Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-09

| voter to a knowledge of existing evil
conditions and to fixed determination
70 do his part as citizen armed With the
| ballot to put an end to these evils. then
! by all means let us have the discussion
| and the experiment. for the vital neces-
| sity of the situation viii be met when the
| people aroused. irrespective of the
| specific results i'm a particular community
| Of the machinery of the new system.
/ The spirit of these devices is in line
! with the tendencies of development OF
/ public sentiment in the United States
! toward the more direct participation OF
1 the people In government Two move
ments among the people are steadily in
| evidence in the United States: % the
! Strengthening of the national idea, the
| national spirit. the national government
! with or without a diminuton of the
| power of the state) and Gu enlargement
of direct participation of the people in
| nation. spelled with a big y. has been
effected especially through the civil war
| and the Spanish American war, and is
| obvious and universally recognized. So
| also the development of direct participa
| ton and control of the people in govern
ment. In the beginning the electoral col
| leSe i'm conformity with the intent of
| the Constitution makers. selected the
| President of the United States in ac-
cordance with the independent Judgment
| of it's members. 1t soon came about,
| however that without any change in the
| Constitution the President was elected
! practically by the direct vote of the peo-
pie and the electoral college became
mere form. The movement to elect Sena-
tors by direct vote instead of through
/ the Legislature by amendment of the Con-
stitution has shown itself dominating and
| irresistible. In the states a great variety
of devices of more or less value have
| been used to ascertain more quickly and
| accurately the peoples will and to give it
fuller effect Direct nominating prima
ries, proportional minority representa-
ton. initiative referendum and recall
are all the outcroppings OF strong and
wholesome public sentiment and popular
tendency.
Every thoughtful discussion of the
value and limitations of the initiative,
referendum and recall leads up to the
conclusion that the primary and vital
fault of our political system is with the
non voting public. The neglect of civic
obligations. the failure or refusal to exer
else the privilege or duty of voting at the
primaries and elections is the notable evil
of the time. The vital need is Cd to
make of the voters wiser and better
voters and ~ to make the wise and good
voters vote.
General Apathy's Non-Voting Army.
The Indifference and apathy of Ameri-
can voters in response to the call to the
performance of civic duties are startling
elections, in nominating primaries, new
style as we'll as old. and in all ballotings
at the polls. both state and national.
The figures concerning the stay-at-home
vote in the election of last November
are appalling in their significance.
In the calculations before the recent
presidential election, based on the 1905
percentage of voters to population, and
on the census office estimates OF increases
in population, it was figured that IL 1000.
600 votes would be cast In 1903 the votes
cast numbered 14SSS. 442. Between
been given to $4,000 women in California
and Washington, 10000 males of voting
age had been admitted to statehood in
New Mexico and Arizona. and over two
millions of voters had been added to the
lists of the country at large. Allowing
for the usual shrinkages a total esti-
mate of seventeen million votes was made
for 1912 Instead Of seventeen millions a
total vote of 1920. 1U3 was cast in 1912
an increase of only 1922 over 1908, a
| smaller increase than the new woman
voters in California and Washington and
| the male voters in the new states of
| existent in 1908. Thus there were at
least two million more stay -at-home
voters in 1912 than in 1908 In the most
important states of the Union, though
population largely increased, votes de-
creased.
There was a smaller popular vote cast
in 1912 than in 1908 in the following states:
Arkansas. Georgia. Illinois about 5000
less. Indiana 66.652 less) Iowa lover
5000 Less. Kansas lover 10000 Iess), Ken
lucky (about $1,000 less). Maryland tower
6.Ou less). Mississippi. Missouri tabout
1. 900 less). Nebraska tabOut 5000 lesS),
Nevada, New Hampshire. New Jersey
lover 3,40O less). New York C5O367 Less.
homa 47,242 less), Pennsylvania al, 600
less). South Carolina. Tennessee about
10000 less. Virginia and Wisconsin (57.
l54 less)-twentythree in all.
Thus. emitting Arizona and New Mexico.
which We're not in existence in 1908 and
North Dakota. which is given the same
figures in both years. twenty-five states
have increased in popular vote and TWEEN
ty-three decreased, Notwithstanding large
increases in the total and in the voting
population in the four years.
The states which decreased i'm votes
east We're thus the largest and most po-
litically important In the Union The
gains in popular vote We're largely in
southern states and the Pacific slope and
included few of the large and politically
important states.
According to census office estimates
there were last year %, 100000 men land
women in woman suffrage states) of
voting age. About IL per cent of these
are TO be deducted for failure to receive
the proper naturalization papers. Then
tens and hundreds of thousands are
paupers criminals: or because they
live in the District OF Columbia: or be-
cause they are negroes and live In the
south: or because they cannot meet the
educational tests required in many states:
or because they are Indians, Mongolians
or have failed to pay their poll tax. or
have failed or have been unable to regis
ter voters.
After making liberal allowances for all
these d.squalfications there remained. it
is estimated. about 22Goo.UO0 fully quail
fed voters i'm the United States in 1912.
1t was predicted on the precedents of
past abstentions that about 1000, eco
of this number would deliberately
absent themselves from the polls; in fact
nearly 100000 voluntarily stayed away.
More voters voted for no one than
voted for Wilson and elected him Presi-
dent. The political army of General
Apathy was 70 per cent larger than the
army of Col. Roosevelt General Apathy
representing and inspiring the stay-at-
home voters-has generally run third i'm
the Presidential race but last year, as
we have seen, he held nearly 2HOOn
more voters than had been expected and
with total approximatng 100000
| placed himself at the very head of the
| poll