Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-04-28
Washington
w LETTER
BY H. B. WALKER
Star STAFF Correspondent.
MINORITY IN SADDLE
BY n. 3. WALK
Star Bureau,
Metropolitan National Bank Bldg,

Metropolitan National Bank Bldg,
WASHINGTON, April 20.
Since President Wilson Endorsed the
principle of preferential voting by
putting the stamp of his approval on
the plan for allowing a second choice
vote in the New Jersey primaries, the
question of majority nominations and
elections has received a lot of atten-
ton in all parts of the country.
The splitting up of old party lines
last fall, and the improbability of
soon restoring the old conditions in
which election issues lay wholly be-
tween two great parties, has led to
situation which gives especial force to
the argument for changes in the cleo
ton laws which will require all nom
nations and elections to be by major
ity vote.
Under the system of plurality vot-
ing, when there were only two big
parties. majority elections were the
rule. With the birth of the Progress
sive party and the growth of the So
cialist party. conditions have so
changed that plurality elections have
brought about minority rule.
Outside of the solid South, where
there is only one party, two-thirds of
the members of the present House of
Representatives were elected by less
than a majority of the votes in their
districts Leaving out the eightysix
members from Alabama, Arkansas,
Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Missis-
sippi, North Carolina, South Carolina
and Texas, there are 100 congressional
districts in the United States from
which the complete returns from last
falls elections are printed in the lat
est edition of the congressional direc-
tory.
Majority Returned by Minorities.
Seventy-four of the 100 members of
Congress from these districts received
majority of the votes cast in the
elections. The other 116 represent less
than half of the voters who took
part in the election. In some in
stances, the men who hold the seats
in Congress were the choice of less
than a third of the voters in their
districts.
A comparison of the votes in these
100 districts shows that forty Demo-
Gratis were the choice of a majority of
the voters in their districts, while ia
Democratic congressman were elected
by less than a majority of the voters.
Thirty Republican members had
majority of the votes In their dis
tricts, and thirty-flve Republicans
were chosen by a minority of the
voters, while of the Progressives
whose votes are obtained for compar-
ison, four were the choice of a ma
jority and seven were elected by a
minority of the voters in their dis
tricts.
-Four out of the twelve congressman
from New Jersey received a majority
of the votes in their districts. OF the
five Democratic congressman from
Connecticut, not one was elected by
a majority vote. The State of Ari-
IONA. which has but one congressman,
is represented by a Democratic mem
Der, who polled a little more than a
third of the total vote. The four and
half million votes cast for Roose-
welt and Johnson are represented in
Congress by eighteen Progressive
congressman, while the three million
Republican voters of the country have
126 congressman to represent them,
and the million Socialists have no
representation.
Jersey Illustrates the Point.
The manner in which the plurality
system is producing minority rule UNI
der present political conditions is well
shown by existing conditions in New
Jersey. Here are the returns from
the congressional elections in that
State last fall, showing the votes by
which sitting members were elected,
In comparison with the total vote
cast in opposition to them, for other
candidates: