Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1934-04-19
by William Bruckart

Dated, thousands upon thousands OF
voters are going to cast their ballots
as Democrats or Republicans just be-
cause they have always been Demo
Gratis or Republicans. The coming
campaign is not of that structure.
The best indication 1 have seen of a
probability that all phases Of the
economic policies evolved from the
New Deal will be thoroughly discussed
is the greater freedom of debate in
congress. All of us remember how
bills were sent to the Capitol year
ago and earlier in the present session
of congress, and passed without de-
bate, or with very little. There Is still
too little debate on much of the legis-
lation, but that which is going on
serves to enlighten the public on the
subject matter proposed. This ought
to be. After all, congress and the adj
ministration are only representatives
of the people who pay the bill and
whose citizenship make up our nation.
Figures have just been released here
showing that the federal government
has approximately
u. S. Payroll $4,000 officials and
at Peak employees on its
payrolls. That is
the highest point reached since the
post war days of 1920. 1t represents
a good many hundreds of millions in
dollars for salaries of wages. And the
increase has been brought about de-
spite the economy laws that were
forced through congress last year,
some 10000 of the increase having oc-
CURED since January 1, 1884.
The figures l have given do not in
clude the members of the house and
senate, nor their employees, nor do
they include the scores of workers that
make up the staff OF the house and
senate and the employees of the Cap
itol. The country's federal judges and
their STATS are counted in the totals,
but the army, navy and marine officers
and enlisted men are not included. AL
most 100000 men who are enlisted in
the Civilian Conservation corps also
are omitted.
If one figures the average family as
four persons, the federal payroll pro-
vides livelihood for at least 100000
persons, although l am assured by the
Civil Service commission that five per-
sons is better average than four, in
which event government pay checks
sustain about 3,250,000.
l do not make these statements in
criticism. Ours is a vast country and
population Of perhaps 127,000,000.
But it seems important to me that
there should be such vast number
of persons living on government pay
checks.
l mentioned in an earlier paragraph
in this letter that one of the issues
about which argu-
Norris ment is likely to be
EIecs;o,, DE-, heard in every state
this fall is the pro-
posal to revise the method of electing
the President. 1t is proposed, in ef-
feet, to amend the Constitution of the
United States so that the method of
electing a President of the United
States would be accomplished by
division of electoral vote in each state
proportionately with the division of
political party strength as shown by
individual ballots. For example, and
as a better way of explaining what is
proposed: a state may be allowed
twenty votes in the electoral college.
At present, all of those electoral votes
are cast for the Presidential candidate
who receives the majority of the in
dividual ballots. 1t is a unit rule.
Now, the Constitutional amendment
that is projected would force division
of those electoral votes so that, as
Stunning the party votes were so divid-
ed, eight of the electoral votes would
be cast for one candidate and twelve
for the other.
The authors of the proposed amend
ment are Senator Norris of Nebraska,
and Representative Lea Of California.
1t is the charge of the Republicans
that the move is designed to give the
Democrats perpetual control of the
Presidency. They are not making that
charge out loud yet. They want con-
gress to pass the resolution proposing
the amendment to the states, so the
Republican speakers can argue about
1t all over the country this summer.
The point the Republicans are max
ing is that the so-called solid South
will continue to vote nearly all of its
electoral ballots for the Democratic
candidate. The case of Mississippi is
cited. It has nine electoral votes. The
Republican party is virtually nonexist-
emit there. The result would be that
certainly eight, and maybe all. of the
nine votes would be cast for the Dem
ocrat, just as they are each four years
under the present system. Add to the
electoral votes of the South, the gains
that would come from such normally
two-party states as New York, and
the Republicans assert the result
would be permanent control of the
government machinery by the Dem
ocratS.
Representative Lea says, however,
that he thinks a virulent two-party
fight would develop in every state in
the Union. Representative Martin, a