The Portland daily press., 1883-03-14
Money in Elections.
Henry George in North American Review

Henry George in North American Reyiew.]
BY adopting the Australian plan Of voting,
now for some years in successful operation
in England, we could abolish at one stroke
all the expenses of printing and distributing
tickets, and all the expense and demoraiza-
ton consequent on the employment of
workers and very much lessen the i'm
portance of party nominations and party
machinery. Under that plan the ballots are
printed at public expense, and contain the
names of all persons duly registered as can
didates. When the voter approaches the
poll he has handed one of these ballots. He
enters compartment, where pencil or pen
and ink are provided, and, concealed from
observation, strikes off the names of those
he does not wish to vote for, or, as in Eng
land, indicates by a mark those he prefers,
and then folding up the ballot presents it.
Some objections may doubtless be urged
against this plan, but they seem to me triv-
ial as compared with the gains. The final
date for the registration of candidates should
be fixed at such a length of time before cleo
ton as to secure opportunity for scrutiny,
pense, as election proclamations are now ad-
vertised. To prevent the swelling Of the
lists by trivial nominations, either the num-
Der of endorsing voters required to secure
fegistration might be made large or fee
might be exacted or, what would PROBABLY
be still better, a deposit might be required,
which, in case the candidate did not receive
certain number of votes or reach certain
rank in the voting, should be retained for
hn p1rh lia Tpoa c1rx Inc fhar hos,1o
turned after the election. Thousands of
ballots would thus suffice where now hun
dreds of thousands are printed. The power
| OF nominating conventions would be re-
duced to the moral effect of their indorse-
ment, since any candidate Endorsed by the
required number of citizens would be as
we'll presented to each voter as the nominee
OF the strongest party convention. Thus the
corruptions of primary politics and the prac.
tice OF selling votes in nominating conven-
tions would be destroyed, and the practice
of black mailing candidates by the so-called
Endorsements of political clubs whose only
object is to make money would also be de-
stroyed. And not only would large amount
OF money now required from political COM
mittees and from Individual candidates be
saved, but the practice of buying votes and
that of coercing voters by terror of discharge
from employment would be in large part. if
iAOb aibOSObAOl3 up Ny tu0 u1IUcul-
ty of telling how man voted. There could
be no putting ticket in a mans hand and
keeping an eye on it until deposited. And
thus, too, the paying of poll taxes, where
that unjust and undemocratic tax is re-
tanned, and the sending of carriages for vot-
ers would become risky investments. As
for the banners, the torch-lights, and the
marchings of uniformed clubs, which have be-
come such feature in our Presidential cleo
tions, there would, think, be little obiec-
ton to their prohibition save on the part of
manufacturers of 'election goods.' Each
party resorts to them mainly because the
opposing party resorts to them and prohib-
ition which would put all parties on the
same level and save large expenditures
would meet little opposition, and would be,
think, generally approved by public opin-
ion. Pennsylvania has already prohibited
torch light professions within a certain time
preceding election, and there is more to be
said for absolute prohibition than the mere
saving of cost. When a man puts on a uni
form, or carries a torch in procession, his
self pride is enlisted in the success of the
party, and all appeals to his reason are vain;
and these glittering displays of partisanship
are not merely disgraceful to people whose
government can only find stable foundations
in the reason of the masses, but they are
positively injurious.