The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1870-06-08
PR ESS
Wednesday, Morning, Jnne 8, 1870.
Minority representation


stalking the whole country in the gross, mi
norities of any considerable Importance have
always been represented in the national. and
generally in the local councils. Political
thinkers of our day are not content however
with the representation of mnorities in the
gross. They see the importance of having the
minority in every particular constituency rep
resented. There being more of merit in all
parties than in any one, the chances would be
that we should have better representatives if
the selection were made from the whole body
of the electors IN any district instead of being
as it is now confined exclusively to MAORI
ty. In our own State, for instance, more than
two'fifths OF the voters are Democrats, and
our delegation to Congress should represent
as nearly as may be their relative strength.
Ii they were concentrated they might elect
two out of The five representatives 10 Con-
gress, instead of electing none. In other
States the case is as strong the other way. In
Mar land the Republicans cast 30,43S votes
at the State election and the Democrats 81 357,
while of Ill members of the State Legis.a-
ture the former elected not one, instead of SO,
their just proportion. In California the Re-
pubicans though casting majority of the
votes, elected but 23 cut of 100 members of
the Legislature. Mr.. David Dudley Field, in
a late article in Putnams Magazine. points
out these among other anomalies resulting
from our present method of choosing repre-
sentatives.
Among all the schemes of minority repre-
sentation none seems more simple or better
adapted to our situation than that adopted by
the late convention to revise the constitution
of Illinois. While not having the theoretical
symmetry of Mr.. Hares system, it avoids
complications of detail which make the lat
ter practically impossible under existing cir
cumstances. According to the plan of the
convention three representatives are to be
elected to the lower house of the State Legis-
lature from each senatorial district, and each
voter, instead of casting one vote for each of
three candidates, may concentrate all three
on one. Thus minority of one third in any
one district may secure one representative
instead of having none as is now the case.
In the election OF representatives to Congress
the voters in one district might be allowed to
vote for the candidate of their own party in
another district in the same State, so that if
in the minority they might not be disfran-
chised. In this way each party would be
pretty fairly represented in the popular branch
of the national legislature. II would not be
easy to effect the same in regard to the Sem
ate so long as two members only are chosen
from each State. Ii the number were in
creased to three a minority amounting to
third in any State, land the minorities that
are smaller than this are rare) might be sure
OF having representative in the Senate.
Minority representation would be thor
ougbly non-partisan refrm. What our party
lost in one quarter it would gain in another,
so that on the whole through the equalization
of gains and losses the political balance would
not be appreciaby disturbed. But while
neither political party would suffer any great
loss the country would make great gain in the
superior order of representatives which such a
system would bring upon the stage. At the
same time the tone of legislation would prob
ably be raised by having the minority feel
more thoroughly that they must sustain
share Of the responsibility for public meas
ureS