Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-08-04
c. G. HOAG
On Proportional Representation


PROPORTIONAL representation in it's
L best form makes it easy instead Of diff
cult for the average citizen to control the
c,tv government, according to G. G. I1oag,
general secretary of the Proportional Rep
resentation League.
proportional representation. said Mr.:
Hong, IDEALS only with the selection OF
policy determining or representative bodies.
such as the House of Representatives az
Philadelphia City Council; it does not con-
Germ itself with the election of single
official, such as the Mayor. Proportional
representation elects n body. which; as
whole, is truly representative OF all VINO
vote to elect 1t it gives each party or group
of voters ITS share Of the membership in
accordance with the number OF votes which
it has polled.
Not New Thing
"Proportional representation is by no
means a new thing. 1t is used successfully
in more than dozen countries OF Europe,
in several of the British dominions. In Scot
land (for school boards and In four Amerl-
Calf; West Hartford, Conn, and Ash
tabula. o. Cleveland adopted it for its
Council by popular vote last November, but
the first election will not be held there until
1923.
"Thc most important use. however, of the
proportional system In the Engiish speaking
world was in connection with the recent
elections in the Irish Free state. Having
been used in Ireland since 1920 for local
elections. it was understood and acceptable
70 all sides in South Ireland. And in the
trying conditions of the June elections 1t
proved itself of great value. The Irish
Times comments on the results as follows:
What would have Ia ken place in the
existiny pOlitical conditions of Ireland II
this election had been held in the single.
member areas used In December, 1918?
The Provisional Government
ing In the dark as to what the people OF
Ireland desired. The Pr9P3TtidGnral Sn darenr syssn sn
attempts save those imposed by physical
force to suppress public opinion.
II Adopted in Philadelphia
..\pplied to Philadelphia. proportional
renresentntion would mean the eec, ion OF
IYty Council in probably not more than three
or four large districts. Each district would
elect several members as many, OF course,
as it's populai ion warranted. And in each
district the balloting would be carried out
in such a way that each party or element
Would he sure to elect its fair share of the
d,strict's delegates. If one OF the districts
elected seven, for example a party which
cast barely more than half of the votes
| would elect four mempers, party, which
cast two -sevenths of the votes would elect
| two, and party which cast one-seventh
Of the votes would elect one.
| "It is this last mentioned feature of the
| system which gives 1t its name. But there
;s another feature which is equally impor
tant. I refer TO the opportunity which thu
| best sort of proportional ballot gives thu
vote to express his real will on it, regard
less of whether the candidates he prefer.
| are supposed to have any chance of elec
ton or not and without the least dangc,
| of throwing his vote away.
| Every voter has been confronted will
the dilemma Of: The candidate ! want ha
no chance. Shall ! throw my vote ava,
by casting it for him? Or shall vote fo
the least undesirable of the two who hay
n chance, neither Of whom want?' Unde
the best system of the proportional ballo
this quandary disappears. The voter ca,
vote for the candidate whom he likes best
without regard to anybody's strength o
weakness and be sure that his ballot will
count.
Several Choices Marked
"All that the voter has to do is to mar
not only his first choice, but his second
third, fourth and other choices in thci
order, and the highest choice on his ballo
| which can be made effective will be made 81
when the ballots are counted. The create
| part of the ballots. by the way, helm cleo
the voters very first choice. II IL hi
element which has made some perfectly san
people rather enthusiastic about this metho,
OF balloting. Who, for example? We'll
Stresident Eliot Prime Minister King a
anada, the Earl Of Balfour, II. II. AS