The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1872-02-08
ProportIonate ReprcsentatIon.

Ee8eIllhtlUu hulCl nus VI lAt6 DeEDlllD 30
general. ."Passives" plan for choosing
members Of the House of Delegates, for
instance, seems to be TO Let each voter cast
one vote for one person and TO consider
each person voted for rs elected, and nj.
low him 10 east In the House rs many
votes as he received. "B." proposes TO
consider Us elected only the two receiving
tho highest vote, and give each of them q
vote in the House equal 10 that cast for
himself, together with what may be rs.
signed To him by unsuccessful candidates.
Some real objections exist to every
plan for prOporti0nate representation yet
proposed, although not one Of them Is
open To such numerous and vital ObIec-
tiOns as the present One.sided and tyrani-
cal system Of popular elections. All
thoughtful men will unite in the desire to
substitute for the latter some iairer
method The real question for consldera.
ton then Is, which Of the proposed plans
Of representation Is open TO the iewest
practical objections. '..
Permit me TO suggest here the objcc.
tons TO the plans Of passive and "B"
which occur tome, and then TO GndCavor
TO suggest how those objections may be
avoided without .cncOuntoring worse ones.
"Passiye's" plan will permit any coun-
" 10 send TO the House an indefinite mum.
Der Of members. Ifthey arc TO be paid
anything the number will be too great 10
transact any business whatever, especial.
" where each represents and casts o DIFF
fcrcnt number Of votes. II on the other
hand they! receive nothing, nobody will be
likely to 60 except those who expect 10
receive money in an improper way, or
have indivual ends TO accomplish. Such
a plan would make the lobby the Legis-
lature. 1t would admit 10 the House
every man in the State who chose 10 60,
and by far the largest number who would
60 under such on arrangement would be
men who received no vote but their own.
ltwould have been the "joy forever" Of
our old friend ]. D. D. Rosset, II It had
been adopted in his lifetime, and he would
have made himself life member, and
have read his endless petitions through
continuous years to multitude, each Of
whom would fancy himself suffering un-
der wrongs as grlevous as those Of
Mr.. Rosset. Under that plan the
Legislature would become q riding
school for the exercise oil every hobby in
the State. "B.'s" plan Is certainly in
genious, and might be used without
alteration in the choice Of a body elected
by districts oil nearly equal population
Us, for instance, the present Senate Of the
State; but as applied 10 the choice Of q
House Of Delegates by counties very
unequal in population, 1t Is defective in
two points. In the first place it leaves nc
room for the representation Of third par
ties or special interests. A delegate must
be elected as q Republican or a Democrat.
The despOtism Of a majority Of the people
is swept away, but in It's stead appears
the despotism Of a party. In the popular
branch ofthe Legislature every interest or
opinion which has anything like a re.
spectacle number Of adherents, ought to
be represented, no matter whether it be
inside or outside the two great parties
which divide the country upon the Ques.
lions of grayer political import. The
second objection TO this plan is that il
gives two members and no more to each
county, whether large or small, between
which two the vote of their county is to
be divided. This would answer If the
members had nothing TO do but cast their
respective numbers Of votes upon measures
proposed and submitted by outsid.
ers. But members, votes do not
constitute their whole power; their
character, their energy, their mum.
bers are even more considerable Gle.
ments Of their influence. A large county,
whose interests before the Legislature arc
numerous and important, ought TO have
more members than q small one, which
wants nothing but some run declared q
public highway. Neither Calhoun nor
Webster has enough business in any Legis,
laturc to employ two men, while the in.
forests of Ohio county might need the
whole time Of four men, even with an &C.
casiOnal reinforcement from the CITY
Council. Again, in every Legislature
some few men hayeltO do all the drafting,
oil the committee work, and all the real
work Of the session, for only few arc
competent 10 do it. Now, Wood or Ka.
nawla can furnish hundred men lt for
this work, where Mcdowell or Tucker
couldn't furnish two. Then to give each
county two members and no more would
be to keep able men out Of the House and
to force useless men into 1t 10 an unncces.
sary extent.
What ia our aim? 1t is TO get rid Of the
tyranny Of majority and also Of the
tyranny Of party, in short to give effect
70 the free, unbiased choice OF the voters.
Il II Is not practicable TO do this for
every individual voter we ought 10 do
1t for every considerable class Of
voters. l will endeavor in few
words 10 suggest modification OF
BIS plan for the House Of Delegates,
which think will accomplish this end.
Perhaps II can best be explained by illus.
tration. Let the members be assigned 10
counties or districts, in proportion 10
population, which would give Ohio coun.
ty, say four delegates. Let each voter
cast one vote for one candidate, and let
the four securing the highest votes be
elected. Then let unsuccessful candidates
transfer, in the manner suggested by "B," "
their votes to those elected, and give 10
each of the latter in the House vote
equal to that cast for him, and that trans
lerred to him. Candidates might be re.
quired to declare formally before the cleo,
ton to whom they would transfer their
votes, il they should be defeated. Under
this plan, every party or section OF a
party would be sure oil electing a delegate,
II they could poll one,lourth the vote of
the county, and would likely elect one, il
they polled one-eighth. So that any con.
siderable interest or party, as for example,
the iron.workers Of Wheeling, or the
farmers Of Ohio county, could secure one
delegate, who would have just as much
voting: power in the House as he had
backing amongst his constituents. This
plan would render party conventions, eau.
cusCs and dictators almost entirely super.
nuOus, and mt q check on Their attendant