The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1896-03-12
LIVE QUESTIONS.
A Series of Articles Contributed TO These
Columns by Advanced Thinkers.

THE REMEDY.
A study of the congressional election
return of 1894 proves conclusively that
Our representative system is delusion
and snare.
For instance, Massachusetts,, with a
Republican vote Of 191, ,243, secures IL
representatives, while the Democrats,
with 1870, 1898 ballots polled, are repre-
sented by only one congressman, or
over u Democratic citizens must go to
the polls to equal the representative
power of one Republican.
Today Illinois is entitled to one Re-
publican congressman for every 22, 403
voters, but it takes 161, 713 Democrats
to gain one representative, or, like Mas
sachusetts the proportion against the
Democrats is over to 1.
In Ohio it requires over six times as
many voters to elect one Democrat as it
does Republican representative.
In New York state the recent vote
stands %, S97 for every Republican rep
resentative, while requiring 100,
Democrats to accomplish the same re-
suits, though in the congressional cleo
tion returns of 1892 it took 81 $50
Democrats to equal 43, $50 Republicans.
Dear old conservative Pennsylvania
secures 2S Republican congressman for
613,y ballots polled, while the Dem
ocrats have only two for 800, $50 votes.
Have the Democrats of the Keystone
State sunk so low that it requires over
eight of them to offset one Republican?
If this state had had proportional repre-
sentation, the representation would have
stood IS Republicans, 1 Democrats and
l Prohibitionist.
In the states of Iowa, Michigan and
Wisconsin the Democrats, with over six
times the Republican quota, have no
Democratic representation at all.
Indiana leads off as the worst repre-
sented state in the Union. The Dem
ocrats cast almost / times the quota Of
the Republicans, and yet have not even
one representative.
The Peoples Party adherents polled
votes in excess of the average quota and
yet in most Of the states with no repre-
sentation at all.
Georgia Populists cast nearly seven
times the quota of the Democrats and
yet are not represented, while in Texas
they have almost ten times the Demo-
cratic quota, with the same results. In
1892 the Populists cast ,046, 392 votes,
securing 10 representatives, yet in the
last election, at the polling 30S, $50 more
votes than in 1892, they have only seven
congressman.
Today the Prohibitionists are not rep
resented at all in congress, yet they cast
a vote which would entitle them under
proportional representation to three con-
gressmen.
These figures prove that our whole
system Of representation is manifestly
unjust. The wonder is that we have SUBJ
mitted to it so long.
The evil lies in our district system.
Suppose there were 10000 votes cast in
each Of the 30 congressional districts of
Pennsylvania, each district being en-
titled to one representative, with five
parties in each district, the vote stand
ing thus: 1000 Prohibitionists, 5000
Peoples Party, 5000 Single Takers,
1000 Republicans, 5000 Democrats.
Yet the mere fact that the Democrats
cast 900 more votes than any one party
"a plurality of 1000 votes, not ma
jority-entitles them, under the present
system, to the one representative. And
the remaining $4,000 people are not rep
resented at all Garry this illustration
through the 30 congressional districts,
and we find 10000 Prohibitionists,
10000 Peoples Party. $50, 900 Single
Takers, 210,0 ZOO Republicans and 24O,-
600 Democrats. Lo and behold, the
Democrats march off with the whole 80
congressman, leaving 660, 900 men who
actually went to the polls and voted un-
represented
Is it right? Is it justice that the mi
nority Of the total vote should make the
laws for the majority?
Must the political fight always narrow
itself to two great parties? Is there no
hope for the many reform movements? !?
Must corruption and bribery run ram
pant that one party may succeed by a
few votes? Is there no remedy, or must
we continue to practically disfranchise
large proportion of the men who ac-
tually go to the polls and vote?
There is a remedy, and that remedy is
proportional representation, which is
that each political party within city,
county or state is entitled to represen-
tation in proportion to the number of
votes each party casts. To secure it we
must first abolish all district lines.
For instance, to return to our previous
illustration of Pennsylvania, abolish all
the 30 districts, making the state into
one large district. Suppose the voting
power is 900, 600, balloting for 30 con-
gTessmen. Justice would demand that
every one-thirtieth Of the 900, 900 voters,
or every 80, 900 men, should receive one
representative. Thirty thousand votes is
then the quota. With this result, the
1900 Prohibitionists are entitled to
a cOnpressmen tha 1b0 000 peon1a,s