Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1878-03-08

We have before US q somewhat formidable
volume of 2lG large pages, entitled "The Com
monwealth Reconstructed. The author,
DR.. C. C. P. Clarke, of 0swego, N. Y, has
done a good deal of thinking on the evils
OF our present political system,-a subject
which must at times engage the attention of
every man,-and has, AZ he believes, solved
the problem Of effective reform. He deyotes
four chapters to an exposition of the OBJ
yious wrongs, failures and rottenness of the
present system of elections. The unsatis-
factory working of our Democratic system
on these respects he attributes to there
great causes to the ignorance of the great
majority OF voters, both as to whom they
are voting for and what they are voting for:
to their inability to unite upon represen-
tative candidates for Office and to political
organization, which, started to help the peo-
pie, has, by the logic of the situation, become
their corrupt master lie concludes that the
remedy must be vital one. lie recommends
"no surface ointment of deep sores like Civil
Service reform no change Of place without
out change OF pain like party revolution :;
no soothing syrup of statistical displays Of
the Nations growth in numbers, wealth and
virtue He proposes to revolutionize the
system radically, from bottom to top. His
aim is to present plan which will
bring the business of the voter with
in the limits of his probable aequaint-
ance with the man he votes for. of his sub
stantial comprehension of the duties that his
candidate, if elected, will have to discharge,
and of his ability to unite with his fellows at
the polls in the pursuit of a common object,
without calling in the agency of politicians.
The plan he has worked out in his mind,
and is sure will answer the purpose, is an
adaptation of the present caucus system to
the whole range of electoral action. DR..
Clarke proposes to divide all cities or towns
of any size into sections of registered voters,
of 800 or 400 in lumber, divided by lot, and
changed by fresh division by lot, every two
or three years This mode of selection and
these frequent changes are to prevent the
formation of rings and eliques. Each OF
these sections is to choose an eleetor to re-
present it in the further establishment OF
authority; and with this choice of an elect
or all action on the part of the voters ends,
with the exception that in small towns he
would still allow them to choose the local
officers In the larger towns and cities the
average voter would once year help select
a suitable man to represent him. That Is
all he would have to do. He need not
bother his head about parties or pOlit-
ical economy or candidates for Pres
ident. or any question as regards public
men or public questions. The electors, or
delegates, thus chosen in any town or ward
shall constitute college of electors for it.
These shall elect all the prime funetiOnaries
of the precinct. These primary colleges
shall also choose one or more electors to rep
resent them and the people in higher rank
Of colleges for the appointment of mayors,
county officers, members OF the State Legs
lature and the House of Representatives.
The members of this second class OF electors
for any county shall constitute the county
college in city, the city college; in an
assembly district, the assembly college. In
like manner this secondary college in each
assembly district shall appoint on. or more
delegates to represent it in an electoral col
lege of still higher grade for the choice Of
governor and other State officers, the State
and national judiciary, federal senators and
presidential electors. This last class of dele
gates, the presidential electors, shall meet
in general assembly Of the whole Union, as
do delegates to party presidential conyen-
tions, and choose the President and Vice
President. In each college the vote of the
elector should have weight nearly as pOssi-
bic in proportion to the number of people
that he might represent.
Such, in brief, is the electoral system re-
commended by DR.. Clarke. 1t is ingenious
and original but it is not likely to be
adopted.
1t is too great change to be adopted, in
hurry. In fact, DR.. Clarke does not ex-
pect its adoption except gradually city or
perhaps small State making beginning,
and others following, after its advantages
have been tested. There is no likelihood
that the mass of voters will be as willing to
discard all concern about political questions
and can iidates, as DR.. Clarke is to have them
They will, we fancy, nowhere care to be
relegated to a choice of delegates who are to
do all further thinking and acting for them.
Nor Is it Us clear TO us, as it seems to be to
him, that the influence of rings or cliques
and "maehnes" and political adyenturers
would be destroyed under this system. Poll
ticians would surely, We think. be found in
the primary, secondary and higher colleges
of electors The system which is to cure all
the evils of our politics is yet to be devised;
and no system devised for the purpose can
prove effective without an elevation of the
honesty, fidelity and intelligence of the
voters