n. Among them was an act to pay the mileage and per diem of
the members; an act providing stenographers for the Supreme Court; an
act authorizing the sale of four tracts of land at public sale; an act
to pay J. J. O'Rourke $238.10 for room rent. On the other hand, an act
to reimburse the Governor $5000 expended by him for state purposes,
and an act to reimburse a sheriff $4000 expended by him in the support
of state prisoners were not so considered.

True, Oklahoma is a new and radical state, but let us turn to the
extreme east, to Maine with its heritage of law-abiding traditions
from the parent state of Massachusetts. Maine has also adopted the
referendum in language similar to that in the California
constitution, including the exception. The state had got along quite
comfortably without making Lincoln's birthday a legal holiday, but in
1909 the legislature awoke to the imminent danger to the public peace,
health or safety of the state in longer delay and so established such
a holiday at once without according to the people their right of
review. The town of Eden, in which is situated Bar Harbor, a summer
resort, had by vote for sometime excluded automobiles without any
apparent danger to the public peace, health or safety, but at its last
session in 1913 the legislature by a two-thirds vote of all the
members elected to each house adjudged that the public peace, health
or safety would be imperiled by postponing for ninety days the
operation of an act authorizing a repeal of the vote.

In all the instances cited, which are but few out of many, it is
difficult to see how the ninety days' postponement of the operation
of the acts cited could imperil the peace, health or safety of the
public, however much it might inconvenience or annoy individuals or
localities. These instances should, however, throw considerable doubt
upon the proposition that the constitutional rights of the people are
safe in the hands of the legislative department without the check of
the judiciary. I have somewhere seen the statement that during recent
years upwards of 500 acts of federal and state legislation have been
held by the courts to be in violation of some constitutional
provision, and that this fact should arouse the people to put some
check on such exercise of the judicial power. On the contrary, it
should arouse the people to insist on the retention of that power, and
to elect wiser legislators who will more faithfully respect their
o