The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1872-11-28
Minority Representation-Its First Trial in
Illinois.

LhO oShOtao VI LiAuOiiey VI PSiSoe'esA ASfAS
sentation was tried in Illinois on Tuesday in
the election of the lower house Of the Legisla-
ture, and as this is about the first trial Of the
experiment, involving any serious interest, it is
worth while to examine the result and, see
whether the new system justified the alnlticippa- alnl
tions of its friends. :. , !:
Those zealots who always burden every pro-
posed reform with their unserviceable enthusi-
asm announced that, if the principle OF minor
ity Representations could once be enforced, it
would prove panacea for all social ills, and
usher ID political Utopia where every righte-
Gus candidate would be elected and every voter
would be, happy. Of course this antici patton
was absurd. The more. reasonable apd philo-
sophical of the advocates of this reform claim
ed for it only four prominent merits.
First-That, generally adopted, it would give
to every man representative in every dellbe-
ratiye body; that is, that every man would vote
for successful candidate; whereas, under the
old system, two-ffths of all the people were
unrepresented, and might as we'll have been
disfrauchised altogether. Under the old sys-
tenn not less than'two hundred thousand voters
in Illinois were thrown practically out of poll
tics, and were not the constituents OF any mem
Der of the Legislature. II was claimed that
this would be renledied, and that every voter
would be one of the constituents of somebody.
Second-That it would give majority of q
party the power to, cumufate their votes and
elect the man of their choice, thereby defeating
an unworthy CAUCUS nominee without insurlng
the election Of a political opponent. ~
Third-That, by increasing the facilities for
boiling unsatisfactory candidates, it would
compel the nomination of the best men, and
thereby improve the texture of legislative
bodies .l ,,t.tiir ir g.. 80
Fourth-That it would insure to each party
q representation proportioned to its actual
strength, instead of enabling the majority party
in State to menopolize all the Offices. r.
In the election of Tuesday, minority repre-
sentation scarcely obtained a fair trial, for
every man had to vote for thirty or forty can
didates for various Offices, and, under the spur
of warm partisan feeling, voters found neither
time nor inclination to discriminate largely or
to take advantage, of the cumulative privilege
in casting their ballots The members of the
majority party in district generally cast one
and half votes each for two men, and the
members of party largely in minority three
votes for one man. Germans and Irish often
cumulated their three votes on candidate of
their nativity Or way of thinking, as did the
temperance men in securing the election of
their friends. But nineteenths of the ballots
were cast as they had been prepared in caucus.
This did not, however, entirely deprive the
law of its efficiency. AS the returns come in
it is certain that every voter in Illinois is rep
resented in the Legislature for the first time in
our history. In, the very strongest Republican
districts one of the three Representatives elect
is Democrat in the strongest Democratic
districts one is Republican. The existence
of this law compelled! the Withdrawal of seve-
raj bummers and dead beats from both tickets
before election day. If they had not with
drawn they would have been defeated.
The two parties are justly represented for the
frst,time. The State Senate stands "a Repub-
licau to II Liberal, the House "a Republican
to 60 Liberal, which represents pretty nearly
the true proportion Of the two parties in this
State.
No harm has resulted, then, SO far, from the
introduction of this odd internal machine,
while it may be conceded that, in the justeI
representation Of the contending parties and
in giving to every voter a practical voice in
legislation,r it has effected positive good
Chicago POST a ..e1 n3, a.- 80