The Way To Secure Reforms

The price Michigan pays for advancement and reform in any direction is a dear one. No demand of the people is acceded to as long as the demand can well be resisted and then it is only granted in the most grudging measure. This is due no doubt largely to the fact that "any one can carry Michigan." This is the price the people of the state pay for voting a partisan ticket without reference to the principles it stands for or the personnel of the ticket. Bosses run the party within the legislature and with out. If the people would show their independence by cutting down the one hundred thousand majority in the state pretty nearly to the vanishing point, they would be able to get what legislation they desire. 

For years the republican majority held up the Australian ballot, but when a democratic majority was returned to the legislature, such a law was promptly enacted. The republicans feared ballot reform just as they now fear primary reform. And immediately the Australian ballot became operative they transferred most of the dirty political jobbery from the polls to the primaries. The elections are now comparatively decent, but the primaries have suffered in proportion to the gain at the polls. As a result the primaries today are debauched beyond anything in our previous history and a republican legislature is opposing the efforts for an effective primary election reform. 

The fight for equal taxation of railroad property is another instance of party perfidy to the interests of the people and to platform pledges. What was finally accomplished in the way of equal taxation was forced on the party when its leaders had become frightened by threatening conditions which the bosses did not dare to challenge. The repeal of the Michigan Central charter was forced on the legislators in a special session when they could not dodge. But even now sleeping car companies are not taxed in Michigan although they do a million dollars of business a year in the state. Very little has been done to regulate freight rates. But it is at no time difficult for the great corporations to get such legislation as they want. The bosses and political wire-pullers also get what they go after. The bill to extend the hours for holding the polls open in Detroit on election days went to the governor the other day and he indicated that he would probably not sign it, but when Tom. J. Navin appeared on the scene, the governor promptly made the bill a law. Thus is it illustrated how legislation is brought about not because the people want it, but because some boss or other desires it. 

The people of all parties are anxious for a primary election law and the republican party is pledged by several party platforms to enact such a law, but the party bosses do not want it and all sorts of means are being resorted to to prevent the enactment of such legislation. If the control of state affairs were turned over to the opposite party such a law would be promptly enacted. But just so long as the people continue to vote a party in by a hundred thousand majority whether it carries out pledges or not, just so long are they likely to be duped in the matter of securing the reforms desired. 

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If any financial interest has become so overgrown as to threaten the prosperity of the country, if it be required to lay aside its criminal methods of doing business, is it not about time the government in the interest of the people took all the chances involved in compelling it to obey the law whatever the consequences may be? If such organizations of capital are allowed to go on in their lawbreaking for fear they will bring on a panic, where are they likely to stop in their criminal careers? What laws are here that they can be expected to obey? Must they remain a law unto themselves, obeying such as they choose to obey and breaking such as they do not approve? What would this ultimately lead to? And yet this is the course being advocated by some relative to the government's duty to criminal trusts. Lest the business of the country be disturbed, these criminal trusts should be allowed to go on in their criminal careers. Why not apply this same reasoning to the individual criminals? Why not let them go on stealing, robblng, murdering and doing any other old thing they choose to do, because any interference with them will work against their business? This government is supposed to be founded upon the idea of the equality of all men before the law. Why punish the Individual and let the corporate criminal go when he, she or it commits the same or worse crimes? 

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Regent-elect Knappen, in a speech before the alumni banquet at Grand Rapids last Friday night, declared against the so-called Randall bill now pending in the legislature limiting the income of the University from direct taxation to $300,00. He said this would be a distinct menace to the University. In this he is undoubtedly right. cutting down the revenues for educational purposes is not the right place to begin reform in state expenditures. There are other state expenses which should be examined into and cut down before coming to any curtailment of expenses for schools. There is not one single feature of the political departments of the state government but that should be examined into and the expenses reduced before beginning on any part of the state educational system.