If you can't referee a paper, suggest alternatives!

Stewart Cohen (Arizona), editor of Philosophical Studies, writes with a request of general applicability:

The most important and the most difficult part of my job as editor of Philosophical Studies is finding highly qualified referees.  I understand that people are sometimes too busy to take on the time-consuming task of refereeing a paper.  In the email I send to prospective referees, I ask them to suggest some alternative referees, should they decide to decline.  I put this in bold letters.  But less than half comply.  This makes my job more difficult, and increases the turnaround time for the author.   We all benefit when journals operate efficiently.  It should take only a few minutes to come up with some suggestions for referees in one's area of specialization.  So I'm asking you to cooperate with journal editors and assist them in this important task of finding well-qualified referees.  Thank you.

We've discussed in the past how to accelerate time-to-decision for refereed journals, and here's something everyone who is asked to referee can do to help.  I'm actually surprised to learn that Professor Cohen gets suggested alternatives from only half of those he contacts.  How hard can it be to suggest some other good people in your field as referees?   Philosophers shouldn't be so lazy!