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In 1923 Senator Norris took a hand in the matter. He wrote an article for the New York Times on "A Model State Legislature" urging that one small house, well paid, with few enough members to be carefully watched by the public, would be much better than the usual State Legislature. For years afterward Nebraska high-school boys used reprints of that article in their debates. But except for occasionally expressing his views, George Norris did little until 1934. Then a constitutional amendment was drafted, a petition circulated to put it on the ballot, and Senator Norris went off for his summer vacation at his camp in Wisconsin.
When he returned five weeks before election, everyone thought the amendment was dead. All except two daily newspapers in the State opposed it. So did practically all politicians including 20 of 33 State Senators and 82 of 100 State Representatives, but George Norris took the stump, spoke once or twice every day. He pointed out that in the bicameral Legislature 75% of all important bills are rewritten by conference committees to reconcile the differences between the two houses. In conference six legislators settled the fates of bills in secret and if a lobbyist could bribe two or three of the conferees he could usually have his way.
Said George Norris: "In every two-house Legislature, if we post the checks and balances after the end of the session, we shall find that the politicians have the checks and the special interests have the balances."
To the surprise and consternation of politicians, the amendment was adopted on election day by a vote of nearly 3 to 2. So this week George Norris marched proudly into Lincoln's skyscraper Capitol to look lovingly on his newborn legacy, to speak by invitation to Nebraska's new legislators. Said he:
"I congratulate you. . . . Every professional lobbyist, every professional politician and every representative of greed and monopoly is hoping and praying that your work will be a failure. . . . Your constituents do not expect perfection. They know that it is human to err, but they do expect and have the right to expect absolute honesty, unlimited courage, and a reasonable degree of efficiency and wisdom. . . . From now on Nebraska has a right to expect a business administra-tion."
Unicam. The important provisions of Nebraska's unicameral amendment are that the Legislature shall have one house of 30 to 50 members-presided over by the Lieutenant Governor who has no vote unless there is a tie. It elects a Speaker also, to serve as substitute presiding officer.
The members of the new Legislature as of the old are elected for two years, and meet every other year although they can arrange to meet more often. Instead of each drawing $800 every two years plus $10 a day up to $100 for each extra session, the legislators as a group will be paid $37,500 every year divided in equal shares. They are elected—a pet proposal of Senator Norris—on a non-partisan ballot without any indication of what party they belong to, not a wholly new thing in Nebraska politics since party circles for voting straight tickets were taken off Nebraska's ballot two years ago. Furthermore, one member has the right to require a roll call on any measure.