New-York tribune., 1920-07-21
Southern Votes
Their Undue Representation and the
Moral for Republicans

Moral for Republicans
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Your editorial on Republican
delegates from Southern states and
that of this morning on the vote in
those states ought to be read the coun-
try over. You put your finger on very
sore spot in our politics to-day. 1t is
nothing new, and it is the fault of our
party that the wrong exists. For un-
der the Constitution the representation
from states where citizens are not al
lowed to vote should be reduced to
meet the reduction in the voting popu-
lation. We had many opportunities to
correct this wrong. We did not do so
because of the political rottenness in
our own party, outlined in your first
editorial
But when it comes to counting votes
in the Electoral College there is a
wholly different situation. for the votes
from those states all 60 to our oppo-
nents 1t is not question of force
bills or elections under Federal mill
tary supervision which will remedy
this. The reducing of the representa-
tion of one state-let us say South
Carolina-with the perfectly clear un-
derstanding that it would be corrected
when the Election Day wrongs were
corrected, would teach an%instant lesson.
You ask why South Carolina? A few
figures will show. which figures came
from the World Almanac.
Let US compare the 1915 election in
that state and New York 1--WE did not
have woman suffrage in 1870. The fig
ures are:
South neutrality-suspicious. 1,660,-
934; vote, 1896; electoral vote, 9;
vote per elector, 1000; Democratic
vote, 61,S37; Republican, 1868; ratio,
61 to l; ratio per inhabitant, &c to l
for the total vote.
New York-Population, 1O,646,9S9;
vote, 1,706,3O5; electors, 45; vote per
elector, $4,000; Democratic vote, 759,-
1926; Republican, 869,O66; ratio, 76 to
81. Ratio per inhabitant, about 6 per
total vote.
On the South Carolina basis New
York would have had over 200 electoral
votes; vice versa, South Carolina 2, at
the outside. l am only considering
votes. Now, no one can honestly con-
tend that in national election only
one person in twenty-six voted from
choice. There is but one answer to the
figures: A vast quantity of voters
were prevented by law or intimidation
from voting. And yet not one word is
raised against this Infamous condition
"A condition that may cost us this
election, IS it did that of 1916, for it is
not going to be landslide our way.
Permit me to close with a parallel.
In 1897 one small election district in
the then 9th Assembly District of New
York County showed a grossly fraudu-
lent enrolment at the Republican pri-
mary. The Tribune of September and
October, 1897, contains numerous arti-
cles on this matter. A very vigorous
protest to the Republican machine re-
sulting in nothing, an independent
movement was organized, led by the
late B. Aymar Sands, as protest
against the fraud This resulted in the
defeat of the Republican candidates
and the election of the independents
for Assemblyman and Alderman. But
the matter did not stop there. This
bitter fight, arising primarily out of
the fraud in one election district, made
such stir that in 1898 a real primary
law was prepared, drafted largely by
MIR. Elihu Root; it became a statute;
and there was the beginning of COM
plete change in primary contests, which
henceforth were controlled by statutes.
AS contrast with what has taken
place in the South for twenty-five or
thirty, nay, forty, years this fight
shows how different things are here
from what they are in the South. No
Republican or Democratic machine
would dare to have the election returns
in New York or Pennsylvania show any
such results as the Democrats unblush-
lngly produce year after year in South
Carolina. No Assemblyman would dare
turn up in Albany with such a tally
sheet behind him as the Democratic
electors had in 1916 and will have this
year. We may be defeated again and
by closer vote than in 1915. l think
The Tribune should begin to educate
Republicans in this matter. 1t is
very serious one.
AN OLD TRIBUNE READER.
New York, July Is, 1920
Taking 1t Calmly