The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-11-06
Amount of Advertising
carried by the Mime
apolis Papers for October
Power of Non Voting Voters.


The vote on the municipal bond propo-
sitions in Minneapolis and on the proposed
amendments to the constitution in the
state are extremely discouraging. Prima
facie, it would seem as if the people Of
Minneapolis ought to have had as much
interest in the bond question as in any,
candidate for local office. Two Of the pro-
posed amendments to the constitution Of
the state were of as much vital interest
to the people of the state as the contest
for governor. Yet in Minneapolis not
more than half the voters who appeared at
the polls Tuesday voted on the bond
issues at all and in the state less than
half the voters appeared to be enough in
terested in such important questions as
taxation reform and the increase of rail-
way taxation to vote at all.
Yet under our absurd system Of requir-
Ing majority of all votes cast at an cleo
ton to adopt constitutional amendments
and two thirds to validate city bonds, we
still further discourage public interest in
such matters by absolutely throwing away
the votes of those who take enough inter-
est to express their Judgment We would
think it absurd to require a candidate for
office to have a majority Of all registered
votes no matter how many of the voters
stayed at home election day We rightly
hold that the voter who doesn't vote
should be ignored when it comes to choos-
Ing candidates Yet for some inscrutable
reason. when it comes to determ lining pub
lie policies by popular vote, we insist in
putting against the voter who votes the
voter who doesn't vote. Such questions
should be decided by those who vote, not
by those who do not vote, which is the
effect of our present unjust and unwise
practice. Amendments to the constitu-
ton should be carried by a majority vote
OF those voting on them, and bonds should
be validated by two-t thirds vote of those
Intelligent enough or interested enough
to express an opinion.
On, the local bond propositions those who
did vote exercised good Judgment. The
= bonds We're, favored In the order of thei,
urgency. Counting only the voters who
voted on them the school bonds carried
four to one, the improvement bonds three
to one and the filter bonds about two t.
one. In fact the last would have beer
defeated by q provision requiring tho
affirmative votes of two thirds of those
voting on bonds to validate them.
While all the municipal bonds were de-
feated there is a bare chance that the
constitutional amendment increasing tn,
gross earnings tax Of railway companies
from 8 to 4 per cent will carry. Thos,
voting for this amendment are about ter
times as many as those voting against it
but the inert portion Of the voters |:
more powerful in determining the result
than the active portion, who had politica
sense enough to vote one way or tn
other. The other amendments are hope
lessly lost, though two of them wer
worthy of adoption, especially the tax re
form amendment. "-..@ s.tt.sy
We need an alteration in our city charte
IL. and a change in our state constitution
= The legislature can give us the former
but it now appears that nothing except
constitutional convention can make It DOS
sble for the people Of Minnesota eve
again to change their constitution. TIL
wonder is that we ever permitted til
change in the constitution which so chain
us to have passed the legislature and
passing, to be approved by our votes.