The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1870-04-28
The Representation of Minorities.


Mr.. David Dudley Field delivered "a
lecture in Boston the other evening on
the projects of electoral reform which
are commonly described under the term
representation of minorities but he well
remarked that his topic was really tn
representation of the whole people.
Theoretically legislation in the uoited
States is the will of the majority as eX-
pressed through their representatives.
Practically it often happens that reprr
sentatlves of small minority are the
governing power, while, another minority
has no Representatives at ALL In the
State of New York in 1858 the Democrat
had popular majority of 1851, but
elected only SO members of Assembly,
while the Republicans elected 70. In
Maryland the Democrats cast 1857 votes
and elected every member of both
Houses (111 IN all,) while the Republl
cans polled 30,43S votes and elected
nobody. In California the Repu blicans
cast majority of $40 votes, but only
elected % members while the Democrats
elected 81. The whole number of votes
cast was 108,670; but the districts were
SO distributed that 60 Representative
elected by only 1866 votes, could control
the Government MIR. Field forcibly illus
trates the injustice of the system by the
example of a private partnership. Sup
pose it to consist Of % partners, and the
partners to be divided into five sections,
each selecting one of managing com
mittee of five to conduct the business. IL
is evident that each member of the com
mittee might be chosen by three OF the
81, hfYC h..
whole committee would represent only
fifteen of the partners, and a majority OF
the committee might represent only nine
of the whole twenty-five.
Of the numerous plans proposed, both
here and in England, to remedy this evil,
Mr.. Field gives slight preference t"
two, one of which, the Cumulative plan,
he thinks might BIZ tried i'll voting for
members of Congress, and the other, the
system of Limited voting, in the choice
of Aldermen. On the cumulative system
each voter has as many votes as there are
members to he elected, and he may
either distribute them among different
candidates or unite them all on one
Thus Massachusetts, has 10 Representa-
tives in Congress and about zoe, 900 voters
Each voter would have 10 votes. Re
publicans and Democrats are divided in
the proportion of about two-thirds of the
former and one-third of the latter. Ill
the Republicans were to nominate 10
members they coula give each only
1874, 900 votes; if the Democrats cumu
lated their votes on they could give
each 165, 900. The result would be that
the Republicans would elect only Il
or and the Democrats or 4, and each
party would be fairly represented in pro-
portion to its numbers.
On the plan of Limited voting, each
voter casts ballot for fewer than the
whole number of members to be chosen
Thus suppose we have IS Aldermen to b.
chosen in the City of New York on gen.
eral ticket; let it be provided that no one
shall vote for more than 10 of the Is
and the minority will thus secure five, |
members of the Board. This is the princi-
pie which the delegates from the Union
League Club endeavored at Albany to
have incorporated with Our new charter
We believe with Mr.. Field that such
reform would go far toward purifying
politics of the prevailing corruption
and it IS at once so just to all parties and
so simple in its operation that we are at
loss to Imagine any reasonable objec-
tion to it,