The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1913-01-09


The county of Los Angeles, Cal, is
about to experiment with the short
ballot, at least with a ballot good
deal shorter than the one now in use.
Under the provisions of bill which
it is expected will be authorized by
the legislature it is proposed to ar
range the method of selecting county
officials in such manner that not
more than two or three will be elected
at any one time, instead of the thir-
teen or more that are now elected at
once. Twenty-Five Offices that are
now elective will become appointive.
The appointive power will be vested
in a board of supervisors. and their
selections will be made from a list
Of persons who have qualified under
civil service rules. Provisions are al
so made for the removal of officials.
All of this is in the interest of simpli.
fication, which means that it is in the
interest of intelligent self government.
Self government does not necessar-
lily mean the election by popular vote
Of anybody in particular 1t does
mean the retaining in the hands Of
the people the real effective power
of government in such form that it
can be actually and promptly exercis-
ed. Sometimes that means the very
opposite of the direct election of off.
Gals.
There are Offices in connection with
every government, state, national and
local, clerical in their nature, so that
the public takes no special interest in
them, or because of their nature tech
nical and necessarily removed from
public observation and existing apart
from public interest. The government
of the United States is so organized
that with all its thousands of en-
ployes, with the tremendous interests
entrusted to it, with the multifarious
activities in which it engages, the in
dividual citizen, no matter where he
lives, votes directly for three persons,
in few special cases for four. and
in some cases more or less directly
for fifth. He votes for president
and vice president, and for a member
of congress from his district. If the
state is entitled to congressman at
large he votes for that person, and
through the primary election laws of
some states he may vote indirectly for
senator. Before long he will vote reg
ularly and directly for senator, under
the amendment which is now in pro-
cess of radificat ton. In other words he
aids directly in the selection of the
men who make the laws, and in the
one man to whom has been entrusted
the responsibility of executing them.
He does not vote for a secretary of
the treasury, or a secretary of war
or of the navy, for pure food COM
missioner or commissioner of pub.
lie lands. And, while there are mis-.
takes made and defects to be remedied
he gets a lot better government than
he would if at every national election
he were required to wrestle with
ballot containing score or a hundred
names of men Of whom he never
heard and about whom he cares not
jot, and of Offices concerning whose
duties he has scarcely conception
Congress is responsible for the laws
which it passes, and if the citizen does
not like the record which his mem.
Der makes he has his remedy in his
own hands. The president is res on-
sible for the administration of the
laws, and if he appoints corrupt or
incapable men he is held, and rightly
held responsible.
The people of almost every state,
in almost every election, elect to quite
important offices men whom no gov
ernor would dare appoint. They
elect these men because they do not
know them, and know little about the
duties which they are expected to per.
form. The names are found on the
ballot, and, as a matter of form votes
are cast for the men. All over the
country there is going on revolt
against this condition. There is grow.
ing the demand, of which the ap.
preaching action in California is an
illustration, that elective Offices be