Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 2, 1902

Mr. Hardy to Mr. Hay.

United States Legation,
Berne , June 10, 1902 .

No. 62.]

Sir: I have the honor to inclose herewith the report called for by your No. 32 of May 6 last, in compliance with the request made through the Department of State by Senator George Peabody Wetmore.

All the information asked for by Senator Wetmore is, I believe, covered by this report, except the text of the propositions submitted through the referendum and initiative. These are to be had only in the bound volumes of the official record dating from 1874, and can not be procured separately. I have, however, given in most instances a brief statement of the bills in question and the circumstances attending their rejection or adoption.

In asking for a “full history of the referendum and initiative in Switzerland” I have not supposed Senator Wetmore intended to go back of the constitution of 1848.

The subject is a very large one and its literature very voluminous, even without touching the question of historical origin. Should, however, any further specific information be required, I shall be happy to supply it so far as in my power. As my own views on the practical working and results of the referendum and initiative have not been asked for by the Department, and as I do not know to what use they might be put, I have not added them.

I have, etc.,

Arthur S. Hardy.

[Inclosure.]

Referendum and initiative.

definitions.

Legislative power may be exercised directly by the people or delegated to a few. In the former case government is direct, in the latter, representative.

The referendum is a union of both systems, the people delegating its power to representatives, but reserving the right to approve or reject their decisions.

The initiative still further curtails delegated power, the people reserving also the right to initiate legislation. By the referendum they pass judgment on laws made by their representatives; by the initiative they propose new laws or alter or abolish (hose already existing.

The referendum is compulsory when all laws must be submitted to the people and optional when only certain laws are submitted or laws whose submission is desired by a certain number of voters.

More or less perfect illustrations of direct government are afforded by the town meetings of New England, by the early Swiss Republics of Uri, Appenzell, etc.; by certain old Flemish communes, the Hanseatic cities, and by ancient Gaul, Germany, Rome, and Athens. But even in small communities analysis shows that so-called direct government is never completely realized in practice. The representative principle always appears in some form in the elaboration, execution, interpretation, or revision of laws, the administration of finances or the conclusion of treaties, and the making of war or peace.

The principles of the referendum and initiative appear in the earliest forms of representative government in Switzerland as counterpoises to delegated power. For a study of the historical origin of these principles reference may be made to the works of Professor Hilty, of Berne, and to Signorcl’s Referendum Legislatif, Rousseau, Paris, 1896. Modern legislation on these subjects begins with the constitution of September 12, 1848, which converted a confederation of loosely associated cantons into a federal state.

constitution of 1848.

Under this constitution the people possessed the right to demand its revision and to accept or reject a new constitution. If either Chamber pronounced for revision, the other dissenting, or if 50,000 legal voters demanded revision, then, in either case, the question whether there should be revision was to be submitted to the people. If a majority of those voting pronounced in the affirmative, the two Chambers were to be convened to proceed to the revision, and the revised constitution was to go into effect when a majority of Swiss citizens voting, and of Cantons, accepted it. On constitutional questions, therefore, the constitution of 1848 embodied both the referendum and the initiative.

Under the second French Empire and during the unification of Germany a sentiment arose in favor of still greater centralization, and revision was discussed as early as 1804. Partial revision was proposed by the federal council in its message of July 1, 1809, in eight particulars—equality of citizens; the right to vote; liberty of worship; prohibition of lotteries; protection of authors’ rights; abolition of certain penalties; uniformity of weights and measures, and the right of a citizen to settle anywhere within Swiss territory. All these were rejected by the people except two—the uniformity of weights and measures being adopted by 159,202 votes to 156,396, and the extension of the right of settlement by 170,032 to 149,401.

The agitation for a complete revision, however, went on, centralization, with the referendum as a check, being the objective. The debates in the Chambers, begun in 1871, terminated in 1872, when the national council, by a vote of 78 to 36, and the council of states, by a vote of 23 to 18, declared for revision. In this project the optional referendum was provided for all laws and for resolutions not deemed urgent, and the initiative was accorded to 50,000 citizens or 5 Cantons. In accordance with the provisions of the constitution then in force this revision was submitted to the people on May 12, 1872, and was rejected by 13 out of 32 Cantons, and by 260,859 against 255,606 votes.

In the fall of the same year revision was again taken up by the Federal Assembly, in the new project the popular initiative was suppressed and the referendum accorded to 8 (instead of 5) Cantons, and to 30,000 (instead of 50,000) citizens. This measure was adopted January 30, 1874, in the House by 103 to 20, and in the Senate by 25 to 14, and on April 19 was accepted by a popular vote of 340,199, as against 198,013, and by 14½, as against 7½ Cantons, and the existing constitution went into force May 29, 1874.

constitution of 1874.

In the constitution of 1874 the referendum received a wider application than in that of 1848. In the latter only questions of constitutional revision were submitted to the people; in the former federal laws and resolutions of a general nature not deemed urgent, are also submitted to popular suffrage on the demand of 30,000 citizens or 8 Cantons. The provisions of the constitution are as follows:

optional referendum.

• “Art. 89. Federal laws, enactments, and resolutions shall be passed only by the agreement of the two councils. Federal laws shall be submitted for acceptance or rejection by the people, if the demand is made by 30,000 voters or by 8 Cantons. The same principle applies to federal resolutions which have a general application and which are not of an urgent nature.
• “Art. 90. The confederation shall by law establish the forms and intervals to be observed in popular votes.”

compulsory referendum—constitutional revision.

• “Art. 118. The federal constitution may at any time be wholly or partially amended.
• “Art. 119. Complete amendment is secured through the forms required for passing federal laws.
• “Art. 120. When either council of the Federal Assembly passes a resolution for the complete amendment of the federal constitution and the other council does not agree; or when 50,000 Swiss voters demand the complete amendment, the question whether the federal constitution ought to be amended is, in either case, submitted to a vote of the Swiss people, voting yes or no. If in either case the majority of the Swiss citizens who vote pronounce in the affirmative, there shall be a new election of both councils for the purpose of preparing the complete amendment.”

In execution of article 90 of the constitution, as above, a federal law was passed June 17, 1874, as follows:

• Article 1 is a literal repetition of article 89 of the federal constitution.
• Article 2.—The decision that a federal resolution is not of general application or is not of an urgent nature rests with the Federal Assembly, and must in each case be formally annexed to the resolution itself. In this case the federal council will order its execution and its insertion in the official register of the laws of the confederation.
• Article 3.—All federal laws as also all federal resolutions which do not fall under either of the two exceptions provided for in article 2 shall be published immediately after their promulgation, and a sufficient number of copies thereof shall be communicated to the Cantonal governments.
• Article 4.—The demand for the submission of a law or federal resolution to popular vote, whether emanating from the people or from the Cantons, must be formulated within ninety days of the publication of the same in the Federal Official Record
• Article 5.—The demand must be addressed to the federal council in writing A citizen making or supporting such demand must sign it personally. Whoever, in a demand of this nature, writes another name than his own is liable to the provisions of the penal code. The right of the signers to vote must be attested by the communal authority of the place where their political rights are exercised. No fee is to be charged for such attestation.
• Article 6.—The demand for a popular vote, when emanating from the Cantons, must be formulated by the grand council or landrath. The right guaranteed to the people by the cantonal constitution relative to the modifications which the former may make in decisions of this nature remain in force.
• Article 7.—Whenever, within ninety days following the publication of a law or federal resolution in the Official Record, no demand for a popular vote has been formulated, or if, having been formulated, an official examination and abstract of the petitions shows that it is not supported by 30,000 signatures or 8 Cantons, the federal council will decree the said law or resolution to be in force, and order its execution and its insertion in the official register of the laws of the confederation. The number of signatures supporting a demand for a popular vote shall be published by Cantons and communes in the Federal Record. So also for demands by the Cantons in conformity with article 6.
• Article 8.—If, on examination of the petitions, it appears that the demand is supported by the necessary number of Swiss citizens having the right to vote, or of Cantons, the federal council shall provide for the popular vote. It will inform the cantonal governments, and order the measures necessary for the publication of the law or Federal resolution in question.
• Article 9.—The vote by the Swiss people will take place on the same day throughout the entire confederation. The day shall be fixed by the federal council. Provided, however, that the vote shall not take place within four weeks after the publication of the law or resolution in question.
• Article 10.—The right to vote is possessed by every Swiss who has completed his twentieth year, and who has not been excluded from the rights of active citizenship by the legislation of the Canton in which he has his domicile.
• Article 11.—Each Canton will provide for the voting within its own jurisdiction according to the provisions of the federal law on federal elections.
• Article 12.—In every commune or district a report shall be prepared giving the exact number of voters and the number of those who have accepted or rejected the law or federal resolution submitted to the popular vote.
• Article 13.—The cantonal governments will submit to the federal council within ten days the reports of the vote, and shall hold the ballots at its disposal.
• From these reports the federal council will verify the result of the voting.
• Article 14.—The law or resolution shall be deemed adopted when it has been accepted by a majority of the Swiss citizens who have taken part in the vote. In this ease the federal council shall order its execution and its insertion in the official register of the laws of the confederation.
• Article 15.—If it is found that a majority of the voters have rejected the law or resolution submitted to them the said law or resolution shall be considered null and void and will not be executed.
• Article 16.—In both cases the result of the votes will be published by the federal council, which shall make a report to the Federal Assembly at its next session.

Table I.—Showing the me made of the referendum since the adoption of the constitution of 1874.

No.	Date of vote.	Subject of vote.	Number of signatures demanding referendum.	Percent of signatures to registered votes.	Affirmative votes.	Negative votes.	Result.
1	May 23, 1875	Federal law on marriage and civil status.	106,560	17	213,199	205,069	Accepted.
2	do	Federal law on political rights	108,674	17.3	202,583	207,263	Rejected.
3	Apr 3, 1876	Federal law on issue and redemption of bank notes.	33,749	5.7	120,068	193,253	Do.
4	July 9, 1870	Federal law on exemption by tax from military service.	80,519	12.8	150,157	187,894	Do.
5	Oct. 21, 1877	Federal law regulating labor in factories.	54,844	8.7	181,204	170,857	Accepted.
6	do	Federal law on exemption by tax from military service.	63,300	10	170,223	181,383	Rejected.
7	do	Federal law on political rights	40,207	6.4	131,357	213,230	Do.
8	Jan 19, 1879	Federal law on subsidies to Alpine railways.	36,002	5.9	287,731	115,571	Accepted.
9	July 30, 1882	Federal law on epidemics	80,324	12.7	68,027	254,340	Rejected.
10	Nov. 26, 1882	Federal law on resolution on execution of article 27 of constitution.	180,995	28.5	172,010	318,139	Do.
11	May 11, 1884	Federal law on organization of department of justice and police.	93,046	14.7	149,729	214,916	Do.
12	do	Federal law on resolution suppressing tax on commercial travelers.	93,046	14.7	174,195	189,550	Do.
13	do	Federal resolution applying 10,000 francs to legation in Washington.	93,046	14.7	137,827	219,728
14	do	Fedral law amending penal code	93,046	14,7	159,068	202,773	Do.
15	May 15, 1887	Federal law on monopoly of alcohol.	52,412	8.1	267,122	138,496	Accepted.
16	Nov. 17, 1889	Federal law on debts and bankruptcy.	62,948	9.5	244,317	217,921	Do.
17	Mar. 15, 1891	Federal law on pensions for federal functionaries.	84,572	12.9	91,851	353,977	Rejected.
18	Oct. 18. 1891	Federal law on tariff	51,564	7.9	220,004	158,934	Accepted.
19	Dec 16, 1891	Federal resolution on purchase of Central Swiss R. R.	91,678	13.9	130,729	289,406	Rejected.
20	Feb. 3, 1895	Federal law on representation abroad.	37,040	5.4	124,517	177,991	Do.
21	Oct. 4, 1896	Federal law regulating cattle trade.	45,932	6.5	174,860	209,118	Do.
22	do	Federal law regulating railroad administration.	59,706	8.4	223,228	176,574	Accepted.
23	do	Federal law on army discipline	69.386	9.8	77,162	310,938	Rejected.
24	Feb. 28, 1897	Federal law on creating state bank.	78,340	10. 9	195,743	451,728	Do.
25	Feb. 20, 1898	Federal law on purchase of railroads.	85,505	11.6	386,634	182,718	Accepted.
26	May 20, 1900	Federal law on insurance against accidents.	117,461	15.8	148,022	342,114	Rejected.

Table II.—Constitutional tension referred to the people under the compulsory referendum since the adoption of the constitution of 1874.

No.	Date of vote.	Subject of vote.	Number of registered vote.	Affirmative vote.	Negative vote.	Result.
1	May 18, 1879	Art. 65, death pen	633,188	200. 485	181. 588	Accepted.
2	Oct. 31, 1880	Art. 39, banknote monopoly	641,756	121. 099	260,126	Rejected.
3	July 30, 1882	Art. 64, patents	625,249	141. 610	156,658	Do.
4	Oct. 25, 1885	Monopoly of alcohol	not given	230,250	157,463	Accepted.
5	July 10, 1887	Art. 64, patents	647,071	203,506	57,862	Do.
6	Oct. 26, 1890	Art. 34, bis, insurance	663,531	283,288	92,200	Do.
7	July 7, 1891	Popular initiative	641,692	183,029	120,599	Do.
8	Oct. 18, 1891	Art. 39. subsidies to railroads	654,372	231,578	158,615	Do.
9	Mar. 4, 1894	Art. 34, labor	676,874	135,713	158,492	Rejected.
10	Sept. 29, 1895	Monopoly and sale of matches	690,592	140,174	184,109	Do.
11	Nov. 3, 1895	Military organization	697,131	195,178	269,751	Do.
12	July 11, 1897	Art. 24, police of forests	716,701	156,102	89,666	Accepted.
13	do	Art. 69, bis	716,701	162,248	86,945	Do.
14	Nov. 13, 1898	{ Art. 64, civil law Art. 64, bis, penal law	734,502	264,933	101,220	Do.
			734,502	266,713	101,712	Do.

Table III.—Showing use made of initiative since its adoption on July 7, 1891.

No.	Date of vote.	Subject of vote.	Signatures demanding vote.	Registered votes.	Affirmative votes.	Negative votes.	Result.
1	Aug. 20, 1893	Slaughter of animals	83,159	668,913	191,527	127,101	Accepted
2	June 3, 1894	Labor laws	52,387	680,731	75,810	308,289	Rejected.
3	Nov. 4, 1894	Customs initiative	67,828	690,250	145,462	350,639	Do.
4	Nov. 4, 1900	Election of national council by proportional representation.	64,075	747,582	169,018	244,570	Do.
5	do	Nomination of federal council by the people.	56,350	747,582	145,936	270,502	Do.

initiative.

The text of the constitutional amendment providing for the initiative (No. 7, Table II) is as follows:

• “Art. 121. Partial amendment may take place through the forms of popular initiative or of those required for passing federal laws. The popular initiative may be used when 50,000 Swiss voters present a petition for the enactment, the abolition, or the alteration of certain articles of the federal constitution. When several subjects are proposed for amendment or for enactment in the federal constitution by means of the popular initiative, each must form the subject of a special petition. Petitions may be presented in the form of general suggestions or of finished bills. When a petition is presented in the form of a general suggestion, and the Federal Assembly agrees thereto, it is the duty of that body to elaborate a partial amendment in the sense of the initiators, and to refer it to the people and the Cantons for acceptance or rejection. If the Federal Assembly does not agree to the petition, then the question of whether there shall be a partial amendment at all must be submitted to the vote of the people, and if the majority of Swiss voters express themselves in the affirmative, the amendment must be taken in hand by the Federal Assembly in the sense of the people.
• “When a petition is presented in the form of a finished bill, and the Federal Assembly agrees thereto, the bill must be referred to the people and the Cantons for acceptance or rejection. In case the Federal Assembly does not agree, that body can elaborate a bill of its own, or move to reject the petition, and submit its own bill or motion for rejection to the vote of the people and the Cantons along with the petition.
• “Art. 122. A federal law shall determine more precisely the manner of procedure in popular petitions and in voting for amendments to the constitution.
• “Art. 123. The amended federal constitution, or the amended part thereof, shall be in force when it has been adopted by the majority of Swiss citizens who take part in the vote thereon and by a majority of the States.

“In making up a majority of the States the vote of a half Canton is counted as a half vote.

“The result of the popular vote in each Canton is considered to be the vote of the State.”

In execution of article 122, above quoted, a federal law of June 27, 1892, determined the mode of procedure for the popular initiative as follows:

• Article 1.—The federal constitution may at any time be partially or wholly amended by means of the popular initiative. (Arts. 118, 120, and 121 of the federal constitution.)
• Article 2.—For the exercise of this right a written demand, whose object must be definitely stated, and which must be signed by at least 50,000 Swiss citizens who are legal voters, must be addressed to the Federal Council, which shall in turn transmit the same to the Federal Assembly.
• Article 3.—A citizen signing this demand must sign it personally. Whoever fixes a signature other than his own incurs the penalties prescribed by the penal code.” (Art. 49 of the penal code of February 4, 1853.)
• Article 4.—Each list of signatures must contain the name of the Canton and that of the political commune from which the signatures are obtained. To be valid the list must contain, (1) the text of the demand for revision; (2) the text of article 3 of the present law, and (3) at the end, the attestation, dated, of the president of the commune (syndic mayor), or of his substitute, to the effect that the signers are legal voters on federal questions, and that they enjoy the exercise of their political rights in the said commune. This attestation shall be made without fee.
• Article 5.—On the presentation of a demand for revision the Federal Council shall determine the number of valid signatures.
• Not to be counted are:

  1. Signatures whose attestation by the competent authority (art. 4, No. 3) antedates by six months the deposit of the demand for the initiative.

  2. Signatures affixed to a nonvalid paper. (Art. 4, Nos. 1, 2, 3.)

  3. Signatures not attested as prescribed by article 4, No. 3, or whose attestation is inexact or incomplete. If signatures are found which are evidently written by one and the same hand, they shall be thrown out and not counted. The Federal Council shall publish the result of the scrutiny of the votes in the Federal Record and submit it with the documents to the Federal Assembly at its next session.

• Article 6.—When a popular demand recognized as valid calls for the complete revision of the federal constitution, the Federal Assembly shall forthwith submit to the vote of the people the question whether the revision shall be made. If the majority of Swiss citizens voting pronounce in the affirmative, the two councils shall be convened in order to proceed to the revision. (Art. 120 of the federal constitution.)
• Article 7.—If the demand for revision calls for the adoption, abrogation, or modification of definite articles of the federal constitution, and if this demand is presented in the form of a general suggestion, the Federal Chambers shall decide within one year at the latest whether they accept it, yes or no. If they accept it they shall give effect to this demand conformably to article 121, paragraph 5, of the federal constitution. If they reject the demand or fail to take action within the period prescribed above, the Federal Council shall submit the question of revision to the vote of the people.
• If the majority of Swiss citizens voting pronounce in the affirmative, the Federal Assembly shall proceed without delay to a revision in the sense of the popular decision and submit the result in the usual way to the vote of the people and the States. (Art. 121, par. 5, of the federal constitution.)
• Article 8.—When the demand for a partial revison is presented in the form of a finished bill, the chambers shall decide within at least the period of one year whether they assent to the bill as formulated, or whether they reject it.
• Article 9.—If the two councils can not agree upon the finished bill as proposed, the bill shall be forthwith submitted to the vote of the people and Cantons. The same shall be done when the Federal Assembly approves the bill.
• Article 10.—If the Federal Assembly rejects the bill it shall be submitted to the vote of the people and Cantons. It may at the same time present a motion of rejection or submit a bill of its own on the same constitutional subject to the vote of the people and the Cantons.
• Article 11.—In case a separate bill is prepared by the Federal Assembly the two following questions shall be submitted to the voters: Will you accept the proposal for revision presented by the people, or will you accept the bill prepared by the Federal Assembly?
• Article 12.—In the telling of votes, blank or null votes shall not be counted.
• Votes which answer by yes or by a no to one only of either of the two questions propounded, or which answer no to both questions, are valid. Those which reply yes to both questions shall be deemed invalid.
• Article 13.—That one of the two propositions approved by a majority of the voters and Cantons shall be accepted.
• Article 14.—The returns of the voting should indicate the number of voters in the commune, the number of votes cast, the votes not counted, and, finally, the number of ayes and noes, and, in the case of a separate bill having been presented by the Federal Assembly, the number of ayes and noesoneach of the two questions specified in article 11.
• Article 15.—If several demands of the popular initiative concerning the same constitutional question are submitted to the Federal chancellery, the Federal Assembly shall first consider and submit to popular vote the one first presented.
• The others shall be successively disposed of in the order in which they were presented.
• Article 16.—In addition, the provisions of the federal law of June 17, 1874, for the regulation of popular votes on laws and federal resolutions shall apply to the conduct of the popular voting.
• Article 17.—Are abrogated: The federal law of December 5, 1867, concerning the mode of procedure for demands for the revision of the federal constitution; the regulations of May 2, 1879, concerning demands for a popular vote on laws and federal resolutions and for the revision of the federal constitution, in so far as it treats of this revision.
• Article 18.—It is the duty of the Federal Council, conformably to the provisions of the law of June 17, 1874, concerning popular votes on laws and federal resolutions, to publish the present law and to fix the date when it shall enter into force.

remarks on the uses of the referendum and initiative.

1. The first law submitted to the people was on civil rights (No. 1, Table I). It assigned the keeping of registers to the civil authorities; established civil marriage as it exists in France and Germany, giving precedence to the civil over the religious ceremony; prohibited the church and communes from forbidding certain marriages; decreed that economic, confessional, and police considerations were not to be recognized as obstacles to marriage; and enumerated the grounds for divorce. The bill had to be accepted or rejected in its entirety. The provisions for divorce would probably have been rejected had they been presented separately. The acceptance of the law has resulted in a higher ratio of divorce to marriage in Switzerland than in any other European State.

2. Every citizen who has completed his twentieth year may vote, provided he is not excluded from the exercise of his political rights by the legislation of the Canton where he has his domicile. There exists therefore no federal law determining the right to vote. Bills were twice prepared to supply this deficiency and to remedy the diversity of cantonal legislation. (Nos. 2 and 7, Table I.) In both cases they were defeated.

3. The law on the emission and redemption of bank notes voted by the Assemly-September 18, 1875, was rejected by popular vote (No. 3, Table 1). In 1880 a movement was organized for the suppression of article 39 of the constitution, by which the Confederation is given the power to provide by law for the issue and redemption of bank notes, but it is forbidden to create any monopoly therein or to make bank notes a legal tender, it was proposed to give the Federal Government the sole right to issue bank notes and treasury bonds. On October 31, 1880, 260,120 voters rejected this proposition (No. 2, Table II), but on October 18, 1891, when the same proposition was submitted, 234,578 voters accepted it. (No. 8, Table II; see dispatch No. 97, of October 27, 1891, from Minister Washburn to Secretary of State.)

4. A federal law fixing a tax for exemption from military service was twice rejected (Nos. 4 and 6, Table I), but was finally passed in 1878, the referendum failing for want of the requisite number of signatures. (No. 3, Table IV.)

5. The acceptance of the law regulating factory labor (No. 5, Table I) and the law according subsidies to Alpine railways (No. 8, table I) is considered to have been justified by experience.

6. An unusual increase of crime in 1879 led to agitation in favor of the death penalty, abolished by article 65 of the constitution of 1874. The vote of the Assembly to this effect was confirmed by the people (No. 1, Table II). The new article is as follows:

“Art. 65. The penalty of death shall not be pronounced for political offenses. Corporeal punishment is forbidden.”

Thus the Cantons were given the right to establish the death penalty for crimes not political. The only Cantons which have availed themselves of this right are Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Appenzell Inner Rhoden, Zug, St. Gall, and Valais, and Schaffhouse. The vote on this revision was a victory of the federalists for cantonal autonomy.

7. The law on epidemics (No. 9, Table I) prescribed preventive measures, required physicians to report cases, decreed compulsory isolation, vaccination, etc. The provisions of the bill placing general considerations of the public good above private interests, family ties, etc., probably defeated the measure. Compulsory vaccination became a law in 1887, although 254,340 votes were cast against it on the rejection of this bill.

8. On the same date the people rejected the proposed law on patents (No. 3, Table II). This is ascribed by some to the opposition to all extension of federal legislation, by others to the popular feeling against the law regulating epidemics, which was so strong as to carry down with it the patent law voted upon at the same time. However this may be, the same proposition was submitted five years later and was accepted. (No. 5, Table II).

9. By article 27 of the constitution the Confederation provides for higher education. Primary education was left in the hands of the Cantons and under the control of the civil authority, being obligatory, and in the public schools gratuitous. The public schools were to be opened to all confessions, with complete liberty in matters of conscience and belief, and the Confederation was authorized to proceed against such Cantons as did not comply with these provisions. This article had never received any application, and in the Catholic Cantons instruction was given by members of authorized religious communities. Liberals and freethinkers demanded an investigation, with the evident intent to suppress clerical instruction. This antireligious and disturbing policy was condemned by the people by the overwhelming majority of 146,129 votes (No. 10, Table I).

10. Of the four propositions submitted May 11, 1894, those on the organization of the department of justice and police and the appropriation of 10,000 francs for the legation in Washington were doubtless rejected from motives of economy, not to say parsimony (Nos. 11 and 13, Table I). A federal resolution (No. 12, Table I) providing that commercial travelers traveling in Switzerland for a Swiss house could take orders free of tax, if traveling with samples only, was rejected, as also (No. 14, Table I) a law providing for the transfer, under certain circumstances, of criminal cases from the cantonal to the federal courts. According to some Swiss writers, these four propositions were rejected, not because they were unacceptable, but because the people wished to show its disapproval of the radical party, which had increased taxes and caused the disturbances in the Canton of Ticino.

11. Two propositions, the federal resolution of 1885 (No. 4, Table II) and the law of 1887 (No. 15, Table I), were temperance rather than monopolistic measures. The distillation of home-grown fruit and the importation of fruit brandies remained free, but the distillation of foreign fruit and home cereals passed into hands of the States, and the free circulation of beverages throughout the Confederation was assured. A part of the profits of the monopoly was to be distributed among the Cantons, one-tenth of each Canton’s share to be devoted to combating intemperance. Both these measures were contested by the distillers and their clients, but both were accepted by heavy majorities. The results have been most satisfactory. The consumption of beer has increased, the number of distilleries diminished, and the consumption of alcohol, which from 1878 to 1885 was increasing, has diminished over 25 per cent.

12. By article 64 of the constitution, the Federal Assembly was to remedy by a federal law the diversity of cantonal legislation on debts and bankruptcy (No. 16, Table I). The law submitted to the people was accepted.

13. By a majority exceeding 200,000 (No. 25, Table I) the Swiss people decided in 1898 in favor of state ownership and operation of railroads. The mileage of Swiss roads is about 1,700 miles, the estimated cost of purchase about $200,000,000. The retired stock is to be replaced by 3½ per cent bonds. Up to the present time the Government has assumed charge of the Northeast Railroad and the Central Railroad.

14. By article 34 bis of the constitution the Confederation was charged with the elaboration of a law providing for insurance against accidents and sickness (No. 6, Table II). Whatever benefits may accrue from this policy, its adoption by popular vote will certainly prove a burden to the treasury.

15. The law on pensions (No. 17, Table I) was the first provision made for pensioning State officials. On retirement, on nonreelection, or on account of infirmities contracted in the service, a maximum indemnity of 2,000 francs was provided, if the incumbent had remained fifteen years in the service, and 2,500 francs after thirty years of service. Although unanimously passed by both chambers, this wise and humane measure was defeated by the large popular majority of 261,126 votes.

16. Switzerland has shared in the recent general movement toward a protectionist policy and approved (No. 18, Table I) the tariff of 1891.

17. The federal resolution of 1891 (No. 19, Table I) for the purchase of the Central Swiss Railroad was the first step toward State ownership of railroads. A syndicate of Jewish bankers in Berlin had, however, control of the stock. The State would have been obliged to treat with this syndicate at exorbitant figures and the people declared against the purchase.

18. The creation of and allowances for diplomatic missions have always been subject to the referendum, while consular appointments and salaries were created by the Federal Council and fixed by the budget. The Federal Assembly proposed a measure providing that no diplomatic post should be created without its sanction, its decisions in this respect not to be referred to the people (No. 20, Table I). This bill was rejected, and the people still remain the judge of the delicate question of the importance of a diplomatic representation.

19. The Society for the Protection of Animals inaugurated a campaign in 1887 against the method of slaughter (bleeding) practiced by the Jews. A jury of experts declared that this method did not occasion greater suffering than that practiced by Christians (felling). On an appeal of certain Cantons to the Federal Assembly, the latter declared in 1891 that the Jewish procedure was not prejudicial to public order or good morals, and that liberty of conscience dictated its authorization. Not discouraged by this rebuff, the society secured 83,000 signatures for a constitutional amendment prohibiting the slaughter of animals not previously stunned, presenting the proposition in the form of a finished bill. The Assembly presented no counter bill, but counseled rejection. It was, however, approved by the people (No. 1, Table III). Thus the first use of the popular initiative was the enactment of a clearly intolerant measure.

20. The Federal receipts rose from about 5,000,000 in 1874 to 35,000,000 in 1894. The initiative of November 4, 1894 (No. 3, Table III), proposed the distribution of a part of the revenue among the Cantons, at the rate of 2 francs per capita. The Federal Council opposed the measure as dangerous, both financially and politically. The Radical and Socialist parties opposed it on the ground that it would drain the resources of the Confederation, which they hoped to devote to the organization of national insurance, workshops, etc. The people rejected it, thus refusing to approve of high protective tariff, of creating a deficit by taking 6,000,000 from the Federal treasury, and of diminishing cantonal independence by putting the Cantons in the pay, as it were, of the Federal Government.

21. The Federal constitution gives the Confederation the right to take measures for the health and safety of the working classes. On representation of the injury sustained by the operatives in certain manufactories of matches, the Federal Council proposed a state monopoly of this industry (No. 10, Table II). In rejecting this proposition the people emphasized its distrust for State socialism.

22. A Federal law providing that everything relating to the Federal army was the sole jurisdiction of the Confederation, and creating military districts not coincident with cantonal boundaries (No. 11, Table II), was rejected, probably largely because of the substitution of military prefectures for Cantons, and because it was considered a first step toward more radical measures of centralization.

23. On March 4, 1894 (No. 9, Table II), over 50,000 signatures were obtained to a demand for an addition to article 34 of the constitution under which the Confederation may pass laws regulating labor. In rejecting the proposed measure the people declared their opposition to obligatory trades unions.

24. The people also rejected a proposition (No. 2, Table III), in favor of which the Socialists had obtained 52,387 signatures, to insert in the constitution a clause to the effect that the right of every Swiss citizen to remunerative labor should be recognized and made effective in every possible way by Federal, cantonal, and communal legislation.

25. The Cantons have never made use of the right accorded by article 89 of the constitution to demand the referendum.

26. Certain laws, while subject like others to the optional referendum, in practice have never been subjected to its operation. Such are (1) the budget, (2) treaties with foreign powers.

27. The cost of the referendum, which requires the printing of over 700,000 copies of the law in the three different languages, varies. Thus the cost was, for printing only, for—

	Francs.
No. 16, Table I	47,606
No. 3, Table I	14,425
No. 4, Table I	14,485
Nos. 5, 6, 7, Table I	20,843
No. 26, Table I	61,798

28. Since the referendum has been in force 226 Federal laws and resolutions have been enacted, of which 40 were submitted to the people, 14 by the compulsory and 26 by the optional referendum. The people have exercised the initiative five times since its adoption in 1891, rejecting the measures proposed four out of five times.

Table IV.—Demands for referendum which failed for want of requisite number of signatures.

No.	Date of law.	Subject.	Number of valid signatures.
1	Sept. 17, 1875	Protection of game	9,900
2	June 16, 1877	Salaries in army	13,686
3	June 23, 1878	Exemption tax military service	5,513
4	June 20, 1879	Increase of duties on certain imports	18,737
5	June 28, 1889	Appointment of attorney-general for political crimes	23,928
6	June 28, 1893	State care of the sick	a40,000

the initiative and referendum in the cantons.

Table V, on the initiative in constitutional and legislative questions and the optional and compulsory referendum, in the Cantons gives, for each Canton, the date of adoption, the number of signatures required, and the measures subject to popular vote. The provisions governing the use of the initiative and referendum in the Cantons are too varied, and the use of these principles too numerous, for detailed specification in this report. The following general observations will, however, be of interest:

1. All the Cantons possess the initiative, either in constitutional or legislative matters, or both; and all, except Freiburg, some form, either compulsory or optional, or both, of the referendum.

2. The right of initiative is exercised in various ways:

I. When the demand is presented in form of a general suggestion, (a) In Schaffhausen and Thurgau, for example, the grand council immediately elaborates a law. (b) In Vaud and the Grisons the grand council prepares a law only after the submission of the proposition to the people and the expression of their desire for its preparation, (c) In other Cantons the grand council approves or rejects the suggestion. In the former case it prepares a law, in the latter case only after the suggestion has been submitted to and approved by the people.

II. When the people themselves present a finished bill, the legislative body is then only the agent of its transmission to the people.

III. When the people present a finished bill, but the legislature may also prepare a counter project, both being submitted to the people.

3. In certain Cantons a popular vote may take place not only on the demand of the voters, but also on that of the grand council or a certain number of deputies. This is the case in Zurich, Schwyz, Soleure, Aargau, Thurgau, St. Gall, Basel-Ville, Lucerne, Zug, and the Grisons. This form of the referendum does not commend itself in practice and is rarely employed.

4. In the Cantons, as in the Federal legislation, the difference between a law (L.) and a resolution (R.) is not denned. But in certain Cantons, as Zurich and Aargau, a list is drawn up of the subjects which may be finally disposed of by the representative body without reference to the people.

5. The word “treaties” (T.) in the table refers to such treaties as by their constitutions the Cantons have the right to conclude with each other or with foreign states under articles 7 and 9 of the Federal constitution.

6. The power to control expenditures (A.) varies greatly in the different Cantons. Generally the budget is not subject to the referendum. In Berne, where the compulsory referendum is in force, the people on several occasions rejected the budget. An article withdrawing the budget from the referendum was inserted in a bill which, having certain economies in view, was sure to receive popular sanction. This trick succeeded, and the budget is not now submitted to the people. But if, in order to balance receipts and expenditures, additional taxes are proposed, such increase must be approved by the people. Generally speaking, a new tax or increase of one already existing, or the proposal to issue a loan, must receive popular ratification. Thus, in Schaffhausen any resolution imposing an extraordinary tax of 200,000 francs or more, or an annual tax of 20,000 francs, must be referred to the people.

7. In all the Cantons which have the compulsory referendum all laws are submitted to popular vote, except in Vaud and the Valais, where the compulsory referendum applies only to certain financial measures.

8. Theoretically, the official message accompanying the law submitted to the people is intended to supply the absence of discussion by rehearsing the arguments pro and con. Practically this is not the case. The message is generally confined to a statement of the advantages of the proposed law and is an effort to render it acceptable. It does not inform.

9. Where the referendum is compulsory the people are not usually called upon to pronounce upon each measure as it is passed, but on all at certain stated times; in Berne, once a year: in Zurich, twice a year; in Soleure, very often; thus in 1892 there was a popular vote every three weeks, nearly.

10. As illustrating the use of the referendum:

In Zurich, from 1869 to 1890, 133 popular votes took place, of which 44 resulted in the negative. The average number of absentations was 26 per cent. The absentations were generally far less for financial measures. In communes where a fine is imposed for failure to vote the number of absentations is a minimum. Thus, in the referendum of June 25, 1871, in two communes where the voting is obligatory 97 per cent and 94 per cent of the voters took part; in three communes where voting is not obligatory only 19 per cent, 14 per cent, and 10 per cent took part.

In Berne, from 1869 to 1888, 68 measures were submitted to the people, of which 50 were approved. The average absentations was 45 per cent. In Bale-Campagne, from 1864 to 1881, of 94 popular votes, 45 were affirmative, 23 negative, and 17 without result, because an absolute majority of voters did not take part.

Table V.

[L., Laws; R., resolutions; T., treaties; A., appropriations; P., propositions; U., rules; I., laws and resolutions prepared as the result of popular initiative; C., prepared by grand council under delayed authority.]

INITIATIVE.

Cantons.	Constitutional.	Legislative.
	In use since—	Signatures required.	In use since—	Signatures required.	In use for—
Zurich	1869	5,000	1869	5,000	L., R.
Berne	1893	15,000	1893	12,000	L., R.
Lucerne	1863	5,000
Uri	1888	50	1888	1	P.
Schwyz	1848	2,000	1876	2,000	L.
Obwalden	1867	500	1867	1	P.
Nidwalden	1877	800	1877	1	P.
Glarus	1878	1	1878	1	P.
Zug	1873	1,000	1894	800	L., R.
Freiburg	1857	6,000
Soleure	1856	3,000	1875	2,000	L., R.
Basel (V.)	1875	1,000	1875	1,000	L., R.
Basel (C.)	1863	1,500	1892	1,500	L., R., U.
Sehaffhausen	1876	1,000	1875	1,000	L.
Appenzell (Ausser Rhoden)	1876	(a)	1876	(a)	L.
Appenzell (Inner Rhoden)	1872	1	1872	1	L.
St. Gall	1861	10,000	1890	4,000	L., R.
Graubünden	1880	5,000	1892	3,000	L., R. U.
Aargau	1885	5,000	1852	5,000	L.
Thurgau	1869	2,500	1869	2,500	L., R.
Ticino	1875	7,000	1892	5,000	L., R.
Vaud	1885	6,000	1861	6,000	A.
Valais	1852	6,000
Neuchatel	1848	3,000	1882	3,000	L., R.
Geneva	1891	2,500	1891	2,500	L., R.

referendum.

Cantons.	Optional.		Compulsory.
	In use since—	Signatures require.	In use for—	In use since—	In use for—
Zurich				1869	L., R., T.
Berne				1869	L., A.
Lucerne	1875	5,000	L., T.
Uri	1888	20	R., U	1850–51	L., T., A.
Schwyz	1876	2,000	R., T. U	1876	L., A., U.
Obewalden	1876	400	L., C	1867	L., R., A.
Nidwalden				1877	L., P.
Glarus				1878	L., T., A.
Zug	1873	500	L., T., A
Freigburg
Soleure				1875	L., R., T., A.
Basel (V.)	1875	1,000	L., R	1875	L., R., I.
Scghaffhausen				1895	L., R., A.
Appenzell (Asser Rhoden)				1876	L., T., A.
Appenzell (Inner Rhoden)				1872	L.
St. Gall	1890	4,000	L., R
Graubünden	1890	3,000	R., U	1852	L., R., T., A.
Aargue				1885	L., A.
Thurgau	1883			1869	L., T., A.
Ticino	1883–1892	5,000	L., R., A.
Vaud	1885	6,000	L., R.	1861	A.
Valais				1852	A.
Neuchatel	1879	3,500	L., R
Geneva	1879	3,500	L., R., A.

general considerations.

The conclusions and opinions of Swiss and other publicists and legislators on the practical results of the referendum and initiative are of the most opposite character.

Dubs (a distinguished Swiss federalist, ex-President) calls attention to the fact that in the ancient Landsgemeinde the whole people appeared together for the discussion of public questions and were deeply influenced by a sense of unity; that the deposit of a ballot yes or no in an urn, without previous discussion by the people assembled for that purpose, by scattered voters, fails to supply the ennobling motives of the primitive gatherings of a small, united population. He contends that the error of theorists consists in thinking that the people think as rapidly as they themselves. The people learn by practical experience, and its judgments can equal those of Parliament only on condition that they are formed in a natural way. He denies that the referendum instructs, maintaining that this can result only from popular reunions, where the people can hear the law discussed by competent men—a plan for which the people have neither the leisure nor the will.

Zemp (President of the Confederation) affirms that experience shows the Swiss people are more conservative than their legislators.

Hilly, the distinguished Bernese writer, while admitting that the referendum and initiative can not find universal application, prefers them to purely representative government for these reasons: (1) The people gain a better knowledge of the laws, and legislators are forced to prepare them in a simple form easily comprehended by the masses. (2) Patriotism is stimulated, the State ceasing to exist apparently for a privileged class, and responsibility is developed. (3) The referendum has the great merit of showing where the real majority is, and thus silences the protestations of the minority. He declares that while infallibility can not be claimed for the people, they have made, relatively, as few mistakes as legislative bodies.

Naville (Geneva) points out that the large number of abstentions proves that it is not the people, but a relatively small part of the electoral body which accepts or rejects a law; that it is ridiculous to suppose that each citizen can form a just and matured opinion upon the laws submitted; that political leaders having a majority in the legislature always possess means to secure a popular majority, especially when the law at issue is a complicated one, and concludes that legislation by the people in the sense that each citizen can study, digest, and form a really personal opinion on the submitted law is a chimera.

Brunialti remarks that experience shows that parties judge the referendum by the services it renders them, and not by its intrinsic value.

Carteret would suppress the referendum, especially the compulsory, and terms the initiative “legislative dynamite,” contending that both, in the hands of the clericals, are made the obstacles to progress.

Lavelaye, commenting on the practical results of the referendum in Switzerland, says that it has disappointed the hopes of its partisans and the fears of its adversaries. It was demanded by the radicals and opposed by the conservatives. It has shown itself hostile to centralization, to large expenditures. The suffrage which persists in electing radicals rejects everything which they propose. It is economical and anti-revolutionary. Elections obey a mot d’orde; the referendum is a result of personal judgments.

Signorel, in his study on the referendum, concludes that the frequency of popular votes in Switzerland has not produced popular indifference; that the referendum has not proved a revolutionary instrument; that more than any other country Switzerland possesses the necessary conditions for good democratic government, and therefore that conclusions founded upon Swiss experience can not be applied elsewhere; that in view of the large number of abstentions, voting, like jury duty, should be made obligatory; that the relative frequency with which the people have voted in the negative shows that the body of electors and the representative body are not in accord, hence the movement in favor of proportional representation; that the referendum has favored economy in public expenditures; that complete liberty of action should be secured by not including several propositions under one vote, this practice having led to the adoption of unwise with wise measures; that by repeatedly presenting the same law, as the law establishing a tax for exemption from military service, the people finally yield through lassitude; that after twenty-five years’ experience, taking good and bad results together, no real progress has been made, and that only by modifying the representative system through compulsory voting and proportional representation can the decisions of the people reach conformity with those of its councils, and that this would probably lead to a more or less complete abandonment of the referendum.

Arthur S. Hardy.

1. Whoever attempts to influence the result of an election or of any other act prescribed by federal legislation, by removing or falsifying valid ballots, by adding false ballots, or by illicit manner, is punishable by a fine, to which may be added in grave cases imprisonment not exceeding two years.
2. A number of voters equal to the number of the grand council.
3. A number of voters equal to the number of the grand council.