The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-26
RUSSIAN ELECTION
SYSTEM WILL BE COMPLfCATEn
 AND UNsATIsFACToRY.
Inadequacy of Election Laws Is Thought to Be Due to Haste in Which
 They Were Pre- pared.

sia's first parliament-bear only slight resemblance to elections in the United States
 The machinery of elections Is both complicated and confusing and the lack of political organization on the part ot the innumerable parties in the field serves to increase the uncertainty ot the results For the douma or lower chamber practically the old machinery employed by peasants on their com munes and villages for the regulation of petty questions of self government Is employed and in the cities tue ma-. chinery for the election of doumas or town councils is used
 The members of the imperial douma are elected by provincial congresses composed of representatives of four classes. the peasants. the workmen.. the land owners and city population as a class. Certain of the larger citieS, however, like St. Petersburg, Moscow and Odessa elect certain number of representatives irrespective of the provinces in which they are located. The number of such city representa- tives Is based on aggregate population For instance, St. Petersburg elects siy men to the douma and the procedure is as follows.
 The city is divided into twelve dis trcts identical with the districts form ed :or the election of members of the city council In each of these districts polling place is opened under the supervision of president and commits sion appointed by the municipality and hore the qualified city voters on d specified day. from g o'clock in the morning until 9 o'clock at night, have the privilege of voting for delegates who are to be chosen from each dis trict to the city congress The dele- gates or "viborschiki," as they are called, must be qualified electors and residents of the district. The parties, of course, have tickets in the field. but the electors can vote for any elector resident of his district without regard to tickets if he chooses. Without re- gard to whether they secure ma5ori- ty of the votes actually cast, the hve electors receiving the highest number of votes become the viborschiki Of the district. The qualification of the voters in the cities is very low. including prac- tically all except the floating popula- ton. A special provision Is made Tor the workmen in factories and mills,
 The workIen of each factory em- ploying over fifty men choose, accord ing to their members. delegates to the City Congress in the case of St. Pe- tersburg, twenty-four The City Con- gress thus made up is presided over
 
 its members the representatives to the Douma. The balloting is conducted by balls The name of the qualified cam dltlates, l. e., member of the Congress, are read and after each name Is pro nounced, each delegate deposits either 6 black or white ball, but for the whole series each delegate has the privilege of casting only six affirmative votes.
 The process is long and tedious, but is supposed to give every candidate an equal chance. The members from the provinces are also elected in the last instance by somewhat similar gen. eral congress of delegates representing the provincial classes. The steps and methods Of election, however, are very different, especially in regard to the peasant class. The peasants comprise almost so per cent. of the total popu- latiun of the empire and in thirty-two of the fifty provinces are assigned majority, of the delegates to the pro- vincial congresses. The peasant or moujih elections begin with the com nnune or village unit, the heads of ev- cry ten families women being allow ed to vote where the husband is dead selecting one of their number to rep resent them at the volost or cantonal meeting This first step is very prim- tive and follows the ancient traditions of village communal life in Russia, where the "desiatnik" or tenth man" is usually called upon to exercise his mission being regarded rather in the nature of a duty than privilege and honor.
 The real politics begin with the volosta assembly. perhaps represent ing a score of communes, which chooses two representatives each to the as- sembly of the district, each province being divided up into number of districts, each a replica on small scale of the provinces or govern ments" as they usually are called in Russia, of which they form a. part These districts assemblies choose from a list of candidates of their own num- Der who have right to be ele"ted by the balls system, the delegates to the provincial congress. Three other classes are represented in this pro vincial congress, the land owners. the inhabitants of cities which do not elect special representatives to the douma and the workmen of factories which are numerous enough to entitle them to special representatives.
 The land owners are divided into two classes, those possessing land in excess of the amount required to qualify for a vote and the smaller holders of land who through combina- tion among themselves, have together enough to qualify. The basis, con- sequently, is land holding.
 The amount of land required, how ever, varies according to the quality of the land. There are only two de- grees in the elections of the land own CTS They assemble by districts and choose delegates direct to the provin- cial Congress, the number being ap- portioned in each case. In the cities the inhabitants and the workmen elect in the same fashion to the provincial Congress, that they do in excepted cities like St. Petersburg, as described above. The procedure in the ,,rovin- Sial Congress, which is presided over by the marshal of nobility, Is similar to that in the city Congress except that before proceeding to the election of the number If representatives to the dou ma, to which the province is entitled, l 1t is incumbent upon the Congress to choose first a representative of the peasant class. After that Is accom- plished, the Congress proceedings bal lotinr by A1lls to select the other Perhaps it should be specifically stated, so far as the land owners are concerned, that although it may be necessary for half dozen small farmers to pool their issues to secure vote on the land basis, the l possession of an amount of land great ly in excess of the requirement does not entitle the large land owners to l more than one vote
 Special regulations apply to Poland l the Caucasus and other outlying re-