The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-12-13
SHOULD VOTING BE MADE
COMPULSORY BY LAW
The Need of The Republic is That the Most Worthy
Citizens Shall Take an Active Inter-
est i'm Public Affairs.
Bv Alexan der ]. Field.

der ]. Field.
by the inculcations of higher ideals of
the duties of citizenship. These Two gen
tlemen express the usual view Of the
solution OF this important problem, but
actual experience has shown this solution
to be entirely inadequate. They overlook
the fact that where these agencies are
the stronest and most active, that there
the evil is still the greatest. 1t is too
often the case that those who know their
duty best are most lax in its performance.
The whole history OF our civilization
teaches that something stronger that
ethics and ideals is necessary.
Every important civic duty is enforced
by statute except the duty to vote, which
is the highest, and for the performance
OF this we rely entirely upon the ethical
impulse. The citizen must pay tax; he
must serve on the jury; he must, if need
be, risk his life in military service; but
he may, if it suits his convenience or
private interests, aid in the selection of
these who impose the tax, make and adj
minister the laws and, if need be, declare
war. This is the defect in our machinery
of selecting public servants, and is I'M
doubtedy the cause of our woes. To
quote the language of Mr.. Bryce in the
work above mentioned to rely npon pub
lie duty as the main motive power in poll
tics is to assume a commonwealth CT
angels" The most logical and effectual
way of solving the problem is to require
the citizen to participate in the selection
of public officials by compulson of law.
The evil had become so great i'll the
state of New York that in 1889 Governor
Hill in his annual message to the legis-
lature devoted considerable space to the
subject of making voting compulsory by
statute. His suggestion has not been
adopted, but the last Legislature of that
state took the following novel and strange
step in that direction. Heretofore the
lists of jurors were made up from the
lists of voters at the preceding election.
AS jury duty is very distasteful to the
well-to-do citizens, the law was sc changed
as to require jurors to be drawn first
from the lists of those who failed to
vote. The idea being that these citizens
would vote at the election in the hope OF
escaping jury duty. This is an emphatic
acknowledgement that something beyond
merely ethical motives is needed. The
experiment, however, is bad in principle
since it undertakes to strengthen one
institution at the expense of another,
and offers a reward for the performance
of a plain and important civic duty in
/ tead of imposing a penalty for the omls-
sion of that duty.
The suggestion of compulsory voting
is good as far as it goes, but it goes
barely half way. Elections decide poll
cies of government, but it is in the party
primary that the character of the candid
ate is determined. Therefore in order
to have the best officials to carry into
effect the chosen policies, the compulsion
should embrace voting at elections and
in the party primaries. The primaries
for the selection of candidates and DELI
gates has become so essential a feature
of our system of government that in
many of the statutes they are recognized
and more or less regulated by statute.
In fact in some of the statute nearly
all of the necessary machinery for COM
pulsory voting both at elections and pri-
maries is alreardy provided, and the sys-
tenn could be put into operation by statute
with very little friction or expense.
But some may say that this is 100
radical a departure and too great an
interference with personal liberty. In
answer to this we need only to refer to
the numerous instances where the state
has curtailed personal liberty to far
greater extent and with beneficial re-
suits. Such, for instance, as compulsory
education, regulation Of child labor and
compulsory vaccination. In these cases
neither ethical motives, nor parental al
lection, nor self reservation-nature's
first law-have been adequate to make
the people do their duty, and The gov
eminent has had to raise its sword OF
compulsion and say, Thou shalt"
In order to gain a proper conception
Of the conditions which obtain under our
system of optional voting, let us consider
for a moment what our administration
OF justice would be were the performance
of jury duty left optional. There would
be no lack of jurors, as there is now
no lack of voters; but what would be
the result? The idle and vicious would
throng the courthouses and beseige the
jury box. Verdicts would be bought and
sold Jury packing would become a regu-
lar trade, and the professional jury
packer would be come a man OF import
ance In the community to be reckoned
with and feared. Justice would become
debauched and hideous figure. The ban.
dage would drop from her eyes and the
scales from her hand. While she would
still carry in her right hand the sword
TO smite, the other would be ever open
/ to receive; and, like the daughters of
/ the horse leech, she would be ever cry
| ing, Give, give" Even now, notwith-
standing compulsion in the jury system,
good men try hard to escape, and the
professional juror has to be guarded
against with ever watchful eye. We en-
! force this great duty by statute, auG
yet it is only one of the essentials of
! that government which we entrust to
those only who care to participate.
Let participation in the government be
made compulsory and the word "politi-
/ cian' will cease to be term of reproaCh
and become a badge of honor. The voice
| of ''the people will indeed become the
voice of Cod, and we will truly have "a
government of the people, for tho people,
by the people,
Blood Bitters cured me of a terrible
breaking out all over the body. 1 am
! II ~