The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-11-26
A Thought for Today
Proportional Representation

New York City, the largest community
in the world which uses proportional
representation Gncluding the preferen-
tial ballot) for the election of public Off
Gals is all in other. This falls count
resulted in election to the City Council
OF two Communist party candidates, one
notorious party line follower, and one
Republican who is branded as danger
Gus person because, as former borough
president, he retained Communist party
member on his personal staff. Reform ele-
mentS which in 1886 assisted in selling
proportional representation to the cleo
tcrate in referendum now have turned
on the system and are questioning its
merits. AS CONFIRMED opponents of
political Communism, and as worries
about the inroads being made by what
seem to us to be very subversive elements,
we do not like the result of the New
York election.
But we do not blame proportional
representation and the preferential ballot
for the unfortunate situation in which
the metropolis now finds it's City Council
elect.
We blame the voters. Even more, we
blame the reform elements which sold the
system, realized that it could work salts
factorily only with an educated electorate,
and then failed to teach the people how to
use the new machinery of democracy. Even
preliminary analysis of the voting shows
that proportional representation in New
York did exactly what the people were
told that it would do, and what they
wanted to have it do. It reflected the
sentiments of the electorate as expressed
on their ballots. In the old days New
York had Board of Aldermen of IS
members. Tammany Hall and her affil-
lated machines used to poll between SO
and 60 per cent of the votes and elect
from 81 to "a of the IS aldermen. The
> electorate was niSrepresented. This year
Tammany and her associates polled 81
per cent of the first choice votes for City
Council member and obtained SO per cent
Of the membership. That is mighty
close approximation to accuracy. The
Republican accused of left-wing ten
denotes is an incumbent councilman,
man Of the highest integrity and of much
intellectual capacity, an administrator
of demonstrated ability, legislator who
has proven his worth. His principal fault
is touch of mulishness which led him
to resist pressure to fire a competent
not Communist.
The two avOWed Communists and the
one-party line follower were elected be-
cause the Communists, alone of all polit-
ical groups in New York, worked their
fool heads off for their candidates. They
canvassed from house to house. They
spent much money on persuasive litera-
ture. They were so brazen as to advance
a platform for their candidates which, ii
one forgot it was Communist, was mighty
convincing
Meanwhile the other parties slumbered
peacefully and trusted in God to whom
they did not even trouble to pray for
success.
So the left wingers won because they
got out the votes. That, it seems to us,
is of the essence of democracy. A sys-
tenn which permits the majority of votes
to win instead of bulWarking a minority
In control over the government, is demo-
cratic No system can enforce good gov
eminent. 1t can only give the voters
their chance.
It was not proportional representation
that failed It was the anti-left wingers.
They played into the hands Of machine
politics, which hopes that New York's
experience will kill off that bane OF all
machine politicians, proportional repre-
sentation with the preferential ballot