Evening star., 1924-07-20
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

n EARLY one-half of the people
of the United States fail to
Y exercise their greatest privi-
lege and perform their chief
duty as American citizens by neglect
ing to vote. OF course, special alb
solution must be given to the resi-
dents of the National Capital, the one
area under the Stars and Stripes
where men and women are constitu-
tionally prohibited from exercising
the franchise
The largest vote ever cast for Pres
ident was in 1920 The total vote
for all presidential candidates that
Year was 26.713.S32 This was 5000,
600 more votes than were cast in
1915 and 100000 more than in 1912.
Yet for every 100 votes cast for Pres
ident in 1920 there were 96 stay
at-homes or absentees. The total
stay-at-home vote reached the amaz-
ing aggregate of 25, 5,705.063.
This stay-at- home total of more
than 25.000.000 is arrived at after de-
Quoting s,467,625 disqualified citizens
OF Il years and over. Those
aliens or unnaturalized foreign-borns
and more than 100000 initerate
citizens, white and colored, disfran-
chised under the election laws of
twelve Southern States.
The stay-at- home vote is not char
acteristic of any particular section,
but is more or less common to every
section-North and South, East and
West
Best Efficiency Record.
The highest vote efficiency percent
age shown by any State in 1920, ac-
cording to a careful study made by
Simon Michelet, a Washington attor-
ney, in the vote cast for President was
in Kentucky where there were only
"A stayat homes or absentees for each
100 votes registered at the polls.
Doubtless the closeness of the Ken
lucky contest, where Cox beat Hard
ing by only 4,017, caused both sides
to make strenuous exertions to get
out the Stay-athome voters. The
second best record was made by Della =
ware, where there were 33 stay
at-homes per 100 votes cast. In
diana, the old fighting ground of
the political parties and usually de-
scribed as a doubtful State came
third with 35 stay-at-homes for each
100 ballots cast.
The twelve States of the upper
Mississippi Valley. known as the
Middle West" make by all odds the
best showing for any geographical
n
Central group-Ohio. Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan and Wisconsin-show IS
stay-at-homes per 100 votes, as
compared with 81 stay -at-homes per
100 VOTES cast by the three Middle
Atlantic States-New York, New Jer-
sey and Pennsylvania.
The best showing is made by the
West North Central group-Minnesota,
Iowa, Missouri, North and South Da-
kota- Nebraska and kansas-59 stay-at-
homes per 100 as compared with 81 per
100 in New England.
The worst showing of any large State
is made in Pennsylvania, which cast
1S51,24 votes for President in 1920,
while 2,479,100 voters failed to go to
the polls. For every 100 votes cast there
were 1873 stay-at-homes or abSenteeS.
PENNSYLVANIA did not compare in voting
efficiency with the Southern State of
North Carolina Although the latter has
342,756 colored citizens of voting age
and 204,492 disqualified illiterates, II
had only Sc stay-at-homes per 100 votes
against 1873 for Pennsylvania. The fact
that Pennsylvania has always gone
strongly Republican in presidential cleo
tions since the Civil War, except in
1912. when it went to Roosevelt, pro-
gressive, doubtless accounts for the
failure of the State to get out its full
vote.
Vermont Also Negligent.
A similar condition prevails in YER
mont. another "rock-ribbed Republican
State. which stands second to Pennsyi-
vania in the percentage of the stay-at-
homes. 120 for every 100 votes cast in
1920 for President. This is larger per-
centage than that of Arizona, where
vast distances and large transient