The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-03-10

and embraces many popular featur es.
me American city should, and event
naily will, furnish model to the world.
Inus far Mr.. Brice tells us, "the gov
eminent OF great cities is the conspicuous
failure In the American republic" And
vet, says DE Toqueville, municipal in
situations are to liberty what the
primary school is to science We have
| Deen too much inclined to view the
municipality as miniature state, and
not as corporation whose affairs should
be administered upon business principles
BY mon selected solely for their fitness.
In the line OF reform, some of our best
4 thinkers contend that the Mayor, who is
the chief executive, should have bestowed
upon him larger powers than he has hith-
erto possessed, and should be held direct
| ~ responsible for the exercise of those
powers; that he should be elected for a
longer term than one year, because he is
better lifted to perform his duties after
| acquiring q knowledge of them, and be-
| cause, moreover, it adds an influence and
dignity to the office, which more strongly
impresses citizens with the Importance
OF election which many now disregard.
With respeut to the bicameral system of
municipal government. which until re-
Gently has prevailed in our American
cities, Charles Francis Adams declares
against it and in favor of a single
board. like the present aldermanic board,
but larger, as likely to perform the mu-
nioipal business with greater efficiency,
and to attract to it men who under the
| Dlcameral system, are unwilling to
serve. 1t has been recommended, in or
der to retain experienced men in office,
that the members OF such body should
Ee SO elected that not over one-third Of
them should be retired in single year.
No valid argument has thus far been
p,,r d. 81 k1O xrrnf<rr mol
The argument that the lower board is q
training school for membership to the up
per board is not sustained by experience,
and the other argument, that If we can
not get good government with two
boards, we cannot with one, is altogether
frivolous At a recent meeting in Bos-
ton in which the "Unwisdom of bioam-
cussed by Mayor Quincy, Hon. William
D. Foulke, Samuel B. Capen, and other
eminent students Of this subject, 1t was
declared that this system is responsible
for most of the bad legislation of the
past. While this might be claiming too
much, IL is certain that great deal of
defective municipal legislation may be
IL aced to it, and there can be but little
doubt that the American city of the fu-
ture will be governed by single board
elected upon general ticket. Says Mr..
Foulke, an eminent authority upon this
subject, Popular government as we
know itstoday is government by political
parties; The men who think alike will
naturally act together. The union Of
these constitutes a party, and yet this
direct system, while it often forces mon
artifoially into parties with the princi-
pies of which they do not agree, also pre-
vents in many cases the normal and
healthy union of those who think alike
and desire to vote for the same candidate.
tod
by arbitrary district laws, and are pre-
vented from acting together.
1.-THE Pennsylvania Railroad Company
is a corporation whose road passes
through many districts in several States.
What would we think Of q rule dividing
the, stockholders by geographical lines,
and prohibiting those residing in
different districts from voting for the
same directors, although the chief intent
and purposes of all the stockholders are
not sectional, but common to every part
Of the road?'' Mr.. Foulke likens the
district and ward system to the old meth
cd of measuring time by the hour-glass
the copying by hand of books before
printing was invented; and the regula-
ton of the steam engine by hand before
the employment Of automatic valves.
i Not only does he point out the facility
(which it offers to corruption, but the
loss Of voting power; for under it ma
II JOrlLy Oh the eublI6 UUuy pOllUlC lHlgDb De
SO distributed that it would not control
a majority of the districts, whereby the
wishes of the people would fail of repre-
sentation. We see this eXemplified in
every election, where in some wards the
party vote is entirely thrown away except
in the election of a mayor when, if all
candidates were on general ticket it
would find expression. OF course each
district or ward has it's representatives
under the modern plan, the only differ
ence being that they are elected on the
general party ticket.
Proportional representation has also
found favor with all parties. 1t has been
parcticed for some time in Switzerland,
and has been found TO work satisfactorily.
The candidates representing the different
wards are elected upon general ticket.
| The total number Of the ballots thrown
is divided by the number of the member
of the board voted for, and the quotient
gives the quota of representation. Any
ticket that receives that number of votes
is entitled to one representative; If
double the number, two; If three times
the number, three, and so on. If there
are remainders and a case is not likely
to occur when there are not, the ticket
having the largest remainder has the
vacancies. Now to explain which candi-
dates are elected. The one having the
highest number Is the first, tho next
highest the second, and SO on. Thus the
individual preference of every vote cast
is secured. Even third party largely
in the minority may be represented if it