Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-23

machinery used by the peasants IN thtii
communes and by the municipalities ana
provinces In electinR their local councils
and officials has been utilized. and that IN
wolves practically universal suffrage. Every
citizen is allowed to vote at his perma,
nent residence. except officers and enlisted
men of the army and navy. Universal SUI
frage has prevailed In local elections Tor
many years. and the result has been satis-
factory Voters are registered very much
as they are in the United States In ST
Petersburg for example. the registry lists
contain about 10000 names out OF popu-
lation OF 10000. and there Is similar
proportion in other cities
The fifty provinces in Russia proper are
divided into districts tOr governments, as
they are called similar to our congressional
or assembly districts, according to Dopula-
each canton into communes, and each COM
mune into groups of ten families each,
which is the unit of the Russian suffrage
system. The heads of each group OF ten
families elect a representative to the
'.voioist'' cantonal assembly, in which
a score or more Of communes are repre-
scented. Each canton Is entitled to two dele
gates in the district assembly. which In
turn elects two members of the provincial
congress to represent the peasant interests
In what we would consider a state legisla-
ture. The provincial congress makes the
local laws
The Land Owners.
The land owners are a separate class and
are represented in the provincial congress
by delegates. more or less In number. ac-
cording to the cultivated land A farmer
who cultivates 100 acres. approximately
(the minimum varies In different parts OF
the empire). is entitled to one vote for MEM
bers Of the congress- Small farmers who
do not cultivate as much land can club to-
gether until they get enough to qualify one
OF their number as a voter. Thus, while 1t
may be necessary for eight, ten or perhaps
kI>2lx In
order to vote for member of the state
legislature, the great landlords, who possess
hundreds of thousands OF acres, have nc
greater influence. They can have only one
vote, no matter how large their estate.
Thus in her provincial government Russia
is more democratic than Germany.
For the regulation of the franchise ting
people of Germany are divided into three
classes, and each class Is entitled to elect
one-third Of the members of the state legis-
latures, the county commissioners or the
city councils-to use our names OF sucn
bodies instead of theirs. The first class Is
composed OF a small group of rich men,
who pay one-third of the taxes; the second
class is group of larger manufacturers,
merchants and capitalists, who pay the
second and third of the taxes; while the
third class represents the rest Of mankind
Each of these classes has equal representa-
ton. and exercises equal influence In the
enactment of laws and In their enforcement.
That Is, five or six heavy capitalists have
as much to say about the government of
their state, county and city as a quarter
of a million small taxpayers. In Russia.
however. the division Of power is more
democratic, and among the land owners,
/ have said anybody who farms 100
acres Is entitled to vote.
The inha bitants of small cities elect del
egates to the provincial congress, just as
they do the members of their municipal
couQcdls-the same in st. Petersburg.
Provision Is made for the representation
of mechanics, artisans and other working
men, The employees of all factories having
fifty or more names on their regular pay
roll are put into class by themselves. and
each fifty are entitled to vote for MEM
Der of the provincial congress. Employees In
factories which do not have fifty regular
hands vote with the rest of the public.
Thus the provincial congress Is made up
of representatives of the municipalities, the
factory hands, the peasants OF the COM
mune and the landlords, including the
princes and mobiles, and they are presided
over by the marshal of the nobility who
Is sort of inspector general and mouth
piece of the mobiles of his province and is
chosen by them. Each province Is entitled
to Its quota of members of the douma-
from six to Notwithstanding to popula-
ton, and they are elected by the provincial
congress.
To Represent the Peasants.
The first thing the congress does is to
elect by secret ballot one genuine peasant
as the representative of his class in$ the
douma, because the peasants constitute 80
per cent of the total population. In thirty
two of the fifty provinces they have major
tiles in the provincial congresses. When
the peasant member Is chosen the congress
proceeds to vote for candidates for the re-
mainder of the delegation, as many they
happen to be, be they peasants or mobiles.
Thus far only one election has been held.
and II was evidently conducted with great
fairness and impartiality; because. notwith-
standing the dnexperience and ignorance or
the peasants, the latter have secured some
thing like $50 members of the douma.
AS long as the peasants have ma
jority In thirty-two of the provincial con-
crosses they could practically control the
douma by combining with the labor men,
bers from the cities. but heretofore. In local
elections, their respect for the nobility and
their landlords has invariably prompted
them to waive their superior electoral
strength and divide even.
Certain large cities like st. Petersburg
and Moscow have their own direct repre-
sentattves in the douma without regard to
the provinces in which they are located
the number being based upon population.
ST. Petersburg, which Is entitled to six rep
resentatives, is divided into twelve wards
for the election of the common council. and
the same divisions were adopted for the
douma elections. Polling places were open
from o am to o pm, and about 100000
qualified voters cast ballots for five dele
gates from each of the municipal districts
to a general city convention. Each man
voted for five different candidates; no one
is allowed to cast more than one vote for
the same man. The five candidates receiy-
Ing the highest number OF votes were de-
clared elected, making sixty members of
the convention. To these were added twen-
ty-four delegates elected by workmen in
factories employing more than fifty men.
These eighty-four delegates met In con-
vention and elected six representatives for
the city of st. Petersburg in the douma,
IAIa tincr fnr q
didates, and the six candidates having the
highest number of votes were declared
elected.
hope l. have made the process plain, for
that is the way the first parliament In Rus
STA was chosen, and Is the beginning of
new historical epoch. After thousand
years of despotism, a representative gov
eminent has been conceded, and the car
has relinquished much larger share of au-
thority than is generally supposed.
LAND OPEN TO SETTLERS.