THE STATE LEGISLATURE
=Powers of the State Legislatures.=--The powers of the state
legislature, unlike those of the city council and those of the Congress
of the United States, are not set forth in the constitution. In general,
a state legislature may exercise any powers which are not denied to it
by the Constitution of the United States or by the constitution of the
state. Its powers, in other words, are residuary in character, rather
than delegated or granted.
_Limitations._--In recent years, however, mainly on account of the
popular distrust in which our legislatures have come to be held,
numerous limitations upon their powers have been imposed by the
constitutions of many states. Thus they are frequently forbidden
absolutely to pass local or special laws where a general law is
applicable, or they are allowed to enact such laws only under certain
restrictions. In most states, also, the legislature cannot run the state
into debt beyond a certain amount, and its power to impose taxes and
appropriate money is generally restricted. Finally, its power of
legislation has been limited by the present practice of regulating many
important matters in the constitution itself. In the newer constitutions
especially we find a large number of provisions relating to schools,
cities, towns, railroads, corporations, taxation, and other matters. To
that extent, therefore, the legislature is deprived of its power of
legislation on these subjects.
_Extent of the Legislative Power._--In spite of the numerous
restrictions, however, the power of the legislature is very large. It
enacts the whole body of criminal law of the state; makes laws
concerning the ownership, use, and disposition of property, laws
concerning contracts, trade, business, industry, the exercise of such
professions as law, medicine, pharmacy, and others; laws relating to the
government of counties, towns, cities, and other localities; laws
concerning the public health, education, charity, marriage and divorce,
and the conduct of elections; laws concerning railroads, canals,
ferries, drainage, manufacturing, eminent domain, and a great variety of
other matters. The subjects concerning which the legislatures may enact
laws are indeed so numerous and varied that it would be impossible to
enumerate them all. For that reason the legislature is by far the most
important branch of the state government, and it is highly important
that it should be composed of honest, intelligent, and efficient
members. Unfortunately, however, in many states the legislature has
declined in public esteem. In the early days of our history the
legislative branch of the government was all-powerful. It was not only
practically unlimited as to its power of legislation, but it was
intrusted with the choice of many important officers of the state. Now,
however, there is a disposition to cut down its powers and place
restrictions on the exercise of those that are left to it. In many
states the people have secured the power to legislate for themselves by
means of the initiative and referendum (pp. 85-89); and, to diminish the
power of the legislature to enact useless laws, many constitutions limit
the length of the sessions to forty or sixty days in the hope of
compelling it to devote its time to the consideration of important
measures of general interest.
=Structure of the Legislature.=--Every state legislature to-day consists
of two houses. At first several states followed the example of the
Congress of the Confederation and tried the single-chamber system, but
they soon found its disadvantages serious, and substituted legislatures
with two houses. The principal advantage of a bicameral legislature is
that each house serves as a check upon the haste of the other and thus
insures more careful consideration of bills. Nevertheless, proposals
have recently been made in several states to establish a
single-chambered legislature, and the question was voted on by the
electors of Oregon in 1912 and in 1914, and by those of Arizona in 1916.
The lawmaking body popularly known as the legislature is officially so
designated in some states, but in others the formal name is the general
assembly or the legislative assembly, and in two, Massachusetts and New
Hampshire, the colonial title, "general court," is still retained. In
all the states the upper house is styled the senate. In most of them the
lower chamber is known as the house of representatives, though in a few
it is styled the assembly and in three the house of delegates.
Both houses of the state legislature are chosen by the people. The
principal differences in their make-up are, that the senate is a smaller
body and therefore each senator represents a larger constituency, the
senators in many states are chosen for a longer term, and usually the
senate is vested with special functions such as the approval of
executive appointments to office, and the trial of impeachment cases.
_The State Senate._--The size of the senate varies from seventeen
members in Delaware to sixty-seven in Minnesota, the average number
being about thirty-five. In about two thirds of the states the term of
senators is four years; in New Jersey their term is three years; in
Massachusetts it is one year; in the remaining states it is two years.
In about one third of the states the terms of the senators and the
representatives are the same. In some states the senators are divided
into classes, and only half of them retire at the same time.
_The House of Representatives._--The house of representatives everywhere
is a more numerous body than the senate, and in a few states the
disproportion is very great. Thus the New Hampshire legislature with a
senate of 24 members has a house of representatives of more than 400
members, the largest in any state, a body about as large as the national
house of representatives. The Connecticut legislature is composed of a
senate of 35 members and a house of representatives of 258 members;
Vermont has a senate of 30 members and a house of representatives of
246; Massachusetts has a senate of 40 members and a house of 240. The
smallest houses of representatives are those of Delaware and Arizona,
each consisting of 35 members.
_Apportionment of Senators and Representatives._--Senators and
representatives are apportioned among districts, usually on the basis of
population. Political units, however, are often taken into
consideration, and in some states such units rather than the number of
inhabitants are the determining element. Thus it is frequently provided
that each county shall be entitled to one senator, though the population
of some counties may be many times as great as that of other counties.
In some of the New England states the inequalities of representation are
so glaring as to constitute a great injustice to the more populous
towns. In Connecticut, for example, the members of the lower house are
distributed among the towns of the state, without regard to their
population. As a result each of the small towns of Union, Hartland,
Killingworth, and Colebrook, with an average population of less than
1,000 persons, has two representatives, while New Haven, with 133,000
inhabitants, has only two. Hartford, with about 99,000, has only two,
and so has Bridgeport with a population of 102,000, and Waterbury with
73,000. These four cities comprise about one third the population of the
state, but they have only one thirty-second part of the membership of
the house of representatives. A similar system of representation exists
in Vermont and in the senate of Rhode Island.
Moreover, as a result of "gerrymandering" by the political party in
control of the legislature the legislative districts are frequently so
constructed as to give the majority party more than its fair share of
representatives. As a result there are in some states great inequalities
of representation among the different counties or legislative districts.
In order to prevent large cities from controlling the legislature and
thereby dominating the state, a few constitutions limit their
representation in the legislature. Thus in New York it is provided that
no county, however populous, shall have more than one third of all the
representatives, and a somewhat similar provision is contained in the
constitutions of Rhode Island and Pennsylvania.
=Minority Representation in the Legislature.=--Where there are two
political parties in the state, it is worth considering whether some
provision should not be made for allowing each party to choose a number
of representatives in proportion to its numerical strength, or at least
for allowing the weaker party some representation in the legislature. It
not infrequently happens under the present system that the majority
party in the state succeeds in electing nearly all the representatives,
leaving the other party practically without representation, although it
may be strong enough to cast hundreds of thousands of votes in the
state as a whole. In the Oregon state election of 1906, for example, the
Republican party, with only 55 per cent of the voting strength, elected
eighty-eight members of the legislature, while the Democratic party,
though casting 34 per cent of the total vote, elected only seven
representatives.
The present constitution of Illinois contains a clause which makes it
possible for the minority party in each of the fifty-one legislative
districts into which the state is divided to elect at least one of the
three representatives to which the district is entitled. Each voter is
allowed three votes, and he may give one vote to each of three
candidates, or he may give all three to one candidate, or two to one
candidate and one to another. Usually the party having the majority in
the district elects two candidates and the minority party one, the
voters of the latter party concentrating all their votes on the one
candidate.
=Legislative Sessions.=--In the great majority of states the
legislatures hold regular sessions every two years. In New York, New
Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Georgia, and South Carolina the
legislature meets every year in regular session. Alabama is contented
with a session once in every four years. In California the session is
divided into two parts, the first being devoted exclusively to the
introduction of bills. The legislature then takes a recess of a month to
enable the members to consult their constituents in regard to the bills
introduced, after which it reassembles for the enactment of such
legislation as seems to be demanded. In all the states the governor is
empowered to call extraordinary sessions for the consideration of
special matters of an urgent character.
There is a popular belief that legislatures waste much of their time in
the consideration of petty matters, and in many states the constitution
either limits the length of the session,--sometimes to forty, fifty, or
sixty days,--or provides that where the session is prolonged beyond a
certain number of days, the pay of members shall cease. The wisdom of
limiting the sessions to such brief periods, however, is doubtful, and
several states that once imposed such restrictions have since removed
them.
=Legislative Compensation.=--In all the states, members of the
legislature receive pay for their services. This is either in the form
of a definite amount per year, term, or session, or so much per day. The
largest legislative salaries are those of Illinois ($3,500 per biennial
session), New York ($1,500 per year), Massachusetts and Ohio ($1,000 per
year), and Pennsylvania ($1,500 per biennial session). In New Hampshire,
on the other hand, the salary is only $200 per biennial session, in
Connecticut $300, and in South Carolina $200 for each annual session. In
thirty states the per diem method of compensation prevails, the amount
ranging from three dollars per day, which is the salary paid in Kansas
and Oregon, to ten dollars per day, in Kentucky, Montana, and Nebraska,
the most usual sum being four or five dollars per day. In several
states, however, the per diem compensation ceases, or is reduced to a
nominal amount, after the legislature has been in session 60 days or 90
days. Mileage ranging in amount from ten cents per mile to twenty-five
cents is usually allowed, and in a number of states there is a small
allowance for postage, stationery, and newspapers. In some states the
pay of the legislators is fixed by the constitution, and hence the
matter is beyond control of the legislature. Indeed, in only a few
states is the matter of legislative pay left entirely to the discretion
of the legislature without restriction.
In a number of them the constitution either forbids members to accept
free passes on the railroads, or makes it the duty of the legislature to
pass laws prohibiting the acceptance of such passes.
=Organization of the Legislature.=--Each house is usually free to
organize itself as it may see fit, though where the office of lieutenant
governor exists, the constitution designates that official as the
presiding officer of the senate.
_The Speaker._--The presiding officer of the lower house is styled the
speaker, and in all the states he is chosen by the house from its own
membership. He calls the house to order, presides over its
deliberations, enforces the rules governing debate, puts motions and
states questions, makes rulings on points of order, recognizes members
who desire to address the house, appoints the committees, signs the acts
and resolutions passed by the house, and maintains order and decorum. He
usually belongs to the political party which is in the majority in the
house, and in making up the committees and recognizing members for the
purpose of debate he usually favors those of his own party.
_The Clerk._--Each house has a clerk or secretary who keeps the journal
of the proceedings, has custody of all bills and resolutions before the
house, keeps the calendar of bills, calls the roll, reads bills, and
performs other duties of a like character. He is often assisted by other
clerks such as a reading clerk, an engrossing clerk, sometimes an
enrolling clerk, etc.
[Illustration: STATE CAPITOL, HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA]
[Illustration: STATE CAPITOL, SALEM, OREGON]
_Sergeant-at-arms._--To execute the orders of the house in preserving
good order and enforcing the rules, there is an officer called a
sergeant-at-arms. He usually has custody of the hall in which the
meetings are held, makes arrests when the house orders an outsider to be
taken into custody for contempt, compels absent members to attend
when ordered by the house to do so, and sometimes keeps the accounts of
the pay and mileage of members.
_Other Officers and Employees._--Usually, also, there is a chaplain who
opens the session with prayer, though he is not always a paid employee;
a postmaster; and a number of miscellaneous employees such as
doorkeepers, janitors, copying clerks, stenographers, pages, etc.[11]
[11] The California house of representatives, consisting of eighty
members, had in 1907 a total of 335 employees, with salaries ranging
from $3 to $8 per day. The senate, composed of forty members, had 228
employees. Since then an amendment to the constitution of that state
has been adopted, limiting to $500 per day the amount that may be
expended by the legislature for clerical assistance. In some other
states the number of employees of the legislature seems excessive, and
restrictions similar to that now found in the constitution of
California might not be out of place. Thus in 1903 there were 226
employees of the legislature of Illinois, 315 in Missouri, 299 in New
York, and 225 in Oregon. The expense account of legislative employees
in Illinois for the session of 1913 amounted to more than $95,000; the
amount in New York was over $250,000; and in Wisconsin over $76,000.
One of the arguments now being urged in some states in favor of a
single-chamber legislature is that it would make possible a material
reduction in the number of legislative employees and a corresponding
diminution of expenses.
_Committees._--For convenience in legislation the members of each house
are grouped into committees, the more important of which are those on
agriculture, corporations, finance or appropriations, ways and means,
judiciary, railroads, labor, education, manufactures, engrossment and
enrollment, and insurance. In the Western states there are usually
committees on immigration, mining, dairies, forestry, fish and game,
drainage, swamp lands, irrigation, levees and river improvements, etc.
The number and size of the committees vary in different states. In some
of the states there are as many as fifty or sixty committees, and
occasionally as many as forty members are placed on a single committee.
In addition to the standing committees of each house there are
frequently select committees appointed for special purposes, and there
are usually a number of joint committees made up of members of both
houses. In the New England states most of the committee work is done by
joint committees, there being usually only four or five standing
committees in each house.
=How Bills are Passed.=--Each house is empowered to frame its own rules
of procedure, but in order to insure publicity and careful consideration
of bills the state constitutions have placed restrictions upon the
legislature in the consideration and passage of bills. Thus in all the
states each house is required to keep a journal of its daily
proceedings; in most states it is provided that no law shall be passed
except by bill, that no bill shall embrace more than one subject, which
shall be clearly expressed in the title of the bill, that no money shall
be appropriated except by law, that every bill shall be read at least
three times before being passed, that no existing law shall be amended
by mere reference to its title but the amended portion must be set out
in full, and that the yeas and nays shall be recorded upon demand of a
certain number of members. Some states require that every bill shall be
referred to a committee, that every bill shall be printed and placed on
the desk of each member, that no bill shall be introduced after the
legislature has been in session a certain number of days, and that bills
of a local or private character shall be introduced only after public
notice has been given in the locality affected and to be valid must be
passed by a two-thirds majority of each house; and so on.
In general these constitutional restrictions represent an attempt to
eliminate the evils of undue haste, lack of consideration,
extravagance, and objectionable local and private bills, and to compel
the legislature to do its work openly, carefully, and in the interest of
the public good.
_Order of Procedure._--A common order of the procedure in passing bills
is the following: 1. Introduction and first reading. 2. Reference to a
committee. 3. Report of the committee. 4. Second reading. 5. Third
reading. 6. Vote on passage. 7. Enrollment. 8. Approval by the Governor.
This order of procedure, however, is often departed from under a
suspension of the rules or by unanimous consent.
Usually any member can introduce a bill on any subject and at any
time[12] except where the constitution forbids the introduction of bills
after a certain date, and some legislatures have even found a means of
evading this restriction. In most states a bill can be introduced by
filing it with the clerk. It is then usually read the first time, though
only by title, and referred to the appropriate committee for
consideration and report. The committee may "pigeonhole" it and never
report, or it may make a report so late in the session that
consideration of the bill is impossible. If the bill seems worthy of
being reported, the committee reports it to the house with a
recommendation that it be passed either with or without amendments, or
that it be rejected. If reported favorably it is placed on the calendar
for consideration in its turn. At this stage it is open for general
discussion and for amendment by the house. If the bill meets the
approval of the house, it is finally ordered to be engrossed and read a
third time. It is then put in shape by the committee on engrossment,
after which it is read a third time and finally passed. It then goes to
the other house, where the procedure is substantially the same. If
passed by the second house, it is ready for the signature of the
governor. If amended by the second house, it comes back to the first
house for concurrence in the amendments. If the first house refuses its
concurrence, a conference committee is usually appointed by the two
houses to consider and recommend a compromise. The bill is not ready to
send to the governor until it has been passed by both houses in exactly
the same form.
[12] In Wisconsin and some other states, "legislative reference
bureaus" furnish members with information regarding subjects of
proposed legislation, and aid them in the drafting of bills.
=Lobbying and Bribery.=--In all our states a large proportion of the
legislation enacted affects directly or indirectly the interests of
particular persons, classes, or localities. As a result, interested
parties bring great pressure to bear upon the members to pass certain
bills or to reject certain others.
_Methods of the Lobbyist._--Usually when the legislature meets, the paid
representatives of interested individuals, corporations, or local
governments appear on the scene to urge legislation in their interests
or to defeat bills introduced that are unfavorable to them. These
persons are known as "lobbyists," and the means they employ to secure or
prevent legislation are often improper and sometimes venal. Sometimes
money is used to bribe members to vote for or against pending measures,
and there are few states indeed where charges of this kind have not been
made. In one state recently, money was contributed in large quantities
by persons interested in preventing certain legislation, and the sum
thus contributed was known as the "jack pot" fund, out of which members
were handsomely paid for their votes. In a special message to the
legislature of New York state, Governor Hughes declared that certain
disclosures had "caused honest citizens to tingle with shame and
indignation and made irresistible the demand that every proper means
should be employed to purge and purify the legislature." The situation
described by the governor as existing in New York, unfortunately exists
in other states as well.
_"Strike" Bills._--Some of the great corporations maintain regularly
paid lobbyists at the state capitals when the legislature is in session,
not so much for the purpose of securing legislation in their interests
as to prevent the enactment of laws to which they are opposed. Sometimes
they are practically forced to have lobbyists on the ground to prevent
the enactment of what are called "strike" bills, that is, bills
introduced by unscrupulous members for the purpose of extorting money
from the corporations to pay for defeating them.
_Anti-lobbying Legislation._--The evils growing out of the practice of
the special interests in maintaining paid lobbyists near the legislature
have led to attempts in a number of states to restrict such abuses by
legislation. This legislation, in general, makes it unlawful to attempt
to influence improperly any legislator. In several states lobbyists are
required to make known the purpose of their business and to register
their names with the secretary of state, and after the adjournment of
the legislature to file a sworn statement of their expenses.
=Direct Legislation: the Initiative and the Referendum.=--The
legislature is not the only agency for enacting law and determining the
public policies of the state. Laws on certain subjects may be made by
the people themselves acting directly in their primary capacity as well
as through the agency of representatives. This is done through what are
called the initiative and the referendum. The initiative is a device by
which the people themselves may propose laws and have them submitted to
the voters for their approval or rejection. Through the referendum the
people reserve the power to approve or reject by popular vote certain
laws enacted by the legislature.
_Varieties of Referendum._--The referendum may be obligatory or optional
in character, that is, the approval of the electorate may be required by
the constitution before certain laws shall go into effect, or the
legislature in its discretion may refer a law to the people for their
opinion. Thus the constitutions of many states declare that no law for
increasing the debt of the state beyond a certain amount shall be valid
until it has been submitted to the voters and approved by them. Again,
the referendum may be mandatory or advisory in character. Under the
mandatory form, the legislature is required to carry out the will of the
electorate as pronounced on any subject referred to the voters, while
the advisory referendum is nothing more than an expression of opinion
which may or may not be followed by legislative action.
Again, the referendum may be state-wide in its scope, as where a general
law or question of public policy is submitted to the voters of the whole
state, or it may be of a local character, as where a law affecting a
particular community is referred to the voters thereof.
The referendum as a device for adopting constitutions and constitutional
amendments is as old as the republic itself, and is now the general
practice (pp. 65, 70). In all the states except Delaware proposed
amendments must be submitted to the voters at a general or special
election, and must be adopted by them before going into effect. The use
of the referendum for ordinary lawmaking is also an old practice, though
it is much more generally resorted to now than formerly. Thus very early
in our history it was employed for such purposes as the incorporation of
towns, borrowing money, the location of county sites, division of
counties, subscription to stock in railroads and other enterprises by
states, counties, or towns, and the levying of special taxes for the
support of schools. One of the important uses to which it was put was
the determination of the question whether intoxicating liquor should be
sold in a particular locality. In time what were called local option
laws were passed in many states, giving the people of towns, cities, or
other local divisions of the state the privilege of determining by
popular vote whether liquor should be sold within their limits. Other
matters that have frequently been made the subject of a referendum are:
the granting of the suffrage to negroes, and sometimes the
enfranchisement of women; the location of state capitals; the sale of
school lands; the incorporation of state banks of issue; the granting of
aid to railroads; the adoption of the township form of local government;
the construction of canals; the erection of public libraries; and many
other matters too numerous to mention. There is no state in which the
referendum is not provided by the constitution for certain kinds of
legislation, and there is hardly a general election held nowadays in
which the voters are not called upon to pass judgment upon some proposed
act of the legislature or some question of public policy.
In Illinois there has been enacted what is known as the "public opinion
law," which provides that upon petition by 10 per cent of the registered
voters of the state the legislature is required to submit to the voters
any question of public policy for their opinion. The popular vote,
however, is nothing more than an expression of opinion by the voters and
is not binding upon the legislature.
_The Oregon System._--The idea of the initiative and the referendum has
been carried out most fully in Oregon, whose constitution provides that
8 per cent of the voters may by petition propose an amendment to the
constitution, and when so proposed it must be submitted to the voters
and if approved by a majority of them the amendment becomes a part of
the constitution. Likewise the constitution of Oregon provides for the
initiation and adoption of ordinary laws by the people. It further
provides that upon the petition of 5 per cent of the voters any act of
the legislature, with certain exceptions, before going into effect, must
be submitted to the people for their approval, and if not approved by a
majority of those voting, it shall not go into effect. From 1904 to
1914, 130 constitutional amendments and statutes were submitted to
popular vote, of which 46 were adopted. For the information of the
voters, "publicity pamphlets" are provided, containing an explanation of
the measures upon which they are called to vote, together with arguments
for and against each proposition. In 1912 these arguments (on 37
measures) made a book of 252 pages.
_Initiative and Referendum in other States._--Various other states
(South Dakota, Utah, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Missouri, Maine,
Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arizona, Nevada, California, Washington,
Michigan, Ohio, North Dakota, Massachusetts, and Mississippi) have
established both the initiative and the referendum in some form or
other. The initiative and referendum are in use also in many cities,
especially those under the commission plan of government. Usually the
number who are empowered to initiate a proposed law or ordinance is 8 or
10 per cent of the registered vote. In Texas the referendum is applied
to the formulation by political parties of their party policies, 10 per
cent of the voters being allowed to propose policies which must be
submitted to the party for their opinion.
_Merits of the Referendum._--One of the chief merits of the referendum
is that it serves as a check on the vices, follies, and errors of
judgment of the legislature. Another merit claimed for the referendum is
its educative effect upon the electorate. Where the voters are
frequently called upon to pass judgment upon the acts of the legislature
or upon questions of public policy, they must, if they discharge their
duty properly, study the measures submitted to them and thus become
trained in public affairs. The enjoyment of such a privilege also tends
to stimulate their interest in political affairs and increase their
feeling of responsibility for the good government of the state.
The advantage of the initiative is that it puts in the hands of the
people the power to bring forward needed measures of legislation and
secure a vote on them whenever the legislature refuses to act in
obedience to the popular mind.
=References.=--BEARD, American Government and Politics, ch. xxv.
BRYCE, The American Commonwealth (abridged edition), ch. xxxix.
DEALEY, Our State Constitutions, ch. vii. HART, Actual Government,
ch. vii. REINSCH, American Legislatures and Legislative Methods,
chs. iv-x. WILSON, The State, secs. 1128-1142.
=Documentary and Illustrative Material.=--1. The legislative manual
or blue book of the state. 2. A map showing the division of the
state into legislative districts. 3. Rules of procedure of the two
houses of the legislature. 4. Specimen copies of bills and
resolutions. 5. Messages of the governor to the legislature. 6. The
last volume of the session laws of the state.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. How many members are there in the senate of your state legislature?
How many in the house of representatives? What is the term of the
members of each house? What are the qualifications for membership? What
is the salary?
2. What is the principle of apportionment of the members of each house?
Are there any inequalities of representation among the districts or
counties from which the members are chosen? What county has the largest
number of representatives? What county the smallest number? Have any
charges been made that the state is "gerrymandered" in the interest of
the dominant party?
3. How many committees are there in each house? Of what committees are
your representatives and your senator members? What is the average
number of members on each committee? Name some of the most important
committees. What are the principal officers and employees of each house?
4. How often does the legislature of your state meet in regular session?
Are there any constitutional restrictions on the length of the sessions?
Have any extraordinary sessions been held in recent years? If so, for
what purpose? Are there any restrictions on the power of the legislature
when in extraordinary session?
5. How many acts were passed at the last regular session? How many joint
resolutions were adopted? What is the difference between an act and a
joint resolution?
6. What are the provisions in the constitution of your state in regard
to the procedure of the legislature in passing bills? Find out from the
rules of each house how a bill is introduced, considered, and passed.
How are special and local acts passed?
7. Is there a law in your state to regulate lobbying? What is the
penalty for accepting a bribe?
8. Is there a legislative reference bureau or other agency in your state
for collecting information for the benefit of members or for assisting
them in the preparation of bills?
9. Are there any provisions in the constitution of your state in regard
to the initiative or referendum? Do you know of any instance in recent
years in which the people of the state were called upon to vote on a
proposed legislative act or a question of public policy? Is there a
local option liquor law in your state? If so, have the people of your
county or city taken advantage of it?
10. Do you think members of the legislature when instructed by their
constituents to vote for or against a certain measure, should obey the
instructions, or vote according to their own judgment of what is best
without regard to the expressed will of the people?
11. Is there any organization in your state for studying the records of
members and for securing the election of honest and efficient
legislators?