The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1905-11-25

Two reform suggestions offered
recently by jerome and Folk have
been commented on f~avorably by the
independent papers-one is Jerome's
suggestion that the number OF cleo
tive officers ought to be greatly re-
duced, and the other Is Folks sug-
gestion OF adopting 10 Missouri the
Massachusetts, form Of ballot, in
which Instead Of separate party
tickets with a blank line for the sub
%stitution Of some other name than the
party candidate, the names of all the
candidates OF all parties for tine same
office are printed in a row and the
voter makes a cross mark against the
name of the candidate for whom he
wishes to vote. The favorable recep-
ton Of these two suggestions is due
very much more to the spirit OF
~icouoclasm abroad in the land than to
any intrinsic merit Of the changes
proposed. Jerome ridicules the cleo
tion Of a recorder Of deeds, for
instance, by popular vote. He says
that all such offices should be ap
polntive, and that it is ridiculous
that the supreme court judgeships OF
many states should be a%ppointiye
while such inferior county and munic
ipal offices are elective. Instead of
being a step 10 the direction of re
form the multiplication of appointive
offices would appear to be a move 10
the direction of spoils, bOssism and
grating. And instead Of the COM
parison between supreme court
justiceships and minor county offices
being an argument in favor Of
Jerome's contention, it is an argu-
ment against it. Scalawags a be
and are often appointed to merely
administrative offices but it is simply
impossible without infinite scandal to
appoint any but a great lawyer to a
high position requiring special profes.
sional qualifications which local bosses
and ward politicians never possess.
The necessary special training guards
these appolntiVe offices against the
unfit, but no such training is required
for the offices which Jerome would
make appOintive, The ballot reform
suggestion of Mr.. Folk is equally bad
ia that 1t would inconvenience nine
tenths Of the voters for the conven-
fence of one.tenth. Nine-tenths of
the people Of Missouri vote straight
party tickets, and the form OF ballot
was devised for their convenience and
not for the purpose Of confusing voters
and compelling them to vote straight
tickets for fear of invGlidating the
whole. There is not the slightest
difficulty about substituting one
name for another In the Missouri
form Of ballot. Ordi arily the voter
does not want to make more than one
or two substitutioLs when he wants
to make any at all. In 0the last
election in this state the total list Of
names was two hundred and forty.
There were six party tickets and forty
offices to be voted for. According to
the Massachusetts form, last years
ticket in Missouri would have been
headed by the following six names in
the following order: Samuel S. Allen,
Francis D. Atkins, Henry N. Ess,
j. f. GRADER, Lawrence M, Jones,
Robert H. Kern. Doubtless half Of
the readers Of this paper could not
name the democratic and republican
electors ont of this list. An election
law ''reform" in this particular seems
exceedingly frivolous 10 comparison
with a much need law requiring
simultaneousness in primaries and
conventions.
Tho hIstnru Of thnan 4 nnartmnnts