People's Pilot, Volume 6, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 March 1897 — What the Referendum Has Done. [ARTICLE]

What the Referendum Has Done.

Some people fear to copy the referendum because it is Swiss. Such should not forget that it is of New England as well. When the Irish nation was in its glory the same system of referendum was in force. But don’t think that Switzerland, though a small republic, is to be scorned by those who are working for better conditions. Let such make a note of these facts: Switzerland has penny postage. Free delivery In rural districts. Telegrams for 11 cents. Telephones at sl6 per year. The best highways In the world. The cheapest railway fares in Europe, though on the costliest road. More co-operative work than anywhere else on earth. The best opportunities to educate sons and daughters in the world. The Swiss consume five times as much luxuries and comforts as do the Italians. While we vote for parties and get principles all jumbled together, the Swiss voter gets at one thing at a time, the only sensible dominant issue known. —The Printer. The real question is whether the government or the banks shall issue the paper money of the country. Chicago is boiling her water to make it fit to drink. She ought to boil her politics.