Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1915-09-02
MORE ABOUT THAT PROPERTY
QUALIFICATION.


Recently The Mineral Point Demo
crat called attention to the fact that one
of the first fruits of reaction in Wiscon
sin is law providing a property quail
fication for membership in county
boards of supervisors. The editor of
The Chippewa Falls Independent, a
true Democrat, saw the point, and gave
the matter greater publicity And now
comes The Madison Democrat and says:
''And, pray, why should there not be prop
erty qualification for membership on boards
of supervisors? If the rule were general
public expenditures probably would be more
carefully made. The man without property
should have no part in spending taxpayers
money"
It is preposterous for a newspaper
calling itself Democratic to come out
thus brazenly in defence of property
qualification for holding Office. If
there is no reason why there should
not be property qualification for office
holding, it follows as night follows day,
that there is no reason why there
should not be a property qualification
for casting the ballot. And too, if
man because of small property is al
lowed one vote, then a man of more
property ought to be allowed more
votes And there you have the whole
hateful three class system, or some
other system equally as bad, or worse
There is nothing right or sensible in
the whole proposition. In colonial
days, with a property qualification,
man had voted for several years, until
one day his property was reduced by
the death of a donkey, and then the
man was denied the franchise. And
so, it appeared that it was the donkey
that had been voting all the time, and
not the man.
The enactment of property qualifi
cation is a fragrant violation of the
spirit of present day democracy; and it
ought not to be tolerated in Wisconsin.
Those who stand for it have no right to
complain when they are called Tories.
1t ought to prove to the Philip ad
ministration in 1916 what the Bennett
law proved to the Hoard administration
in 1890.
If Editor Brandenburg of The Madi
son Democrat could only write into the
next Republican state platform his bald
undemocratic proposition as expressed
in the paragraph quoted above, then
the issue could be squarely joined; and
the result would show whether Wis
consin is at heart Democrat Or Tory.
Why should there not be a property
qualification for office? Because it is
contrary to the true spirit of represen
tative government Manhood, and not
the pocketbook, should cast the ballot
and make the laws. If a man cannot
accept this proposition without mental
reservation, If he does not stand un-
compromising for popular sovereign
ty,-he has no right in a party which
honors Jackson, and both honors and
follows Wilson.
A property qualification will not be
allowed to stand on the statute books of
the state unless the forces which stand
for less democracy are stronger than
those who stand for more democracy.
Here is presented matter which ought
to be thoroughly discussed throughout
Wisconsin from now until the next
matter sharply to public attention if
Mr.. Brandenburg would expound his
proposition more fully at some public
or semi-public gathering, = before the
Saturday lunch club of Madison, for
instance.
Why should there not be property
qualification for membership on boards
of supervisors? Because this is the
twentieth century in free America );
because there really is some human
progress; and because we use and know
some of the freedom our fathers won
for us long ago.
Wisconsin must not fall in behind
Rhode Island. 1t is a time for forward
looking men to stand over against
backward looking men. A property
qualification is a good line of demar-
cation between Tories and Democrats.