The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-03-18
ANatIonaI Election LAW.

Representative Lodge has introduced a
bill to apply the Australian system of voting
to all elections for congressman, and, also to
place such elections, whenever certain
number of the voters of the district request
It, under the supervision of officials appointed
by Judge of District court of the United
States. The bill raises two questions; First,
is such legislation constitutional; second, is
1T called for. Section 4 of Article of the
Constitution of the United States provides
as follows:
The Times, Places and Manner of holding
Elections for Senators and Representatives shall
pe prescribed IN each State by the legislature
make or alter such regulations, except as to the
places OF choosing Senators.
AT the present time the places and manner
OF choosing Representatives are determined
Dy the States themselves. But the above
section OF the Constitution undoubtedly
gives Congress the power to change the
place and manner, even to the extent, If it
sees fit. of creating an entirely new system
and without retaining a single feature of the
existing method except universal suffrage.
The constitutionality of Mr.. Lodges bill does
not therefore admit of any reasonable doubt.
The next question is whether such legisla-
ton as is proposed is called for. If the
methods in vogue in the different States had
all of them been adopted with view to Sc
curing free and fair election and correct
Volclng OF the opinions of the voters, and
that had been generally their result the
answer would be in the negative. If every
State In determining the manner of choosing
Representatives had been animated by sim
cere desire to institute such method, as,
under all the circumstances, would best give
elect to the voice of the majority, the altera-
ton OF these various methods by the national
government would undoubtedly be mistake,
for methods which would be suitable for one
State and best calculated to give easy and
correct expression to the popular will in one
State might not be so well adapted to an
other State, and therefore uniformity might
be positive detriment. But it is a notori-
Gus fact, practically admitted by everybody,
that In some of the States methods have been
adopted, not because they are calculated to
give correct expression to the will of the ma
10fitsyy-- of the people, but because they are
not. Everybody knows that in several
States the inventive Faculties of thousands
of men have been at work for years to de-
wise manners and methods of choosing Re-
representatives. which should place so many
and so formidable obstacles in the way of the
expression of the will of the majority that
that will could not be expressed. In the last
twenty years hundreds of men have held
seats In the House of Representatives who
would not have been there, had it not been
Ior tnese obstacles thrown in the way of
correct expression Of the will of the major
lily.
Under the regulation of congressional leg
islatlon by the States themselves, therefore,
great eYillhas grown up, an evil which strikes
at the very foundation of republican govern
ment The evil is admitted on every side.
Is 1t worth while to try and correct it 4?
Certainly it is, II it is worth while to retain
government by the people, for the will of the
majority cannot continue indefinitely to be
ueieateo In some Of the States, without ulti-
na.eiy reading to like results in all the
oIaeeS' ana then government by the people
VIII nave disappeared in.substance If not in
form. how can the evil be corrected? Bv
tne states themselvesP That would be the
easiest and most satisfactory wav. hut nm.
fortunately the States show no disnosition
to correct 1t. On the contrary their recog-
nized spokesman proclaim that it will never
be corrected by the States, but rather inten-
slfed and made permanent. The only re-
course. then, if correction is to be had, is to
legislation by the national Congress. That
means has now been resorted to-not hasti-
ly, not inconsiderately, but after the expert
ence of twenty years and thegrepeated decla-
rations of the leading men Of the States in
which the evil exists had shown. conclusively
that 1t could be corrected In no other way.
The cry is raised that this is centraliza-