The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1894-06-01


board of aldermen and its common
council the city of New York were
to elect one legislative body in such
a way that every prOpOrtionate part
of the voters should have one rep
Suppose every vote to
bear directly upon the final result,
with all useless majorities and
wasted minorities given their
proper effect. If the council con-
sisted of 81 members any body of
citizens numbering one Dist part of
the whole number of voters could
and would have one representative.
Would not the inevitable result be
the nomination as candidates by
citizen organizations of at least a
certain number of men, who, if
elected would give weight and
character to that body Would
not the result naturally be that men
of the class now composing the leg
ialative department of New York
city either would not be brought
forward before the constituency as
a whole, and no longer in wards,
would be left in election at the foot
of the poll? Every reform organ
ization hoping to represent one
twenty first part of the total vote
thrown would be under the highest
possible inducement to put forward
as it's candidate the man of the
strongest character, and the man
most widely and favorably known.
The objection to bringing forward
men who were only locally known
would be equally great. The object
of each organization would nee
essarily be to nominate candidates
who would draw to themselves the
greatest number of votes in the
constituency at large. The pOliti-
cal prison lines, now known as ward
lines, would be thrown down.
But the final and browning adj
vantage of such a system remains
to be pointed out. Elected in this
way, who could refuse to serve?
Consider the prestige-the weight
Of authority and infuence-with
which any man could walk into a
council chamber, who entered it at
the head of the poll under such a
system as this +! No citizen, whether
of New York or of Boston, SO elect
ed, could or would refuse to obey
the mandate of his fellow citizens.
And so it would be in the power of
any considerable body of voters to
lay a hand on the shoulder of any
man, no matter how eminent or how
busy he might be, and call upon
him to perform his tour of munic-
ipal duty. Public opinion should
exact obedience. Every man owes
to the municipality in which he
lives something more than the pay
ment of any annual tax bill.
If then my diagnosis of the dis
ease is correct, if the trouble is
that, through minute territorial
divisions, an excess of political
differentiation, men are as a matter
of fact continually brought to the
front who would not be brought to
the front under larger and less
complicated system, if, in word,
the country long has been and now
is sick of " wardism," then 1 con-
fdently submit that under the
system proposed we might fairly
hope to get down to the root Of the
disease and remove it. By so doing
only, also submit, the patient can
be restored to health. 1t is useless
to waste time over symptoms, and
we do not need more complicated
charters. We must, on the con
trary, go back to first principles /;
and first principles are always
simple. Complete freedom of action
must be restored to the individual
voter, and he must be so placed
that he can influence results in the
largest possible degree: There is
nothing the ''ward boss" fears So
much as an intelligent ballot not
restrained within local lines. The
system as it has long existed and
now does eAist sgits him exactly.
1t brought him into existence; h6
grew up under it; he understands
it; he will labor to perpetuate it.
We should labor to destroy it al
together. By destroying it we will