenced by the enthusiasm with which the new National Progressive Republican League was greeted by the public...
...The interest the Oregon story has created is demonstrated by the fact that already applications have been received for over 2,700,000 copies for the United States, over 10,000 copies in Canada, and several hundred copies for foreign countries...
...To facilitate the organization of such local and state clubs the National Progressive Republican League is distributing enrollment blanks, membership slips and literature...
...Letters—a flood of them—have also been received at the headquarters of the League, requesting information that would be helpful in organizing branch leagues...
...Whatever an individual is responsible for he should to the same degree be accountable for...
...President: On the 5th of last May I delivered in this body a speech entitled 'Popular vs...
...Realization of these conditions must stimulate and develop in humanity the innate desire for improvement...
...The issue before the country is whether popular government, with general welfare its vitalizing force, shall save and develop this Nation, or delegated government, with selfishness the destroying force, shall bring the Nation to inevitable anarchy...
...The country is to be congratulated upon the awakening it is now undergoing, and, from my viewpoint, the more general and greater the tumult now, the more honest and specific the discussion, the higher the plane of the new departure, and the longer the period of peace hereafter...
...In theory we have a Government in which certain public officials represent the wishes and promote the welfare of their States and districts...
...This "awakening" to which Senator Bourne refers is not confined to states like Oregon, or Wisconsin, or California...
...Party platforms are adroitly drawn for the purpose of catching votes rather than for the purpose of development and improvement of government and the conditions of humanity...
...Minnesota has opened headquarters, employed a secretary, and adopted a platform of progressive measures, which it will endeavor to have incorporated in the platform of the Republican party in that State...
...Assistance for the Asking LETTERS HAVE come to La Follette's asking for advice and assistance in forming ward and county leagues similar in spirit and purpose to the National Progressive Republican League...
...Under delegated government, still in vogue in most States and in practice nationally, the people have no voice in their legislation, thus preventing the development of the electorate...
...Citizens determined to substitute general welfare and equal opportunity for selfish interest and special privilege are fighting for the adoption of these reforms throughout the country...
...The National League Will Help you to Organize a Progressive League in your Community ON FEBRUARY 27, 1911, Senator Jonathan Bourne, Jr., delivered a speech in the United States Senate on how to make government responsive to the will of the people...
...In reality, we have a Government in which many public officials secure their positions, always by consent and generally through the selection of a party boss, who maintains a political machine with funds contributed by individuals or corporations having selfish interests to protect or promote...
...City and county leagues, too, are being organized for the same purpose...
...There is manifested wide interest in the work and aims of this new organization, and a genuine popular desire to cooperate with it in bringing about popular government...
...THESE CONDITIONS can be established and perpetuated only through popular government, meaning, in its present evolution, the establishment in the several States of our Union, through the utilization of the State machinery, of the initiative and referendum, an efficient direct primary, the corrupt-practices act, and the recall, and providing nationally for the popular selection of candidates for President and Vice President and United States Senators, thus making general welfare the basis of every law and the goal of every public servant...
...Where accountability in government is to the composite citizen—that is to say, the electorate or in corporate business to all the stockholders—the inevitable result is necessitated service for the general welfare of all, or the earliest possible elimination of the servant, whether public or corporate...
...The Australian ballot, registration of voters, initiative and referendum, direct primary, corrupt-practices act, and recall, an absolute government by the people...
...Delegated Government,' in which I asserted that Oregon has the best system of government in the world today...
...Under popular government like the Oregon system, the accountability is always to the composite citizen—individual unknown—always permanent, never changing, the necessitated result being that the public servant must serve the composite citizen who represents general welfare or be recalled, where the recall exists, or fail of reelection where an efficient direct primary exists...
...Fired with the same zeal for People's Government as that which inspired Senator Bourne's remarks, just quoted, there are groups of citizens all over the country who are organizing state and local leagues, having the same declaration of principles as, and identified with, the National League...
...Under delegated government he is accountable to the political boss, who in most cases is but the agent of the largest campaign contributor, at best a shifting accountability, because of the relative fluctuations of contributions and contributors...
...They have adopted constitutions embodying the declarations of the National Progressive Republican League, in addition to other matters of purely local interest, and are pledging candidates to support these measures and securing the adoption of planks favoring them in their local party platforms...
...For decades we have directed our efforts toward improving the shingles on the roof of our national superstructure without realizing that the foundation is absolutely rotten because its cementation is one of selfishness instead of general welfare, legislation and public servants being directed by and accountable to the political boss and through him to his principal, the largest campaign contributor...
...For instructions and literature, write to frederic c. Howe, Secretary, 811 Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C. * * * ¶The supreme court of California has heard about the recall and has concluded to stop freeing grafters on strained technicalities...
...Terrible, isn't it, this defeat of justice by the mob...
...New York's Senators-New and Old "The widespread interest in the Oregon laws proves conclusively that the people of the entire country are awake to conditions that exist and are determined to improve their system of government, not by changing the existing form of government, but by making their representatives solely accountable to the people and by guaranteeing to public servants that demonstration of good service rather than subservience to a political boss, temporary leader, or special interest assures election or retention...
...Recognizing this, the National Progressive Republican League is cooperating with every community wishing to establish a local branch of the League...
...Where accountability is to the individual, payment will be personal, meaning, necessarily, special privileges or serving a selfish interest...
...Public Servants Should be Accountable Directly to the People "THE SUCCESS and duration of representative government depend upon responsibility and accountability—the responsibility of the people for their laws and selection of their public servants and the accountability of the public servant directly to the people...
...It is nation-wide...
Vol. 3 • April 1911 • No. 16
