Note 32 — Chapter VI · POPULAR CONTROL OF GOVERNMENT

Here are some of the matters submitted to the voters of a certain Western city at one election: to pension firemen; to grant a street railway franchise; to abolish grade crossings; to exempt certain city officers from being citizens of the United States; to define the powers of the municipal court; to exempt certain officers from the civil service rules; to regulate the sale of bonds; to change the method of passing ordinances; to allow the city to acquire property outside the city limits, etc. Is the average voter likely, or unlikely, to know much about things of this sort?