Evening star., 1950-10-15

in the election of 1948 was 92.8
million. The actual vote cast for
President was 48,834,000, or SIS
per cent of the total. 1t follows.
therefore, that the number Of
non-voters in the election OF 194o
was approximately "a million, a
figure exceeding by about 13 mil
lion the population of the United
States at the outbreak of the
Civil War, counting men, women
and children, including 4 million
slaves.
These were the unsatisfactory
results achieved in the last two
presidential elections in getting
people to the polls, notwithstand-
ing the most strenuous efforts of
party workers, political machines
and all sorts of special committees
to get out the vote. Nor does this
make any mention of the huge
sums of money spent for legiti.
mate purposes to arouse and slim.
ulate the interest of the electorate.
What would have happened If no
such effort had been made Is, Of
course. a matter for speculation.
1t may be taken for granted, how
ever, that the poor showing
achieved would have been much
worse.
But if so large a proportion of
the people are derelict in perform
ing their civic duty in presidential
elections, the response is still more
discouraging in congressional
elections. In 1912 only about one
third Of the eligible electors cast
their ballots for members of Con-
gress. In 1916, the figure was
about SO per cent.
Since ours is Government, not
only of and for the people, but
by the people, when so many fail
to play their part, our whole polit-
ical mechanism becomes like a
high-powered automobile that in
hitting on only three cylinders.
Old Voting Rules
Those who vote belong to the
governing class. Those who fail to
vote belong to the class that is
governed. If that truth could be
firmly driven home, perhaps the
percentage of non-voters would
NOT be SO great as at present.
1t is evident that quite a per-
'centage of the people take their
liberties for granted; they do not
appear to be conscious Of any re-
sponsibility on their part to main.
tain and defend them.
1t may be taken for granted
that Elihu Root had the Ameri.
can people in mind when he de-
clared:
"A large part of mankind re-
gard government as function TO
be performed by some one else
with whom they have little or no
concern, as the janitor of an
apartment house whom somebody
or other has hired to keep out
thieves and to keep the furnace
running"
There was a time when it was
not as easy to vote in this country
as it is now. For example, in the
New England colonies religious
and moral tests were applied in
the beginning. In the Massachu-
setts Bay Colony, headed by En-
dicott, law of 1881 provided that
"for time to come noe man shall
be admitted to the freedome of
this body polliticke, but such
as are members of some of the
churches. within the lymitts of
the same"
1t is matter of record that
in all the New England colonies.
even when the right to vote did
not depend on being an orthodox
churchman. it was necessary for q
man to have reputation for good
moral character. In Plymouth it
was decreed that "such as are
Judged by the Court grossly scam
dalouse as lyers. drunkards.
Swearers. etc." could be denied
the right of suffrage.
Under the rules which then
prevailed, Catholics, Quakers.
Baptists and Jews often found it
difficult or impossible to vote.
Qualifications Lowered
During the latter part of the
17th century the property quail
fication came into use. It was
applied throughout the country
almost universally during the 18th
century.
It was not until the early part
Of the 10th century that the
principle of aristocracy in Amer
lean politics began to crumble.
Social conditions became mcre
uniform and as education and
enlightenment spread there was a
conviction that could not be de-
MED that in a republic such as
oAAo' GA N4dooCo VI Ill6Il SllOUtQ
have hand in conducting its
affairs. When Andrew jackson
was elected to the presidency, full
manhood suffrage had been
established in IA of the "a States
which then comprised the Union.
The property qualification re-
NAMED in only four States. Ohio
was the only State west of the
Alleghenies that entered the
Union with restriction on suf-
rage. This was a tax-paying
Jest, which was abolished in 1851.
The long fight for woman suf-
trage, which in the early DIS
vas led by such crusaders as E!i-.4-
beth Cady Stanton. Lucretia Mott
and Susan B. Anthony, and which
N later years was championcd
oy such outstanding figures as
Dr.. Anna Howard Shaw and Car
lie Chapman Gait, forms an in
epoch in the history of
American politics.
Aside. from the 18th amend