The Washington herald., 1917-12-31

The campaign for the vote In the
District appears to have Jagged con-
siderably since Commissioner Gardi-
ner indicated that he had strong OBJ
jections to the grant.
There are stories at the Capitol
that the effort will not find even gen.
eral Endorsement in the District. so
tits said. and many OF the members
who first felt like standing for such
legislation now appear to have lost
their initial enthusiasm. They argue
that il tho District itself is not will
ing to make a strong bid for its
right. Congress will not furnish both
the Inspiration and the consumma-
ton of the move.
In other words. II the people Of the
District want to impress Congress
with their earnestness in the matter
immediate steps should be taken look
ing to appearing before Congressional
committees and TO doing much per-
sOnal work with the members individ-
ually.
The suggestion has been made by
one of the District officials that the
Chamber Of Commerce should hold a
joint meeting with the District COM
mittees of both House and Senate
and discuss the matter from all
angles. Both friends and foes OF the
proposal. this man thinks. should
have their inning at this meeting.
Then It can be told. with some rea-
sonable degree Of accuracy. just what
the future holds for the proposal. The
people OF the District can tell whether
they have a fighting chance or they
can likely forecast. as one result OF
such a meeting. whether defeat would
greet their efforts to push The vote
bill through Congress.
Such q meeting would. therefore.
serve a useful purpose-along with
the personal. individual. work which
members could do before and after
It 1t would enable the people
here to discover whether they have
the least chance in the world of
wilmington whether all their ef-
forts would be thrown to the four
Congressional winds. 1t should be
held and held early. II there is a
chance Of fighting the measure
through-over the opposition of
Commissioner Gardiner and others
the people here should avail
themselves of it.
And IL there appears to be no
chance the local workers can find
the opposition and undertake at
once, in an intelligent way, to
bring about the weakening of this
opposition.
The vote for the District is right
but the people here must believe
in It and work for 1t with all their
might before 1t will be forthcom-
ing. It will have to be won by a
hard fight. There Ia no indication
that 1t will be handed to US on a
silver platter.
The Press Club. at its annual cleo
tions, appears to have solved one of
the difficulties which has crept into
the commission form of government
for cities and counties.
The club specifically prohibits ac-
cumulative voting. Ballots upon which
II Is attempted are. thrown out, so
far as they have to do with the Of
fees upon which this is attempted.
Accumulative voting has been prac-
ticed in most Of the communities Of
the country for years. And despite
the fact that II Is unfair. many men
have been elevated to Office, only be-
cause such a practice was allowable
under the law. and because their
friends took advantage of 1t to aid
them in attaining their ambitions.
When electors are given an oppor-
tunity to vote for several officials
under one ONCE division they should
vote for all. II they are expected
to vote for three members they should
be made to vote for three members.
1t is not fair 70 the other candidates
to vote for one member. nor Is 1t
fair to the other electors who ex-
press themselves upon all of the can
didates for which the electors are ex-
pected to vote.
This Press Club principle worked
into the election laws of all Of the
States Of the Union would bring about
vastly different results in many
cases. than have been possible under
the present system. There is something
SO eminently fair in the rule that
It is surprising 1t has not been
recognized as general. substantial
principle OF elections long before this.