Petitions and Public Clamor
By Editor
THERE are a vast number of petitions pouring in upon the U. S. Senate, asking that the treaty of arbitration between this country and Great Britain be ratified. We do not offer an opinion as to the expediency of this measure, but mention it here to note an expression of Senator Stewart in calling attention to these petitions. In doing so, he said, “I think the Senate has on too many occasions yielded to public clamor and passed measures which have not been beneficial to the country, and which many senators undoubtedly regret to-day.” The same is true of State Legislatures and municipal councils. Petitions are poured in upon these bodies in the heat of excitement, purporting to be the deliberate judgment of the people, when nine out of ten of the signers have been actuated by the enthusiasm of a few leading agitators. The modern National Reform scheme of representative petition, wherein a small minority of a church or society may indorse a measure and be counted as the whole body, is sheer deception rather than an expression of popular sentiment.