Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1926-11-18
A LEGISLATURES WITHOUT DESIG-
NATION OF PARTY

A>hlIoA> VI
In a little book on "The Min
nesota Legislature of 1925" writ
ten by A. w. Rankin, and spon-
sored-an distributed by the Vot-
ers' Research League of Minnea-
polls, there are, among other ar
ticles, the one under the above
caption concerning no-party
legislature. This article COIN
cides very much with the Ameri-
cans ideas of legislature, the -
wisdom of keeping it without
party designation. We recon-
mend this article to our readers
for their close perusal and con-
sideration. 1t follows:
Since 1913 Minnesota has had a
legislature without designation of
party. At that time the House voted
to make county officers non-partisan.
The bill went to the Senate and, in
order to defeat the measure, the SEN
ate voted to include the legislature in
the non-party group, and then passed
it was confidently expected that it
would there fail of passage but the
contrary happened. No other state
in the union has such law.
That successive legislatures since.
1913 have improved in quality is
matter of common knowledge. Mem
bers of the legislature of 1925 were
less subject to improper influences
than were those of 1913 or before.
How much of this improvement has
been due to the non-party situation
is not certain. So far as the state
administration is concerned, the 18th
amendment doubtless removed sources
of bribery and corruption.
Matters of state Legislative concern
have little to do with partisan poll
tics. Members of the 1913 legisla-
ture had this in mind in enacting the
law. 1t was an attempt to provide
situation where bills would be con-.
sidered on their merits and not from
the view of advantage to any political
party. 1t was designed to leave men
free to- exercise their best judgment
untrammeled by party allegiance.
Criticism of the law has been re-
Gently based on the need of a direct
= ing power. 1t has been asserted that
legislatures have become disorganized
and lacking in leadership. If COM,
parison be made of the efficiency of
legislatures since 1913 with that of
those before no charge of deteriora-
ton can be substantiated. There is no
reason why professional politicians
brought to the surface by the exigen-
cies of national politics should control
the sober thinking of the citizenship.
on questions purely local.
If political partisanship were sue
.ceeding in bringing out anywhere
near a complete vote of the electorate,
political bosses might have an argu-
ment in favor of repeating the nom
party law But every one knows that
this is not the case. People, right
or wrong, are suspicious of the value
of voting exactly because of their be-
lief that partisanship is injurious to
the cause of progress. Political bos-
es may shout their shibboleths either
in the tongue of Republicanism, De-
mocracy, or what not, but the people
are unmoved. The Outs throng the
paths leading to the haunts of the
ms but the People go about their
daily tasks unmoved. The appeal
to vote straight is an appeal to ig-
norance and the abrogation of the
rights of citizenship.
AS a matter of fact there were
parties in the legislature of 1925.
But the partisans for bad laws were
not able to hide behind the shield
of Republicanism, Democracy OF
Farmer-Labor. The divisions were
real and not based on extraneous is
sues. Crimes of legislation are Of
ten the result of party allegiance. :
1t is also not true that there were
no leaders in the legislature. There
were leaders both good and bad and
If any distinction can be made, the
bad leaders were political leaders
This matter of leadership may easily
be overdone. FOLLOW your, leader
is a game for innocent children
What legislatures need is man indie
pendent of party whip or of selfish
interests.
Coming to the election of represen-
tatives the case is even more against
party domination. The man or wom-
an who is to be the personal speaker
for a community in state legislature
should be free absolutely from party