The Washington times., 1923-04-12
QUAR- TERS
OPENED
HERE
Campaign of Education Will
Start With High School
Boys and Girls.
By GEORGE FRANKLIN.

BY GEORGE FRANKLIN.
Bringing out the Sd per cent
lof American voters who stay at
home on election day while the
other as per cent attend to the
election of all public officials,
from Presidents to constables, is
The announced purpose of the
Attest organization to open ma
ional headquarters in Washing
on.
Adams Heads Federation.
The organization is known as
ae National Federation of Uncle
ANS Voters, with headquarters
1896 New York avenue north
est. Samuel Adams, president o.
he American Agricultural Editors
ssociation. is director Of the fedora
lon. Ira Nelson Morris, former
minister to Sweden, is president,
md among the other officers are
Tames w. Good, former Congress
man from Iowa, vice president;
Mary Lee Adams, of Chicago, vice
president, and head of the women's
ection. and G. B. Wayland, or
irginia, secretary.
Financing OF the federation, ac-
ording to Director Adams, has been
rranged, a fund of 100000 being
h deposit in Washington and Vir-
lnia banks.
In developing the organization an
dvisory board of 100 men and
Fomen will be formed. This will in
Jude, according to the plan, the
Governors of the forty-eight States. .
AS formulated the plan for stimu-
ating voting interest is unique.
Fundamentally 1t rests on a revival
|bf the old town meeting" system
in vogue in colonial times when the
citizens in each locality met to dis
cuss questions of public interest.
In this sense it formulates a series
of small forums the underlying unit
being the local neighborhood or
ganization. From such a base the
other units progress collectively up
wards through county organizations,
Congressional district organizations
to the State organization, which at
with the major units, will
comprise the national federation.
Purposes of Federation.
In explaining the purpose of the
Director Adams said:
ut is not partisan organization,
although 1t necessarily is a political
The aim is to awaken
/ wider interest in local, county.
State, national and international
questions which must be settled by
he ballot.
I'm the last Presidential election
he issue was decided by a vote rep
only as per cent of the
voters. In many State and county
SECTIONS the average vote frequently
tails even lower. In city elections
what might be properly likened to
guard will frequently ef-
Iect the election of city officials.
Compare such a showing with
the vote cast in elections in Eng
and and Germany. In England 80
per cent of the vote is polled reg
ularly while in Germany the aver
age approximates SO per cent. In
each of these countries interest is
stimulated by local activities SINH
ar to that proposed by us.
Here, however, it is proposed
10 convert such activities into edu-
factors of a non-partisan
character and by a system resulting
In the revival OF the weekly town
educate the voters. In a
sense the system is not unlike that
employed by Chatauqua while it
also resembles in a way Rotary
organization. -
Create Personal Interest.
by stimulating personal interest
through the arrangement of fixed
affording opportunity to
study the larger issues pro and
con. and taking advantage Of it to
carry the work down to local issues,
i 10 believed a more enlightened
electorate will be developed and
that within a comparatively short
time our elections will come to ex-
press an intelligent consideration
Of issues and candidates.
"A review of our history shows
that as a nation we came into
Existence largely as the result of
he New England town meeting.
While conditions have changed
since then there is nothing to sug
gest that the method formerly prac.
ffpNd cannot he used IN adx,on&o.~