The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1914-07-17

Majority Rule.


? the tyranny and the danger Of nz
4, iority rule IN tnis country. This kind
: Of talk usually comes from the rep
9 res eltztiVes u special interests seek
! ing some advantage through legisla
I ton, or through the administrator
I Of laws already enacted On the
! ether hand, many patriotic. fsr-seeine
men, like President Wilson, Mr.. BIZ.
/ an, Senator Owen. Senator Borah
Theodore Roosevelt and their kind
are WORKING TO get the goTernmen;
close 10 the people, and provide Z
system that will more directly and
quickly register the will Of the ma.
jority.
In many Of the states, direct popu
lar primary laws have been passed
and the national constitution has re
Gently been amended so as TO give
the people q direct vote in the elec.
tion OF United States senators.
II seems 70 the superficial observer
that we have nov in fact, as well as
ir nzmeD government by the major
.ty. But a close inspection will show
that We are still a long way from ii.
| 50 far as national affairs are con
cerned the IS senators and 433 repre-
sentatiyes in congress are the only
ones Of the more than one hundred
thousand federal ofhcer-holders, that
there is even a pretense o. choosing
By popular vote.
But as the national will is very
largely expressed through congress.
If the members Of that body are cho-
sen by the majority, It would probably
satisfy the most ardent advocate OF !
majority rule. But are they chosen |
by the majority? Do our congress
'ienal elections express the free choice |
Of the people? In some Of the states.
aside from the preponderating inllu.
nee which intelligence and experience
always have, and always will exercise,
We have free choice Of the people
an expression of the will of the
majority, as fully as It is practicable
To get in the election OF our con
gress. But in other states, Oklahoma
among them, We are a long way from
popular rnle. 1t looks like our Law
makers, in framing our popular pri
mary law, did all they could to pre-
vent an expression of the will Of the
majority, and TO make 1t possible for
minority to control in state and 10
cal elections.
it is true that every man IS allow
ed to vote, bur IN n,any respects his
vote Is like that o. a Mexican voter
under the Diaz regime. Under the
Mexican dictator, he people ,o:ed for
governors ami cougressme1, hut the
government named the candidates,
and the voter had his choice TO vote
for them or stay away. Under our
primary law, it is possible, and gen.
orally it happens that way, that the
names the candidates, and
the majority Of the voters must vote
for them, or not vote at all.
And this applies to congressman
and senators as well as to the state
and local offices. Take, for instance,
the race for the democratic nomina
ton for governor OF Oklahoma this
year. There are three candidates. to
p hich the choice will be restricted, in
other words, II IS a moral certainty,
hat either Judge Williams, Judge
robertson or Attorney General West
gill be nominated at the primary, but
10 conservative observer will claim
hat either one of them will receive
/. majority Of all the democratic vote.
asst Yet, under our plurality rule
n the primary law. perhaps the mau
'ho receives the nomination will not
ave one-third Of the votes cast. Then
uppose that in the general election.
he democrats cast 60 per cent of the
niire vote, and the republicans the
ther 20 per cent. Here we will have.
opposing the total vote reaches 200.
90, 10000 or less of the democratic
oters not only controlling the other
emocratic votes hut also the SO,OJO
epublican voters in the state.
This may be, in FORM majority rule.
u; in reality It is minority rule OF
he most Objectionable type. It will
e a mere fiction to call this the rue
the majority. Eut how can we rem.
dy this? Perhaps it could be great. -
Z helped by amending the law so that
le successful candidate for the party
shall be required to re.
Five at least a inaiorty of the votes
lst in the primary by members Of
Is own party. This could be arrang-
by requiring, in caSs where there :
ere more than two candidates, End