The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1901-01-19

| fore the Legislature for consideration
| this winter is one providing for the
establishment of assembly districts, and
holding meetings for the general pub
! lie discussion of questions about to be
voted upon at the polls. The essence
of the measure is to pave the way for
more intelligent vote on bills affect
! ing the interests, of the various conmu-
| mites The bill provides that each
election district shall be declared
separate assembly district. In cities
and incorporated towns the common
council appoints person in each cleo
ton district to give notice of the date
and place for holding the first meeting.
In townships, the town board shall act.
| 1t is provided that such meetings may
| be held before the annual spring cleo
tions, and before the elections in the
| fall The expense attendant upon the
| first meeting shall be paid by the
township, town or city, and subsequent
meetings are to be conducted at the
expense of the respective election dis
tricts. John A. Keyes, who is taking
| much interest in the bill, says:
This bill has been prepared after
some study and investigation, and is
designed to be supplementary to the
election system known as the Austria
liam system Of voting, and is along the
same line of development. The Aus
tralian system Of voting gave the cleo
tor free ballot, with the right to ex-
ercise his choice as to the candidates
and measures without interference
from any source outside of himself
r I01: - Sc 81
hands to have been a great practical
success, although it was at first fought
with some bitterness. From some OBJ
servaton, sitting as a judge Of cleo
! ton, having the object in view of
studying the question practically, and
from converse tons with many persons
who have had experience in the count
| ing of ballots and in making and can
vassing returns, I have arrived at the
conclusion that it is necessary that
some system be devised by which the
voters may be enabled to procure more
adequate information, not only upon
methods of voting, but upon the ques
lions that are constantly being sub
mitted to them.
"Since the adoption of the new char
ter system in this state there is an
added reason for this. BY this system
a great many questions are being and
will continually be submitted to the
people direct for their approval or re-
lection. and unless some discussion can
be had in an impartial and non-par-
tisan way upon such questions before
the day of election, the voters, or at
least great many Of them, will go
to the polls wholly unprepared to vote
|intelligently, and will either not partici-
pate at all in the election, as is now
the case in many instances, or they
will as likely vote wrong as right. If
we are, as it seems likely, to depart
s from a strictly representative form of
s government and substitute for it a
government where the electors them
selves express their opinions directly
at the ballot box upon important prop
ositions, the state must furnish an Op-
pOrtunlty for a proper discussion and
consideration of those questions, and
cannot now see how a better method
could be devised than to have local as
senblieS in each election district
where such questions could be consid
cred in a ncighborhOod way, something
after the same manner in which they
used to be in the New England tow1
meeting. These assembly gatherings
: might not be largely attended at first
but some would go, and they would
= form a nucleus for information, anC
D when any important local or genera
= matter may arise, such a system as is
l provided for in the bill would furnish
. the machinery, easily put in motion, tt
a get at the real public opinion. AS it i:
e now, what is everybody's business i!
Y nobody's business, and it becomes diff
o ficult, if not impossible, to correct the
g evils which l have spoken Of.
: "These discussions are neve: take1
up in partisan political meetings, large
d ~ for the reason that candidates fo
/ office more often than otherwise do no
8 desire to hazard their chances of cleo
S ton by expressing their opinions upon
n questions non-partisan in character
q and upon which people differ regardless
S of party lines. Therefore, the most i'm
S portant public measures are, like con
= stitutional amendments, hardly. de
bated or understood at all by the ma
jority voting upon them, and such will
be found to be the case with charte
amendments and other proposition
~ submitted in cities. The general an
nual meetings have been arranged t.
s come Immediately before the sprin
e and fall elections, and at them tn
5, methods of voting, marking the ballot
n etc., can be discussed free from mer
l. partisan considerations. believe tn
e Dill is practical, worth careful consd
y Grafton, and that, if adopted and it
e provisions put into operations it Woul,
e give more accurate and intelligen
vote. l trust the press will give tn
= matter some comment and hope, 0
81 course, that it will be Favorable, as tn
e Dill will probably be introduced into GU
;. legislature. and sent elsewhere, also"
WANTED-Capa reliable Derso