Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-26
THE BRITISH CRISIS
W.-PIuraI Voting.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

LONDON May Ian issue in the
present political struggle in Britain that
would create an enormous amount of in
terest were it not overshadoWe by the
Irish question is that raised by the in
sistence of the liberal government in
passing the plural voting bill over the
veto of the house OF lords.
In this country the possession of the
vote is due to two things-male sex and
the ownership or occupation of property
II follows that if person is a male and
over twenty one years old he may vote
in as many different places as he owns
property uses property.
Under this system a man who lived in
Connecticut had an office in New YORK
and factory in New Jersey would have
a vote in all three states. to say nothing
of the votes he might have in North
Carolina or Florida by virtue of a shoot
ing box fishing camp. In state cleo
tion in Connecticut he might vote in
dozen different towns if he owned prop
erty in as many.
The women who are most clamorous
for suffrage in England-there will be
story about them later on-are not at
war with any feature of this system eN-
cept the sex They are perfectly willing
TO take the franchise on the same condi-
fions that men have ii. although this
would not enfranchise nearly so large
percentage of women as II does men
since so many OF them are not indie
pendent ''occupers' of property.
Other suffrage reformers have urged the
doctrine of ''one man one vote-that is,
that every man
Manhood Suffrape over tventy-one
Has Its Advocates. yots without
any resoect to his relations to property
others have gone farther ana asAiHs
for more even than Mrs. Pankhurst mas
asked for the women. nave dehidnueu
universal adult suffrage.
But at present the only measure 'ia'
has advanced to a practical political
status is the bill to abolish plural voting.
II this plural voting system We're IN
vogue in the United States it might ho'
have so great an influence on poilticS pc
cause il would be impossible Tor the
ulany-powered voter TO cover the great
distances between his various places OF
voting on election day
In Great Britain. however. the distances
are 50 short that one may GO from almost
anv point in the Kingdom TO any o'her
point in twelve hours. Moreover the
elections are not held on one day. but are
scattered over two weeks. In the last
1oI-ped his court at o'clock IN the
afternoon and voted four times before
dinner He cast a total of eleven votes
before the election was over One MAI
a clergyman. who has made n fad OF add
ing to his voting qualification m one
election cast no less than forty dlHefefi
votes in as many different parliamentary
constituencies
Thu. railroads run special trains through
the metropolitan districts for the special
accommodation of voters who are aole 10
vote all around circuit
That the vast majority Of these piura
voters are all members of one party IS
freely admitted by both parties Inc
liberals say that the plural voters are All
tories and that with their abolition the
tory apparent strength in the electorate
viii be greatly diminished. On the other
hand the conservatives say that the Dill
is not a product of any desire TO reform
the franchise. but merely a political trick
of the radicals to disfranchise conserVa-
tive voters that the government may have
better chance of being returned 10
power.
II is to be noted that there is es-
sential difference between these two
views except in the angle of deduction.
The bill is one that is being passed I'M
der the parliament act. That is. it nav
ing been defeated in the house of lords
after il was first passed in 1918. the gov
eminent now proposes to pass II twice
again through the commons. whereupon
il will become law without the assent of
the lords Il has passed the second read
Ing of the second passage. 1t cannot be-
come law before May |. 1918. even un-
der the most favorable circumstances as
the house of lords on no account VIII
consent to ii.