St. Paul daily globe., 1889-02-07
THE AUSTRALIAN SYSTEM.

To the Editor of the Globe.
When, where and by whom was the Aus
tralian election method originated? BY what
countries has it been adopted, and has it ever
been abandoned by any OF those who have
experimented with it? What progress has it
made in this country! Please answer.
VOTER.
Duluth, Feb. 4.
AS the name indicate, the secret bal
lot reform is of Australian origin. The
first act was passed by the legislature
of Victoria i'll 1856, although the agita-
ton of the question extended over Aus
tralia several years previous to the en-
actment of the law. WILLIAM NICHoL-
SON is the name Of the man who re-
ceiyed the credit for getting the act
passed, but the real father of the system
was FRANCIS DUTTON, member OF the
South Australian legislature, who after
wards succeeded in having it adopted
by the South Australian government.
New South Wales and other Australian
states rapidly followed suit. The sys-
TEN is now embodied i'll the election
laws of Great Britain, Canada, Belgium,
Luxembourg, and three of the American
states Massachusetts,, Kentucky and
New York. Bills are now pending in
the legislatures Of tWenty-six other
states and territories, proposing the in
corporation of this system into their
election laws.
JOHN III. WIGMoRE, Il Boston lawyer,
one of the chief agitatOrs of the Austria
liam system in this country, and who is
probably as we'll informed as any other
person OIL the question, says that within
the next five years tWO-thlrds OF the
states of the Union will have adopted
the system in some shape or other. He
says that it is spreading over the cOun-
try like a wave. and it is certainly appear
ing in places where one would least eX-
pect to find disposition for ballot re-
form. The labor organizations are
everywhere taking prominent part i'll
the movement, for they realize that to
organized labor the new system brings
at least two positive advantages-first,
cheap nominations, and an equal chance
for the candidates: second, freedom
from intimidation from capitalists, cor
porations, and employers generally.
The laws of New York and Massa-
chusetts differ in many of their details,
but both preserve the cardinal features
of the Australian system, which are,
first, an arrangement by which the COM
pulsory secrecy of the ballot can be Sc
cured; and, second, an official ballot
containing the names of all candidates,
printed and distributed under the super
vision of the state authorities. In New
York the candidates of each party are
grouped together on each ticket, while
in Massachusetts, the names of all the
candidates for each Office are grouped
together. In New York electioneering
is forbidden within 100 feet of the poll
ing place, while this provision was for
gotten by the Massachusetts legislature.
In New York the official ballot is identi-
fed by the ballot clerks placing their
initials on it first before giving it TO the
voter. In Massachusetts, the autograph
of the secretary of state, written in a
peculiar style, is printed beforehand on
the ballot.
Upon the principle laid down by the
eloquent TuLLY, that Time proves all
things. confirming that which is just and
discarding that which is false, the Aus
| tralian system may be pronounced a
success, for it has never been aban-
doned when once tried. In Australia
and in England repeated efforts have
been made to repeal it, but without
avail. The voters seemed to know
when they had good thing, and held OH
! to If