Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-03
DECLINE IN VOTE
TOTAL DEPL0RED
National Civic Federation,
After Survey, Stresses
Need for Remedies.
~ the Associated Press.

NEW YORK, January 3.-Apathetic
voters cannot be 'hurrahed" to the
polls, according to an unpleasant
conclusion" reached by the National
Civic Federation, which made diljgent
comparison efforts in the recent cleo
ton to get out a heavy vote. In the
announcement made yesterday failure
te equal the votes in the off-year cleo
rion of 1922 is reported in "a States,
While in 4 States the votes fell far
behind the 1924 presidential year
figures.
p This poor showing is despite the
fact that the Civic Federation had the
cooperation sof the American Legion,
the General Federation of Women'S
Clubs, National League of Women
Voters, American Federation of Labor
the United States Chamber of Com
n1erce, Daughters of the American
Revolution, National Education Assoc
citation, Women's Department of the
National Civic Federation, National
Federation of Business and Profess
sional Women's Clubs. International
Kiwanis and Lions Clubs, National
Grange, National Fraternal Congress
and United States Junior Chamber of
Commerce.
The National Association of Manu-
facturers conducted vigorous ma
tional get-out-the-vote campaign of its
own and the American Legion had
meetings to stimulate voting in more
than 1000 cities and towns. Some of
the organizations named also con
Quoted separate campaigns.
Report by Hammond.
Results were reported by John Hays
Hammond, chairman of the depart
ment of political education of the
Civic Federation. Elihu Root is hon
orary chairman of the department,
and the vice chairmen include Gov.
Smith of New York, Senator Capper,
Kansas; Frank L. Polk, former act
ing Secretary of State, and former
Gov. Frank O. LoWden of Illinois. In
his report, outlining the details of the
drive, Mr.. Hammond said:
Let us not deceive ourselves, but
face the facts, however disquieting
they may be. Comparison with both
the 1924 and the 1922 vote fails to re-
veal any cause for graduation over
the results of our 1926 work.
While in seven States-Arizona
Utah, Vermont, Maryland, Kentucky,
New Mexico and Wyoming-the 1926
vote exceeded by 345, 900 that of 1924,
in the remaining Al States the 1926
vote was 100000 less than that of
1924. However, 1924 having been a
presidential year. let us make the
comparison with 1922, the previous
off year when only State and con-
gressional candidates were elected.
Many Below 1922.
There are 16 States in which fewer
votes were actually cast in 1926 than
in 1922-Ohio, Indiana, New Jersey,
Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma Montana,
Idaho Delaware, Georgia, Mississippi
Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina
Arkansas and Virginia. And when
the increase in the number of eligible
voters is tak~ into account, there
having bee. 100000 more in 1926
than in 1922, the following States also
should i dded to the list: Pennsyl-
vania, Rhode Island, Maine. New
Hampshire, Nebraska, Missouri,
North Carolina and New Mexico.
1T is now clear. from the results of
the prodigious efforts of the public
spirited organizations in 1924, as well
as in 1926, that holding meetings, vot
ing resolutions, securing newspaper,
radio and pulpit publicity and using
all the other publicity adjuncts which
we all employed will not accomplish
the end sought, but that campaign
along more intensive and more prac
teal lines must be organized.
There is another problem of out
standing interest to every voter--that
is, the method of maxine nominatio"s.
Shall we continue the direct primary
system or go back to the convention
plan? This long standing question
was landed in the forefront of party
politics through the PENNSYLVANIA and
Illinois primary scandals last July.
Would Force Voting.
Another topic of great popular in
terest is compulsory voting Senator
Arthur Capper, vice chairman of the
department, has drafted a bill to i'm
pose a tax of / per cent upon the in
come of every delinquent voter Other
proposals looking to the same end are
advocated. Certainly drastic action of
some kind is invited by the Stacker
vote spectacle in the past few cleo
tons.
"Since the securing of a satisfac-
tory plan for the nomination of candi-
dates and the removal of obstacles to
voting and such important elements
in the movement to secure a fuller
use of the effective franchise the de-