Reclaiming the ballot

RECLAIMING
THE BALLOT

UC-NRLF

WARD MACAULEY

RECLAIMING THE BALLOT

RECLAIMING
THE BALLOT

BY

WARD MACAULEY

AUTHOR OF
CHEAP turkey" etc.

NEW YORK

DUFFIELD AND COMPANY

1916

^^^''

Copyright, 1916, by
DUFFIELD AND COMPANY

CONTENTS

PAGE

I. The Bulwark of Our Liberties .... i

II. Campaign Methods 7

III. Inefficient Citizens 27

IV. Defeating the People's Will 48

V. Urgent Need of Ballot Reform . . , 6^

VI. Conservative Reform 83

VII. The Precinct Civic Center ..... 91

342ii;^2

RECLAIMING THE BALLOT

RECLAIMING THE
BALLOT

CHAPTER I

THE BULWARK OF OUR LIBERTIES

THE bulwark of our liberties consists of
a small iron box. Into this cage several
hundred men are crammed in the course of
one short day. Inside this little iron box,
the men of America exercise the greatest
right they have, the right of the free ballot.
Among a free people, the right to choose
those who make and administer the laws
should be their most precious possession.
" Self-governing" we call ourselves. What
is the theory of it all ? That by the unfet-
tered and general use of the ballot, Ameri-
cans choose from among themselves those

2 Reclaiming the Ballot

best fitted to hold legislative, executive and
judicial positions.

Considering the vital importance of the
ballot, it would naturally be expected that
every safeguard would be thrown around
the process of voting. Quite the contrary
seems to be the case. No American com-
munity of which we are aware is willing to
spend any considerable amount of money in
giving the voter a proper polling place or in
any sane effort to assure a correct counting
of the ballots after they are cast.

The chairman of an election commission
once said of an approaching primary:
*' Crooked work may be expected." Ex-
pected! Not prevented, but expected! No
steps were suggested to protect the ballot,
no hint that the first rights of American cit-
izens were to be violated. The expected
crooked work was for the avowed purpose of
defrauding the voter of his ballot and ren-
dering another choice than the one he had
made. A serious situation, surely, yet ac-
cepted calmly enough. No one seemed
greatly concerned about it. No one sug-
gested that a determined body of men

The Bulwark of Our Liberties 3

should insist that their rights be respected.
There was no thought of any preventive
work of any sort. Merely this: "Crooked
work may be expected." A prediction that
should have aroused every man in the city
was passed over as lightly as a baseball
score.

Had our voting processes been designed
with the express purpose of their failing as
completely as possible in registering an in-
telligent public will, they could scarcely
have accomplished it better. As will be
shown later, the system of balloting and
counting is broadly open to fraud. The
safeguards of which our school text-books
make so much ado are all too theoretical,
and the fact remains that our voting proc-
esses are entirely in the hands of profes-
sional politicians to do with as they will.
That they seldom will to detach themselves
from office is sufficiently obvious. The old
cry "Turn the rascals out" becomes a super-
human feat when the rascals themselves
count the votes.

It is frequently asserted that all the evils
of democracy would be corrected if only ev-

4 Reclaiming the Ballot

erybody would vote or could be compelled
to do so. It is certain that the majority of
men accept this statement as true. Charles
Lamb wrote a number of essays to set forth
the fallacy of certain current proverbial ex-
pressions. This little book aims to show
the fallacy of the view that a more general
use of the suffrage will correct all existing
evils, unless it is accompanied by urgent re-
forms in our methods of campaigning and
even more necessary improvements in our
manner of casting and counting the ballots.
It is founded on much study and first-hand
examination of real conditions by the writer.
The conditions set forth all actually exist
and every incident mentioned during the
argument has actually taken place.

It should be self-evident that where an
election board is crooked, a larger vote
in that precinct will be conducive not of
good, but of evil. . Revelations in Terre
Haute, Indianapolis and elsewhere prove
conclusively that a great deal of ballot
thievery is going on. Other places, where
prosecuting officials are complacent, are
only more innocent in that they have not

The Bulwark of Our Liberties J

been found out, or, having been found
out, the offenders have not been prose-
cuted.

Prosecuting officials who owe their posi-
tions to professional ballot thieves are not
likely to probe deeply into the elections
that placed themselves in office. The
crooked election board members safely
locked in the election house can hold at
defiance the entire precinct and work their
nefarious will upon the ballots, without fear
of any undesirable consequences from the
higher-up officials whom they themselves
have placed in power. The manner in which
ballot thieves ply their business is set forth
in a later chapter. The point just here is
that under such conditions, a larger vote is
absolutely powerless to remedy any faults
in government. It may be that in your lo-
cality the election conditions are good. It is
probably true that they are not bad in every
city, but while the opportunity lies so easily
at hand, it is only a question of time before
the ballot crooks will begin operations and
by securing possession of the prosecutor's
office entrench themselves in the govern-

6 Reclaiming the Ballot

ment, and a carnival of extravagance and
graft will inevitably result.

Many ballots are cast in crass ignorance of
the merits of the candidates or the issues in-
volved. A larger proportion of such ballots
would surely do nothing to render a more in-
telligent choice on the part of the electorate.

The task that lies before us, it seems to
the writer, is to attempt to secure at least
these ends: an unmanipulated casting of
the ballots and a correct and honest count-
ing of them; a method of campaigning by
which a larger percentage of the voters may
be informed as to the merits of candidates
and issues; some system by which the peo-
ple may themselves discuss the questions of
the day, thus developing interest in self-
government and bringing to the front those
natural leaders to whom the actual task of
government should be entrusted.

It is the mission of these chapters to set
forth some of the things that are wrong with
our present methods and to suggest the line
of action toward which we must inevitably
tend in connection with our constantly in-
creasing use of the ballot.

CHAPTER II

CAMPAIGN METHODS

THE process by which we Americans ar-
rive at a decision in regard to the merits
of the various candidates for office is worth
attention. In the first place it is lament-
ably true that we learn the merits of an
exceedingly small portion of the candidates
who offer themselves. Even a cursory ex-
amination of the election results will reveal
how largely this is the case. In state
elections, the vote on governor may very
likely represent some intelligent choice
(though not always founded on sufficient
grounds), but the vote on lieutenant-gov-
ernor, secretary of state, attorney-general
and the other state officers betrays very
little discrimination. The votes will vary
but one or two per cent, of the total, and
this small variation usually results from

§ Reclaiming the Ballot

local conditions, favorable or adverse to
some candidate. It may safely be stated
that outside of the office of governor, the
voters rarely have any particular choice and
usually stick close to party lines. It is,
indeed, doubtful whether the average voter
could name his own party candidates, to
say nothing of those in opposition.

In city elections, the same condition pre-
vails. The mayoralty campaign will arouse
some degree of interest, but as for the lesser
offices, the voter will usually stick to his
party ticket or else leave the incumbents in
office. He has no specific knowledge of the
merits of the various candidates and often
does not even know them all by name. His
preference will be given to the most widely
known candidates, which may be a very
different thing from the most favorably
known. The voter, as a rule, is little inter-
ested in any other offices than these: pres-
ident, senator, congressman, governor, state
senator, legislator, sheriff, mayor and alder-
man. Occasionally an exceptionally popu-
lar man or a grossly unworthy one may
arouse the people's interest in some other

Campaign Methods 9

office, but it is a rare exception. Not al-
ways, indeed, do the people evince an inter-
est in even all those we have named. Par-
ticularly in our large cities where legislators
are elected in a bunch, little interest and
practically no discrimination prevail. The
dominant party almost without exception
elects its entire slate and the votes received
by the highest and lowest candidates show
only the difference accounted for by per-
sonal popularity. Here again, the average
voter could not name the men who were
running for the legislature, so say nothing
of having any knowledge of their capabil-
ities.

All this, of course, is argument for the
short ballot, but that is not the point we are
attempting to bring out here. The question
now before us is how do the people learn of
the merits of the various candidates and the
various measures submitted for approval or
rejection. We are trying to show that there
is no substantial, concerted effort made by
the people as a government to come into
association with candidates who offer them-
selves for office. The government, as such.

lo Reclaiming the Ballot

gives no attention to and makes no expen-
diture in any systematic plan to bring the
candidates and the voters in touch with each
other. Such steps as are taken are invari-
ably at the initiative of the candidate him-
self. This gives a great and seemingly un-
fair advantage to the man who is able and
willing to expend large sums of money for
campaign purposes. It is not at all a safe
way to secure the best men for public office.
A good advertiser does not necessarily make
a good mayor. A modest man, unwilling
to cry his own wares, who shrinks from urg-
ing people to vote for him, has little chance
against Smith, who calmly admits that he
will be the best mayor the town ever had.
The money spent for campaign expenses by
defeated candidates is an entire loss (except
for advertising value) while the winner is
compelled to spend a large portion of his
salary in order to win. Various restrictive
measures have been enacted limiting the
amount that might be spent by any candi-
date, and requiring the filing of a statement
of campaign expenses. From lack of en-
forcement, such laws are often ignored al-

Campaign Methods II

together. When they are observed, the can-
didates frequently interpret the law to their
own satisfaction and disregard "entertain-
ment*' as part of their campaign expenses.
Thus, a candidate whose campaign was
notable for extravagant saloon operations,
calmly files as his statement a negligible
amount spent for circulars and postage.
The candidate avers that he has a right to
entertain his friends. He disregards the ob-
vious fact that these "friends" could never
secure such hospitality from him at any
other time.

This method of campaign procedure
brings a constant temptation to the man in
office to recoup himself for the large ex-
pense in getting there. Likewise, it de-
prives the state of the services of the man
who is unwilling or unable to spend money
in securing public office. Such men may well
be of the sort the state most urgently needs.

It is obvious that there has been little, if
any, organized effort on the part of the
state to familiarize the voter with the vari-
ous candidates and the various propositions
that are submitted.

12 Reclaiming the Ballot

Usually, this is absolutely restricted to an
official election call, stating the time and
places of the election, the officers to be
chosen and the measures to be submitted.
It will be contended, and rightly, that the
government cannot take part in such an
election by officially lending its aid to any
candidate or any measure. But it is within
the province of any government to officially
place within the power of the people the op-
portunity of having the measures discussed
from all sides and of hearing all candidates
express themselves on the leading issues of
the day. There are many acceptable ways
in which this could be done. One that
seems feasible and effective will be offered
later. Just at this point, we will examine
the present process by which the voter se-
cures the information he utilizes in making
a choice.

First, let us consider the campaign made
for the candidate for public office. The en-
tire campaign is undertaken at the instiga-
tion of the candidate himself. Its expense
is borne by him also, either directly or by
means of a campaign fund raised among his

Campaign Methods 13

friends and those who expect to benefit by
his election. Sometimes, the political party
of which he is a member gives him aid.
With the coming of the direct primary,
there is a noticeable tendency to allow the
candidate to "go it alone." More and more
being elected has become a personal rather
than a party matter. The campaign con-
sists— to outside view, at least — in a nightly
succession of meetings designed to bring the
candidate into touch with his constituents.
The meetings are held in all parts of the
city or district, to give all voters a chance
to hear the candidate on the issues of the
election. Frequently, a candidate will speak
at seven or more meetings in a single night.
The coming of the automobile has greatly
increased the amount of ground that can be
covered in an evening. It is supposed that
because so many meetings are held a
majority of the voters must actually hear
the candidate and learn his views concern-
ing matters political. Such is far from be-
ing the case. Political meetings as at pres-
ent conducted merely touch the surface.
Those who attend such meetings all too of-

14 Reclaiming the Ballot

ten do so from a motive remote from inter-
est in politics. These meetings are gener-
ally advertised to be held in "Schultz's
Hall," or "O'Brien's Hall," or whatever the
name may be. Investigation reveals that
these halls are of two kinds. Many are bar-
rooms, pure and simple, with a few chairs
arranged at one side. If a speaker's address
is dry, the electorate has an easy remedy
at hand. All shades of sobriety and its op-
posite may be seen at such meetings. The
auditors range from the wildly enthusiastic
to the quarrelsomely critical. In meetings
of this sort, the short speech is frequently as
much appreciated as the longer one. In-
deed, it has been said that a certain speech
consisting of only seven words was the most
popular ever delivered in a certain "hall."
It was: "Come on, boys, what will you
have?" The candidate who fails to intro-
duce some such sentiment somewhere dur-
ing the course of his remarks, is set down as
a "tightwad," and marked for slaughter.
Likewise, he loses the "influence" of the
bartender. In cases such as these, the can-
didate pays his account with a five, a ten

Campaign Methods ij

or a twenty dollar bill. There is seldom any
change forthcoming.

The other variety of "hall" is a room ad-
joining or over a saloon. Conditions in such
cases are slightly better. The audience is
more orderly; there is, perhaps, a little less
obligation to "set them up." It is also
possible to speak at greater length concern-
ing the issues of the campaign.

The same men attend meeting after meet-
ing, because of the side-attractions in the
way of free entertainments and free re-
freshment. Often, too, it is possible to
make a "touch." After many a meeting, a
speaker is taken aside by a "striker," who
requests cash, which he alleges will be spent
among the boys, but which usually gets no
further than his own capacious pocket,
should the candidate prove foolish enough
to donate anything. Others are willing to
form "clubs" to be named for certain can-
didates, and need funds for club expenses.
Few of the "Smith for Mayor" clubs, etc.,
are the result of a genuine enthusiasm for
the candidate. The candidates receive in-
numerable other requests for money, and

i6 Reclaiming the Ballot

even churches are not always above accept-
ing contributions in various forms.

Aside from these saloon meetings, there
are rarely gatherings of any sort during the
campaign. To be sure, as a climax, there
is usually a "grand rally" in the conven-
tion hall or armory. This is the one occa-
sion when those who do not care to attend
saloon meetings have a chance to hear their
favorite candidates. Of a verity, it is a
case of favorite candidates, for the American
voter, as a rule, will listen to no other.
Democratic candidates are heartily ap-
plauded at their meetings because the audi-
ence is ninety per cent. Democratic. The
same is true of Republican meetings. The
campaign orator has as much chance to
make converts as a preacher at his morning
service.

The outstanding feature of it all is that
there is seldom any discussion of the issues
anywhere, seldom any chance for the voter
to hear both sides at the same meeting, and
that most voters hear only one side, if any
at all. Worst of all, there is never any op-
portunity for the voter to express his own

Campaign Methods 17

views, no chance for any others than the
candidates and their chosen speakers (fre-
quently mercenaries) to be heard. The
American voter is left without any spur to
a civic consciousness. No one will know
whether he has any civic spirit or not; and
if he has, his vote will count no more than
that of the most illiterate ignoramus.

The American people, as a government,
have never done anything to make it easy
for them to know the qualifications of those
who are to rule over them. What has been
done — and every student knows that it has
been done badly — has been the selfish work
of those who sought office. This has re-
sulted in making campaigning very expen-
sive, as well as woefully inefficient. It has
rendered it totally impossible for a man of
small means to aspire to any prominent of-
fice. Likewise it has placed temptation in
the way of every oflftce-holder to recoup
himself by means other than his salary.
Many a politician has discovered himself to
be ruined when, after an expensive cam-
paign, the election went against him.

What, therefore, ought to be the first

1 8 Reclaiming the Ballot

concern of the American people, we find
has been left almost entirely to chance.
Chance, it seems, ordains that in a large
measure, only those who frequent bar-
rooms shall have political doctrine expound-
ed to them. Chance, it seems, rules out of
our political life the man who will not con-
duct a bar-to-bar campaign; and the man
who will not is just what we most desper-
ately need. The influence of this manner of
campaigning on the character of the men
who offer themselves for public office can
hardly be estimated. A man who is in
every way qualified for the position ^^itself,
may be absolutely unqualified for the proc-
ess of obtaining it. Very often, he is
utterly unwilling to go through the degra-
dation of such a campaign ; but even when
he sets his eye on the distant good which
may come out of all this evil, he is likely to
be temperamentally unfit to successfully
accomplish the task. "Bar-flies" are noto-
riously adept at sizing up *' their sort"; and
they quickly perceive when a candidate is
out of his element and they govern them-
selves accordingly.

Campaign Methods 19

It would seem that the so-called better
class of voters would promptly repudiate
the candidates who enter into questionable
allegiances. Such is rarely the case and
only when a prominent issue makes a divi-
sion. Better class voters are not always
aware of the merits or demerits of the vari-
ous candidates. This is due largely to their
disinclination to attend saloon meetings
where they can acquaint themselves with
the personalities of the contestants for pub-
lic office.

The campaign, therefore, as at present
pursued, as far as direct contact between
the voter and the candidate is concerned, is
usually limited to a round of meetings con-
ducted in or adjacent to saloons, and to a
grand rally attended, generally speaking,
only by those fully in accord with the vari-
ous speakers. At none of these meetings is
more than one side heard, except in those
rare cases where one or the other of the con-
testants issues a challenge to a joint debate
and such challenge is duly accepted. Such
joint debates frequently degenerate into
volleys of personalities on the part of the

20 Reclaiming the Ballot

candidates and a cheering contest on the
part of the audience. Aside from such de-
bates, there are no meetings at which the
audience hears both sides discussed.

Aside from the meetings, present methods
of campaigning include circularizing, bill-
posters, newspaper advertising and various
forms of publicity. Certain restrictions re-
garding the amount of such advertising are
in force in various states, some of which
even attempt to regulate the size of the
newspaper copy which may be used. Such
laws are frequently flagrantly violated. If
the prosecuting office is complacent, there is
nothing to prevent the candidates "going
the limit." A striking example was seen in
the campaign of a candidate for a judgeship
who violated the laws governing campaign
advertising in a most obvious manner. His
election was not contested, however, on these
grounds, nor was any complaint brought
against him. Campaigns of education are
eminently right and proper. It ought, how-
ever, to be a game played with a limit,
and that limit should be rigidly enforced.
The dangers along these lines are suffi-

Campaign Methods 21

ciently evident. The man who is most
widely known (not necessarily most favor-
ably) will always have a great advantage in
vote-getting. The man with a "'barrel"
ought no more to be allowed to buy his way
into office with broadsides of newspaper
space, than by the outright purchase of
votes. There is always, too, the possibility
that the purchase of large newspaper space
may only be an evasive way of purchasing
newspaper influence. In a word, it should
remain in the candidate's power to ac-
quaint the public with the reasons for his
candidacy, but not to ride into office on a
wave of clever advertising.

Passing from a consideration of the meth-
ods used in campaigning for candidates, let
us see what is done in the case of measures
submitted to referendum. Unless there is a
powerful influence behind such a measure,
or raised in opposition to it, practically
nothing will be done to bring the question
before the people, except such work as the
newspapers care to do. The newspapers
are under no obHgations in the matter, ex-
cept the same one that rests upon every cit-

22 Reclaiming the Ballot

izen, to do what he can for the public weal.
Sometimes our politicians will discuss these
questions in their campaigns, but there is a
coming, and unfortunate, tendency to pass
the responsibility over to the people. The
people then decide the matter without guid-
ance and very largely without discussion.
There is no way in which these questions
are brought prominently before the people
and no opportunity to hear the arguments
pro and con. Even where newspapers do
present the matter at all, they generally
suppress all arguments contrary to their
view of the case. Readers who take only
one newspaper thus receive only one view
of any public question, except such light as
they receive in casual discussion with ac-
quaintances.

We have seen, therefore, that the gov-
ernment, as such, takes no interest in bring-
ing candidates before the people. Further,
that the people themselves make no effort
and spend no money in learning the quali-
fications of candidates. Effort and expense
^ in this connection are put up to the candi-
t date. Instead of the people spending mone^

Campaign Methods 23

to find a satisfactory servant, we find that]
contestants spend money to get a job.j
With such a program how can we expect
otherwise than to find that pubHc office is
looked upon as a job, as a reward for con-
testing for it, and so little as an opportunity
for service? We need a new conception of
the entire matter. The people need good
men in office, men that are ^*good" from
more than one standpoint. They must not
only be honest, but able, and with especial
qualifications for the position to which they
aspire. The people ought to be willing to
spend money to attain this great desider-
atum. Yet any attempt to move any part
of the first expense of campaigning from
the candidate's shoulders to the public's is
met with derisive opposition on the ground
of economy. There is no economy so great
as efficiency, and it is far better to spend
money in bringing candidates before the
people than it is to have unfit office-holders
misuse and waste the public funds by negli-
gence or incompetency. Until we get some-
thing of this point of view, it is almost hope-
less to expect any great improvement in the

^4 Reclaiming the Ballot

kind of public officers we elect. The best
men will not indulge in an unseemly scram-
ble for position, involving as it usually does
extravagant self-praise and close associa-
tion with the less desirable elements of so-
ciety.

Even worse is the fact that our modern
campaign procedure gives no opportunity
whatever for initiative on the part of the
individual voter. He may have splendid
arguments regarding the points at issue in
the campaign but he can hardly express
them unless he is a candidate for office, and
then only to restricted numbers. That the
people have opinions and wish to express
them is evidenced by the large numbers of
letters written to our daily papers on every
conceivable subject. That this is a valu-
able asset and should be most energetically
encouraged ought to be equally apparent.
The individual voter's part in govern-
ment is fairly restricted to casting his bal-
lot, and with the probable increase of pow-
ers given to the electorate, this will continue
to be more and more the case. The advan-
tages of the town meeting have been greatly

Campaign Methods 25

lost to us in our modern American life.
The great benefits conferred by public
discussion are being gradually taken
away from us, and the immeasurable
value to the individual citizen of free
expression in debate is almost entirely
lost.

In the cases of measures submitted for
public approval this is even more noticeable
and at least equally dangerous. The can-
didate's selfish desire for office urges him to
make his real and alleged merits as widely
known as possible. Unless a proposition is
backed by those having a large interest in
it, there is no spur to bring men to a thor-
ough discussion, especially when the ex-
penses of such discussion must be borne by
the voters themselves.

It is evident that something needs to be
done to take campaigning out of its present
condition as a round of meetings held
largely in such surroundings that many
voters entirely refuse to attend them and
conducted at the expense of the men who
aspire to office, thus directly placing a self-
ish motive before candidates. As to what

26 Reclaiming the Ballot

should be done, there might be differences
of opinion; but that a change is needed
would almost seem to be beyond disagree-
ment.

CHAPTER III

INEFFICIENT CITIZENS

THE indifference of American citizens to
the duties and privileges conferred upon
them by the free ballot is a colossal arraign-
ment of our good citizenship. The men who
vote at all elections are very rare, indeed.
No election, however important or how ex-
citing as a contest, succeeds in dragging
every voter to the polls. In most of our
cities, the voting booth is never located
farther than a few blocks from any voter in
the district. Unless voting be deferred until
the rush hours of the evening, the act of pre-
paring and casting the ballot occupies but a
few moments of time. Yet many men plead
inability to be good citizens because they
are "too busy." It would furnish an ef-
fective object lesson if one of these "too
busy" men were to be compelled to render

28 Reclaiming the Ballot

an accurate accounting for all of his time
on election day. It can safely be stated that
ninety-nine per cent, could not prove that
they were busily occupied every moment.
We Americans have time for everything else
under the sun: the movies, the tango, the
long lunch hour at the club, the theater, the
lodge — anything we wish to do, it would
seem; but unless we are fired by the excite-
ment of an unusually thrilling campaign,
we haven't time for voting. Spring elec-
tions frequently fail to bring out more than
thirty per cent, of the registered voters.
Seven men out of every ten stay at home.
Only a few judges, a school inspector, an au-
ditor to be chosen, that's all. '*No use both-
ering, my one vote won't matter anyway;
better stay comfortably at home to-night,"
the busy man tells himself. The three men
that do turn out are usually very vitally in-
terested in the outcome of the election.
They are the practical politicians and they
never fail to vote; and because of this, the
"slates" which they arrange usually go
through without a crack. A powerful city
'* machine" can control so large an army of

Inefficient Citizens 29

voters that it can uniformly win where
there is a large stay-at-home vote. In a
recent primary in a large city, every single
candidate who was running for a renomina-
tion was successful. Many of them de-
served the reward; some possibly did not.
The point is that they received the support
of the active politicians and in the face of a
very light vote, no outsider made even a
respectable showing.

During the famous Roosevelt-Taft- Wilson
campaign, a well-dressed citizen was heard
to inquire from another the location of the
polling-booth. He said: "I have lived in
this neighborhood four years, but I never
bothered to vote."

His friend replied: "Neither have I. It

seems to me the booth is on street near

street. I think I have seen it from the

street car, but I'm not sure.'' These two
men were going to vote because of a very
special interest in a certain presidential can-
didate. The remainder of their ballot
would not express any intelligent choice
whatever.

Unfortunately, citizens such as these are

30 Reclaiming the Ballot

by no means few. A comparison of the total
male population of adult age with the num-
ber of votes cast in any election would show
a startling discrepancy. So to many men
the affairs of their own private lives, how-
ever petty, take precedence over affairs of
state to such an extent that the latter do
not receive attention at all.

One man, when asked to join in a move-
ment looking toward the elimination of cor-
rupt manipulation of the vote in his dis-
trict, replied : '' I have no convictions along
that line. Business is good with me. It
doesn't make the slightest difference in the
world to me whether they count those bal-
lots right or not." Too many men "have
no convictions," and too many others dare
not express them for fear of hurting busi-
ness, or giving offense.

A prominent politician once said that a
spring election was always a ''wet" election.
By this he meant that saloon-keepers and
their friends and supporters of open-town
policies can always be depended upon to
vote even in the so-called unimportant
spring election, while the good citizen can

Inefficient Citizens 31

be depended upon to stay at home. It is
probably true that saloon-keepers maintain
a better average as regards voting than do
Sunday-school superintendents. The " wet "
element makes no exception. It votes al-
ways. Its members are never too busy,
seldom ill and very infrequently out of town.
They not only vote, but they get their
friends to vote. Every brother, cousin, un-
cle and other relative is urged to do "his
duty." This element knows unanimously
what it wants. Quite without any apparent
system, the word seems to be passed around
that Mr. Smith is "O. K.,'' or that Mr.
Jones will not do. When charter or consti-
tutional amendments are submitted, this
element to a man knows whether it is to be
aye or nay. While the church clubs are de-
bating the matter pro and con and coming
to hopeless division, lovers of lax law move
to the polls in a body and vote as a unit.

It is practically universally admitted that
a light vote means a vote largely composed
of what we come to consider the less desir-
able elements of society. The officers cho-
sen at these light elections are by no means

32 Reclaiming the Ballot

unimportant. We can come to no other
conclusion than that since the votes are cast
largely by the least desirable element, and
often counted by the same element, we, as
a matter of fact, are governed and ruled by
this element.

At these spring elections, police or mu-
nicipal judges are very generally chosen.
Petty offenders are brought before these
judges for trial and sentence. In their
hands depends the enforcement of law to a
considerable extent. Whether a city is in-
fested with petty thieves, pickpockets, pan-
handlers and other undesirables depends
very much upon whether these judges are
severe with offenders or not. These men
as a rule are elected not by those desiring
strict law enforcement, but by those who
care little for law of any kind and who par-
ticularly object to its enforcement in regard
to themselves. After a police-court judge
has been triumphantly elected following a
thorough saloon campaign, he is not likely
to be especially severe with the liquor law
offenders who are brought before him."
When the judge knows these fellows well

Inefficient Citizens 33

enough to address them as John and George
and Billy, he is hardly likely to do anything
to secure their enmity. If the so-called
better citizens once convinced police-court
judges that they did the electing, the judges
would do their bidding. They would recog-
nize their masters and obey those who
placed them in their positions. It is
claimed that in hardly a single one of our
great cities can a district attorney or a crim-
inal-court judge be elected without the
friendship of the under side of society — the
very persons against whom his activities
ought to be directed.

In most states, the opening of saloons on
Sunday is absolutely forbidden. How many
large cities enforce this law ? If in your city
the saloons are open on Sunday, you know
whom it is that the public officials fear. If
they feared the Good Government League
and the church clubs and the law-abiding
citizens, they would close the saloons, would
they not? It surely seems necessary to in-
stil in the minds of government officers a
healthy fear of the better elements of so-
ciety. To do this, it becomes absolutely

34 Reclaiming the Ballot

necessary to induce all men to vote, and
also to vote intelligently. That this is done
now cannot be successfully claimed. The
saloon man always votes for the saloon can-
didate— never for the church candidate — if
there is one. The church voter, on the other
hand, very frequently votes for the saloon
man's candidate. Why.? Because he is on
the party ticket, more than likely. When
the saloon-keeper enters the polling-booth,
he forgets whether he is a Republican or a
Democrat, and votes for the man he knows
is "right" from his standpoint. The ''bet-
ter citizen" all too often votes his party
ticket ''straight" or splits it only in the case
of one or two "important" offices. The
better citizen is seldom, or never, organ-
ized in so complete a way as are the foes of
society. "Slates" arranged by good gov-
ernment bodies nearly always fall before
the slate arranged with less publicity but
greater efficiency by their rivals. Perhaps
this is because of the very intelligence of the
better class of voter. Being intelligent, he
does not wish to have any one make his
choice for him. The less desirable voter.

Inefficient Citizens 35

not having any pride in his intelligence, is
willing to submit to instruction from those
who know. The better element confuse the
issue by allowing several "good" candidates
to contest for the same office, their vote be-
coming hopelessly split up and the man
unanimously supported by the undesirables
being an easy winner. The better voter
also often votes for the wrong man because
he does not know. So many candidates are
offered that he becomes confused and is un-
able to express an intelligent choice. George
T. Thompson is running for the state senate.
Now the good voter once knew a George D.
Thompson. His memory swerves. Is this
man the same? The George D. Thompson
he knew was always greatly interested in
politics, spoke before church clubs, etc., a
good, clean man in every way, a bank
cashier. Now, actually, this George D.
Thompson was dead, and the George T.
Thompson who was running for the senate
was an unsuccessful lawyer who had few
scruples when it came to money matters.
His opponent, who was a clever and up-
right man, was hopelessly beaten.

36 Reclaiming the Ballot

Many citizens do not understand the com-
paratively simple process of marking a bal-
lot. Every election sees a host of spoiled or
void ballots thrown out. It is true, of
course, that a certain number of these bal-
lots are purposely spoiled at the time of
counting. In certain "controlled" election
precincts this is true of a large number.
Aside from these, however, it is lamentably
true that many ballots are thrown out be-
cause the voter was unable to express his
choice intelligently.

Many voters confuse a primary with an
election. This is increasingly true with the
advent of the direct primary, under the so-
called ''open" system. Under the open
primary the names of all candidates of all
parties are printed on one large ballot and
the voter may designate his party in the
secrecy of the booth. Under the closed sys-
tem, each party has its own ballot and the
voter must express a preference, in some
cases by an enrollment some weeks or
months in advance. The comparative mer-
its of the open and the closed primary have
been the subject of many heated debates.

Inefficient Citizens 37

The point here raised obtains, of course,
only under the open system. The voter has
been handed a large blanket ballot, with the
various party columns resembling closely
the ballot which will be given him when the
regular election comes around. The pri-
mary is theoretically a party caucus at
which the party members choose the candi-
dates of their particular party. It is not to
be presumed that Democrats have any in-
terest in Republican candidates, or vice
versa. Just here is the point that so many
voters find difficult to understand. A ticket
may be split at election time. Why not in
the primary .f* Despite all proclamations
(usually printed on the ballot) forbidding
this, and various penalties imposed (varying
from losing a vote on the particular office in-
volved to forfeiting the entire ballot), voters,
in considerable numbers, will insist upon
splitting their ballots in the primary. The
voter sees some friend he desires to favor,
some enemy he wishes to punish in some
opposing party column. It is an easy step
to wander from his own caucus. His vote is
partly or entirely spoiled. Here again, in-

38 Reclaiming the Ballot

>

vestigation inclines to the opinion that those
best informed along these lines are those
who are seeking selfish interest, while the
good citizen is painfully deficient in knowl-
edge as to his rights and duties. Many an
illiterate hanger-on can give a fairly accu-
rate account of how a ballot ought to be
marked, what the law provides in the way
of allowing certain classes (women, tax-
payers, etc.) to vote on certain matters.
The good citizen, all too often, has over-
looked posting himself on such points. He
is at an obvious disadvantage.

In the matter of charter revisions, con-
stitutional amendments, etc., there is all too
little full and free discussion of what is in-
volved in the proposed change. With the
general use of the initiative, it will become
comparatively easy to get almost any prop-
osition on the ballot. A very small minor-
ity can place it there by petition. Even the
small number of signers may not actually
desire the legislation asked. A man hardly
cares to "turn down" a good friend when it
comes to a matter of merely signing a peti-
tion. Explanation of the merits of the

Inefficient Citizens 39

proposition are usually verbal. Prevailing
conditions are usually painted much worse
than they are. Much more is promised
than the remedy can possibly produce.
There is very little done in the way of bring-
ing these amendments before the people in
any free, unprejudiced way. Newspaper
comments are all too often biased and yet
they afford practically all the information
that the average voter receives. Very many
times, he is unaware that an amendment is
to be submitted until it confronts him in
the voting-booth. On the ballot, it may be
so worded that he is unaware of the real
operation of the amendment should it be
carried. Franchises may be referred to as
"contracts," "leases," "arrangements"; sal-
ary increases may be submitted without
stating the previous salary or even the one
proposed ; questions involving expenditures
or bond issues may be put so ambiguously
that nothing remains for the careless voter
but a snap decision.

At this point, it is only designed to show
the present carelessness and indifference
prevalent, both in regard to voting and more

40 Reclaiming the Ballot

particularly in the matter of not voting.
Elsewhere, it will be shown how dangerous
it is to attempt any other reforms until the
fundamental reform of our election system
is successful.

If the arguments here brought forward
and the illustrations here given are not suf-
ficient to prove to the reader that the Amer-
ican electorate and more particularly the so-
called better citizens are indifferent and
careless in regard to their civic duties, that
reader may amply satisfy himself by a care-
ful survey of conditions in his own town.
Talk to the politicians, survey the results at
election time, become acquainted with the
operations of the precinct election board
and the facts in the case will be amply at-
tested.

It is apparent that something more should
be done than has been done in the past to
inspire the average American with a realiza-
tion of the duty of voting, to teach him how
to vote intelligently, and particularly to il-
lustrate to him the practical processes by
which the people's choice is recorded. This
should be begun in the school-room. It

Inefficient Citizens 41

should be a very prominent part of the edu-
cational system to train young Americans
to be good citizens. Yet, themes of this
kind have been left, all too often, to the
commencement orator, who makes the eagle
scream and inspires in us a feeling of loyalty
to the home of the brave and the land of the
free, but whose instructions are generally of
a somewhat vague nature.

There are many signs of increasing inter-
est along this line among school authorities.
The course of study in the New York el-
ementary schools outlines a splendid pro-
gram in civics, intended to equip the pupil
in the fundamentals of citizenship and also
offers suggestions to teachers along the very
lines we are urging here. It outlines for
class study "The Reciprocal Duties of Cit-
izens," as follows:

"To register, to vote, to enroll, to know how can-
didates are selected, to know party organization, to
inquire into the ability, honesty and integrity of
each person who is a candidate for public office, to
inquire into public activities of the neighborhood, to
join such political, religious and social societies as in
his opinion contribute most to the welfare of the

42 Reclaiming the Ballot

community and the country; to be well-informed on
city, state and national affairs, and to act intelli-
gently, honestly and unselfishly in working for better
laws in the city."

The suggestions to teachers in this con-
nection are as follows:

"While the city government is being studied, it is
well to organize your class along the lines of the city
government. At election time, a fac-simile of a
ballot should be shown and its rules explained."

Besides all this, there is outlined an elab-
orate program including a study of the
workings of the government in all its
branches, why government is necessary,
what it does for the people, what the people
must do in response and other kindred
topics. Faithful carrying out of such a
course cannot fail to accomplish a great
amount of good. The pupil drilled along
these lines is well in the way of becoming a
good citizen.

Nor is New York alone in this present
trend. Cleveland pays very careful atten-
tion to civics, and instruction covers not

Inefficient Citizens 43

only the duty of voting, but explains the
casting of the ballot. It is true, however,
that special emphasis is placed upon this
instruction in the evening classes, where a
considerable proportion of the pupils are of
foreign birth.

In several other cities, too, the school
authorities report that classes along civic
lines are conducted in the evening schools
and particularly for foreign-born pupils.
This is well enough if it does not mean that
day pupils and native-born pupils are neg-
lected. As a matter of fact, the American
child stands as greatly in need of instruc-
tion along these lines as does his foreign-
born brother. It is surely a mistake to give
the immigrant specific instruction in regard
to the ballot and allow our own offspring to
pick up their information as best they may.

Chicago, under the direction of its ef-
ficient and progressive superintendent, Ella
Flagg Young, has been well to the forefront
in this matter. In the eighth grade (gram-
mar school), in connection with history and
civics, opportunity is usually given the
children to familiarize themselves with

44 Reclaiming the Ballot

methods of voting and with the ballot. In
the same grade, the so-called "Chicago
Course" takes up historical, geographical,
industrial and civic conditions of Chicago.
There is in the first year of the high school
an optional course known as "Civic and In-
dustrial Chicago," in which the information
about voting would be included. This is
eminently good and particularly so because
the work is begun in the eighth grade. So
very large a portion of our pupils, boys par-
ticularly, leave school at the end of the
grammar grades, that it would surely be
deplorable to give practical civic instruc-
tion only to the fraction who continue on
into the upper grades.

In Detroit, teachers and principals are
given considerable latitude in the matter
of civic instruction, but as yet no standard
work has been adopted making ballot
training an essential part of any course.
Much has been done in this direction, par-
ticularly at election time, but thus far it
has largely been at the initiative of the in-
structors rather than as a prescribed item
in the curriculum.

Inefficient Citizens 45

There are other cities which evince partic-
ular interest in the teaching of practical
civics, and in specific instruction in regard
to the ballot, and other cities where there
is a feeling that what has been done in this
line is too general and that what is needed
is to give the work more specific relation to
the duties of citizens. Cities in this class
are generally in process of revising their
courses and it is to be earnestly hoped that
ultimately they will perceive the wisdom of
giving all the pupils clear-cut, specific in-
struction in regard to the voting process.

Other cities, as before hinted, leave all
instruction of this kind to the classes de-
signed for foreign-born pupils who are pre-
paring for naturalization. Still others state
that nothing specific is being attempted
along this line, but that the course of study
is sufficiently flexible so that the teachers
and principals may and do give much civic
instruction. This, it would seem, is alto-
gether too haphazard a method and the
good or bad citizenship of the pupil entirely
too much a matter of the inclination of his
instructors.

46 Reclaiming the Ballot

It is obvious, therefore, that while a few
of the most progressive of our educators are
keenly alive to their responsibilities in this
matter, the study of civics and balloting
is by no means a standard subject in our
schools. What is needed is a constant re-
iteration of the duty of taking part in civic
affairs and particularly in voting. This
ought to begin as early in school life as
seems practicable and be continued through
the higher institutions, where, of course,
training along this line is already being
given. This work should include what is
being accomplished by the ballot, what offi-
cers are elected and in what manner, the
duties of these officers and why it is impor-
tant to exercise care in selecting them. A
final step should be actual instruction in
casting and counting ballots, identical with
those in use in the place where the pupil
lives. It might very well be made a con-
dition of advancement that the pupil pass
an examination in ballot-marking.

A practical means by which this might be
demonstrated might be found in conducting
an actual election with two or more parties

Inefficient Citizens 47

formed among the pupils, candidates put
forward and a regular ballot provided.
Pupils to serve as election officials might be
selected by the teacher. A practical test
such as this might very well arouse the
pupil's interest and he might thus learn the
elements of government by actual experi-
ment.

CHAPTER IV

DEFEATING THE PEOPLE's WILL

IT would seem that the most rigorous
measures would be taken to assure that
the vote is properly cast and accurately and
fairly counted. As a matter of fact, a more
haphazard process, or one more open to
manipulation than the one in use in most
cities can hardly be conceived. Instead of
stringent safeguards, we find a spirit of in-
difference. Instead of heated indignation
when error or corruption is found, there is
a spirit of bowing to the inevitable, that ef-
fort at reform is useless.

The American citizen takes it for granted
that the elected officials are the choice of a
majority of the voters. All too frequently
they are merely the choice of a few groups
of a half-dozen men, sitting in secret con-
cealment in the dark hours of the night

Defeating the People's Will 49

with no one to thwart whatever purpose
may rule their desires. A precinct or voting
district where such a condition obtains is
said to be "controlled." In every city,
there are "controlled" precincts, varying in
number according to local conditions, and
according to the vigilance of the prosecut-
ing authorities. "Controlled precincts" in
the city of Detroit have been variously esti-
mated at from twenty to fifty. The opin-
ions of expert observers seem to place the
number at thirty. It is not likely that De-
troit is worse, in this respect, than other
cities. Many voters like to think that this
corrupt condition is remote from their
own locality. Raising their eyes to Heaven,
they thank God that they are not as other
precincts are. Grant that their simple con-
fidence may not be misplaced.

It may seem that a comparatively small
number of precincts which may be "con-
trolled" could not possibly alter the final
result. It must be borne in mind that in
the case of a close election a very few votes
may turn the tide. Whenever a spirited
campaign is conducted, the result is likely

so Reclaiming the Ballot

to be very even. These controlled pre-
cincts do not hesitate to "let down" an op-
posing candidate with few or no votes. The
table below will illustrate how one cor-
rupted precinct may overbalance five pre-
cincts where the vote is correctly counted.
Thus :

Precinct One — Smith 425 Jones 401

Precinct Two — Smith 397 Jones 370

Precinct Three — Smith 421 Jones 394

Precinct Four — Smith 375 Jones 352

Precinct Five — Smith 391 Jones 374

Precinct Six — Smith 156 Jones 597

Total 2,165 2,488

In the first five precincts, the vote was
correctly counted. The sixth was a con-
trolled precinct. It will be seen that though
Smith carried five of the six precincts, he
did not lead in the total vote of the entire
six. The lead he gathered in the five was
completely overwhelmed by Jones' enor-
mous vote in his one precinct. Pass along
the city's streets, you will not know when
you pass from the fifth precinct to the sixth.
The residences are of similar character, the

Defeating the People's Will 51

people are of the same type and in similar
circumstances. There is nothing to dis-
tinguish this sixth precinct from the pre-
cincts on either side. Yet there has been a
startling reversal of opinion, and the judg-
ment of the other five precincts has been
vetoed by the vote in the one. Such an
example, which is common enough in mu-
nicipal political life, would tend to show
that the controlled precinct exercises more
influence than would be considered possible.
When two or three such precincts are lo-
cated in the same ward, it is obvious that it
becomes impossible to elect an alderman,
estimator, school-inspector, constable or any
other ward officer without the advice and
consent of the man in the booth.

The methods by which votes may be
juggled by a corrupt election board are
many. They are limited only by the range
of human ingenuity and it must be ad-
mitted that the vote manipulator is pos-
sessed of an abundant amount of acumen
along this line. The Master said, " the chil-
dren of evil are wiser in their generation
than the children of light.'* Not only wiser,

52 Reclaiming the Ballot

but they seem to work harder at it. Again
we are adjured to be "wise as serpents,
harmless as doves." We implicitly obey
the second clause of the commandment.

We need mention but a few of the pos-
sible activities which are at the command
of a wide-awake corrupt board.

The ''instructed" voter is a fertile field
for operations. Nearly all election laws
provide that a voter who is physically in-
capacitated or who is unable to read Eng-
lish may be assisted in marking his ballot,
such assistance to be rendered by an in-
spector of elections, under regulations care-
fully prescribed by law. These regulations
are all too often more honored in the breach
than in the observance. It is obvious that
there is little to prevent a voter's being as-
sisted whether it is actually necessary or
not. In certain precincts in the foreign
quarters of large cities, it is almost impos-
sible to cast a vote without such assistance.
Only vigorous insistence, often in the face
of threats of physical violence, enables a
man to cast his own vote. Many of these
voters are under the dominance of the pre-

Defeating the People's Will 53

cinct boss and are entirely willing to allow
him to usurp their rights as citizens. A
naive negro, who recently moved from one
city to another, innocently remarked: "Yo'
alls votes diff'rent heah from what they
does where Ah comes from. A nice p'lite
man marks yo' ballot fo' yo'."

Even in the cases where assistance is
actually needed, it is by no means certain
to be fairly given. The average voter will
have two or three strong prejudices in re-
gard to his ballot. If he be granted his own
way in regard to these, he is more or less
indifferent regarding the rest and the man
who marks the ballot can usually do pretty
much as he pleases. In cases where the il-
literacy is genuine, there is nothing to pre-
vent the inspector marking names other
than the ones indicated by the voter. As
long as this loophole of incapacitated and
illiterate voters remains, it will be extremely
difficult to eliminate corrupt voting. De-
signed as a protection for certain unfortu-
nate voters and to be used in exceptional
cases only, it has come to be quite the rule
in localities where a controlled vote is de-

54 Reclaiming the Ballot

sired. The voter who has been directly
bought, as is the case with "floaters" so-
called, is instructed to ask for assistance,
and the inspector actually casts the ballot
for him. Similar measures are used in the
case of other voters, who for any reason, it
is possible to influence or intimidate. The
secrecy of the ballot, so sacred to our Amer-
ican traditions, is seriously interfered with.
Yet few seem to think that any drastic ac-
tion, particularly if it involves the expendi-
ture of any money, should be undertaken.
When a voter moves from one precinct to
another, he is given a transfer slip and his
name (presumably) erased from the regis-
tration book of the district he has left.
This last procedure may accidentally be
omitted where the voter is not alert — and
he usually is not. After receiving his trans-
fer slip, the average voter immediately
leaves the booth, trusting to the honesty
and competence of the man at the books.
Unfortunately, all too often he is lacking in
either one or the other. Even where his in-
tentions are altogether virtuous, he is hur-
ried by the insistence of waiting voters and

Defeating the People's Will 55

postpones the operation of crossing off the
name of the departed voter until he "has
time." The names thus remain on the
registration book as perfectly eligible vo-
ters. It becomes an easy matter to cast
votes for as many of these removed ones as
are needed. Floaters and strangers can be
used to represent the voters, or where a
board is unanimously corrupt, the votes
can usually be put through entirely without
the human equation of the supposed voter.
Similar advantage may be taken in the case
of voters who have died or moved from
the city. The story is told of a certain elec-
tion-board chairman who cast a vote for a
man who had died several days previous to
the election. He justified himself thus: "I
know what the old man's views was. He
was for Wrogge for mayor. Hain't right
for him to lose his vote just because he hap-
pened to die."

Voting absentees, non-residents and dead
men can be done without fear of detection.
The election board has only to aver that a
man presented himself as Mr. So-and-So,
and was allowed to vote on his own state-

56 Reclaiming the Ballot

ment which was not challenged. Even
though it be proved that Mr. So-and-So was
personally known to certain members of
the board, it can be claimed that such mem-
bers were not present at the time he voted.

In every precinct, no matter how close
the election or widespread the interest,
there are large numbers of voters who do
not turn out. To a reasonable degree, an
election board whose members understand
one another can vote some of these names
with complete security. Citizens who do
not vote seldom consult poll-lists to see
whether or not some one else has under-
taken their civic duties for them.

In addition, there are many ways by
which the voter's intent may be easily al-
tered after the polls are closed. Our ballots
could hardly be made easier to manipulate
were one to make a direct effort with that
purpose in view. The so-called straight
ballot is admirably suited to such a purpose.
The voter, strong in his partisan sympa-
thies, declares that he intends to vote for
his party candidates from president to cor-
oner. Unfortunately, his vote as finally

Defeating the People's Will 57

counted is quite different from the way it
left his hands. To vote his straight ticket,
he places an X 2il the top of his party col-
umn and lets it go at that. The short-pencil
manipulator finds this ballot a fertile field
for his activities. The short pencil can be
easily concealed in the hand and its use is
very safe for the manipulator. This proc-
ess is called "letting the blue bird fly.""
Usually in order to split a ticket, it is merely
necessary to place an X before the name of
a candidate in any opposing party column.
This automatically *' scratches" the candi-
date whose name is opposite and in the
voter's own party column. How easy, how
very easy, and how wonderfully safe, for
the manipulator to place an X before the
name of any special favorite! Such a vote
becomes entirely recount proof. It is just
such a vote as hundreds of voters cast and,
aside from actual eye-witness testimony,
there can be no proof that any manipulating
has been done.

Where the votes have been more care-
fully cast, the best the manipulator can do
is to spoil as many opposing ballots as he

58 Reclaiming the Ballot

dares. This is accomplished by voting for
all candidates for the office. It is then im-
possible to judge the voter's intent and the
ballot becomes void as far as that particular
office is concerned.

In especially aggravated cases, where city
administrations are not strict in insisting
upon an accounting of unused ballots, it
may be possible to substitute specially pre-
pared ballots and to destroy some of those
actually voted. This, of course, can be done
only when collusion with higher authorities
has reached a high point of perfection.

Even when one or two of the members of
the election board are honest and alert, it
is easily possible for the other members to
manipulate the count. There are usually
two sets of ballots to be counted, city and
county, or city and state, or city and na-
tional. An election board of six or more
members will usually be divided into two
crews. The honest men can usually be seg-
regated on the counting of the ballots with
which the manipulators least desire to do
business. Even though an honest member
succeeds in getting placed on the counting

Defeating the People's Will 59

of the ballots which are to be counted er-
roneously, he will need to be very wide
awake indeed to circumvent a clever and
unscrupulous team of manipulators. The
honest man must either call or tally. The
caller holds the ballots in his hand and reads
the result from one after another. Usually,
nothing but his conscience stands in the
way of his reading them to suit himself. If
he is moderate in his knavery, he is unlikely
ever to be punished even if caught. A little
error of ten to twenty per cent, of the votes
can easily be called a mistake due to the long
hours, poor ventilation and other reasons.
Such "errors" only come out in the case of
a recount, and it is interesting to note that
practically all general recounts of a city or
county vote reveal wide discrepancies be-
tween the original result and the recount.
The tallyers tabulate the vote by making
little marks in groups of five in a book es-
pecially designed for this purpose. There
are usually two tallyers.

Should the honest member be set to tally-
ing, as would naturally be the case, the vote-
juggler with the ballots in his possessioi;!

6o Reclaiming the Ballot

reads them as he sees fit. On the other
hand, if the honest member is allowed to
call the ballots, the two tallyers can easily
have an understanding that every third or
fourth ballot for Jones will be counted for
Smith. A pressure of the foot beneath the
table may be the signal or the change may
be effected with each repetition of the word
"tally," which occurs whenever a group of
five has been made for any candidate.

Even should the calling and tallying be
correctly done, there still remains an oppor-
tunity for manipulating the result. A slov-
enly practice prevails among election boards
of signing all reports, tally-sheets and other
papers before they are filled in, usually at
once upon organizing in the morning. This
is done upon the e;xcuse of getting home
early and not leaving so much to be done
after the polls close. As there is really con-
siderable detail and red-tape to go through
with, the excuse will pass muster in most
cases. The chairman of the board with the
signed tally-sheets in his possession, can
give the honest member something to do in
the way of copying reports that must be

Defeating the People*s Will 6i

made in duplicate, and while he is so en-
gaged, alter the result by a few quick pencil
strokes. He must be skilful to accomplish
this. And he usually is.

Other means by which the will of the
voter is grossly thwarted are doubtless in
operation. The situation lends itself to
knavery and the corrupt election board is
usually well entrenched in its position. It
is difficult, if not indeed impossible, to dis-
lodge them from their offices since, as a
rule, they themselves count the ballots by
which they are chosen. Then again a care-
less electorate deeming these "minor" of-
fices of little consequence, seldom takes the
trouble to vote on them. As a result, the
same old gang has little trouble returning
itself year after year.

The power attained by these coteries be-
comes such that public officials dare not at-
tempt to dislodge them. Mention a corrupt
election board in his bailiwick to any alder-
man and he is likely to beg you to discuss
some more pleasant subject. He knows
that should he attempt to interfere with
their prerogatives, he would be marked for

62 Reclaiming the Ballot

slaughter at the very next election. One
public official when spoken to in this regard
and asked if he did not wish to be elected
honestly, replied, "Yes — but I want to be
elected." The fact is that the public of-
ficials are afraid of these corrupt election
boards and their friends. And they are not
a bit fearful of the activities of the so-called
good citizen. Governing bodies of our large
cities often refuse to investigate notorious
conditions in election methods. Why.f^ Be-
cause they fear for their official lives. And
whom they fear they serve. Make no mis-
take about that.

As an example of the overweening power
of a really scientifically controlled district,
this incident is illuminating. A certain can-
didate, hearing that he was not to be favored
by the support of the precinct boss, tried to
create a division by securing the support of
the boss's leading rival. The boss heard of
it as usual, squared matters with his rival,
and sent for the recalcitrant candidate. To
him he said: "Mr. Smith, you have chal-
lenged my prestige in this precinct. You
have dared to say that I'm not the boss

Defeating the People's Will 63

down here. Just to show you that this is
my precinct, that I own it, and every vote
in it, I am going to make a little prediction.
You will receive two votes, no more, no less.
If you receive one or three, you will know
that I am not in full control, but if you get
two, you will know that I am the boss." It
is hardly necessary to say that Mr. Smith
received exactly two votes. The precinct
in which this occurred never gives more
than a dozen or so votes for a candidate the
boss dislikes.

Why a precinct is controlled and what
the board members get out of it to justify
their efforts is not always apparent. Often,
no doubt, it is a straightforward cash prop-
osition, the chairman being paid a certain
sum to "deliver" the precinct, this amount
being divided among those in the deal.
Very many estimable gentlemen who place
large campaign funds in the hands of cam-
paign managers would be greatly surprised
to learn the ultimate destination of the
money. The campaign manager euphemis-
tically refers to his "influence" with "Spi-
der" Ryan, "BaWy" Schmidt and "Slug-

64 Reclaiming the Ballot

ger" Kelly, in explanation of the ease with
which his candidate carried these precincts.

In other cases, certain minor offices —
clerkships, inspectorships, any one of a
host of appointments may be given in re-
turn for the activity in election work. And
whatever the motive, sufficient or not, the
fact remains that a great vote-stealing
organization exists in probably every one
of our large cities, that it is strongly en-
trenched and that the people are not greatly
concerned about it; or if they were once
concerned, have lost interest through re-
peated failure to improve conditions.

It is presumed, both by the electorate in
general and by the law, that the purity of
the election is maintained by the presence
of challengers and witnesses. Possibly, this
is sometimes the case, but not often in the
case of a controllable precinct. When it is
possible to corrupt an election board, it is
also possible to do likewise with the wit-
nesses and challengers. Challengers are
frequently like desirable chaperones — noted
for what they do not see. The power to is-
sue challenge cards is almost invariably in

Defeating the People's Will 65

the hands of practical politicians, the city
and county chairmen of the various political
parties. They are often in sympathy or
even actual alliance with the corrupt boards
and always willing to play the game as they
find it. Recognition of challengers is under
the jurisdiction of the election board. The
chairman may accept some and reject
others. Those who are rejected have their
redress in the courts, but by the time the
court has moved in the matter that said
witness had a proper right in said voting-
booth, the election is over and hostilities de-
ferred to another occasion. Even where the
law is stringent in regard to the necessity of
allowing challengers to be present, there is
usually a loophole in the form of a provi-
sion that any person obstructing the voting
may be removed at the discretion of the
board. "Any person" includes a challenger
and if the board decides that the election
booth is crowded so that voting is obstruct-
ed, challengers may easily be ejected with a
color of justice. The small size of the voting
places in most cities gives some little justi-
fication for this practice. Occasionally,

66 Reclaiming the Ballot

without parley or excuse, the hostile chal-
lenger is ordered to leave, and should he fail
to do so, is summarily ejected. Sometimes
this is done with the assistance of the forces
of law and order, police officials taking the
position that the election board has been
chosen by the people and should be in en-
tire control. In such cases, police officers
are instructed to obey the chairman's
orders.

Reform in the matter of laws more care-
fully protecting the ballot will not be easy
to achieve. Public officials do not wish to
end their political careers by running
counter to the wishes of the gang. Efforts
to improve conditions must be earnest and
persistent. When the politician learns that
he has as much to fear from the good citizen
as he has from the crooked vote manipula-
tor, he will respect him as much. The first
work will be to arouse people from their
apathy and from their view of politics as a
game.

CHAPTER V

THE URGENT NEED OF BALLOT REFORM

REFORM of our ballot system should
precede all other reforms. Until we
reconstruct our manner of nominating and
electing officers, and registering the people's
will in regard to measures submitted to
them, many other reforms are not only use-
less, but highly dangerous. ^ If unscrupu-
lous politicians can manipulate voting and
counting to suit their will, the more power
we give to the ballot, the more power do we
place in their hands. Ways and means
must be provided by which the people may
have the benefit of intelligent discussion of
the various issues and a method provided by
which the expression may be honestly re-
corded and honestly returned.

Much has been written and said in prom-
ise of what the direct primary would do if

68 Reclaiming the Ballot

once placed in active operation. Much has
been said in opposition. It is not the pur-
pose of this book to attempt to settle this
phase of the question of good government.
It is only intended to show here that even
though the direct primary is fundamentally
a correct procedure, it is not only useless
but highly dangerous to operate it as long
as present methods of casting and counting
ballots obtain. It has been conceded by
those who favor direct primaries that they
give the people the opportunity not only
to vote a certain ticket, but to have some-
thing to say in regard to what names go on
the ticket. A recent writer in cataloguing
the evils of the old caucus and convention
system, said:^

"A committee appointed by the previous county,
state or other convention places upon the ballots the
names of the delegates to the respective conventions.
The delegates are voted upon at a so-called primary
election and are almost invariably chosen. These
irresponsible and practically unknown delegates then
meet in the state, county, assembly district or other
convention and under the direction of the boss and
the committee to whom they owe their nomination,

^B. P. De Witt, in "The Progressive Movement."

Urgent Need of Ballot Reform 69

select candidates for the different offices. How little
real power can be exercised by a majority of the
people under such a system need not be pointed out."

The remedy that it is assumed is pro-
vided by the direct primary is that it places
the people rather than the politicians in
power. It is assumed that under the older
system delegates were chosen by a few
party leaders and that these same leaders
dictated whom the delegates should nomi-
nate for office. It is assumed that under
direct primaries, this will be completely
changed and the professional politician, due
to lack of power, will cease to exist. Wheth-
er the direct primary will actually mend
matters or make them worse may still be
considered a matter of theory, for the sys-
tem has hardly been put to a fair test. It is
obvious that if the machine politicians
wrongfully manipulate the casting and
counting of ballots the more power given
to the voter the more power the active poli-
tician will possess. Until the crooked gang-
ster, the vote manipulator, the man higher
up who assists him and instructs him, the
higher officials who tolerate him, until these

70 Reclaiming the Ballot

have been shorn of their power, it is highly
dangerous to find new uses for the ballot.
In answer to critics of the direct primary,
its sponsors have always said: "You don't
trust the people." Whether we trust the
people or not is quite another question from
whether we trust the crooked vote manipu-
lator who takes such liberties as he wishes
with the ballots the people have cast. Un-
til we have driven him from his position, it
is the height of folly to place any new
weapons into his hand. A daily newspaper,
always a strong champion of the direct pri-
mary, has this to say of the primary's oper-
ations under "controlled" precinct rule:

"That the August primaries were rotten, every-
one who is informed knows. As a rule the men who
used money didn't land the nominations, but there
was rottenness just the same.

"Too many of the voting precincts of this city are
under the control of picayune dynasties who pass
around election inspectorships and chairmanships
with a view, not to the service they can render a clean
vote and a straight count, but for the service they
can render themselves or one of the gang. In these
precincts it doesn't matter how many voters a can-
didate may have for him, because it isn't a question
of VOTERS, but a question of ballots. In those pre-

Urgent Need of Ballot Reform 71

cincts the big event of the election Is the count, with
'assistance to voters in marking ballots' coming a
close second.

"There have been instances here of candidates for
office being also election inspectors, and counting the
ballots cast in their own contest!

"Such a situation dispenses with the necessity of
comment. If two sets of men controlled the books
and the ballot boxes, affairs might have a less offen-
sive stench than they now put forth.

"Better still, if the average voter paid as much
attention to his vote for the precinct election com-
mittee as he does to his vote for the candidate for
higher offices, he would stand a better chance of
having his votes for higher offices counted.

"The men who engage in precinct trickery are, of
necessity, of low class. A number of them are known
in the criminal life of the city. Others are that
shoddy company who peddle * influence,' and have
no other visible means of support. Probably they
*know an official,' or can *put you next to a job
somewhere.' Others — the * higher-ups' — are of that
class of politicians who are wise enough to know
that *if they don't look they won't see anything.'
But, taken altogether, they are no more representa-
tive of the plain citizen who walks into a booth to
vote than they are fit to handle his sacred ballot.
There are precincts where it would seem that delib-
erate effort has been made to pick out the least
responsible and morally worst men to make up the
figures that decide the personnel of government, and
the city's policies.

"These men must be exposed by name and by

72 Reclaiming the Ballot

their practices, and they must be driven out, and
some public sentiment aroused, or some new system
devised that shall thrust them into the oblivion
which has swallowed some other dark political prac-

As long as it is true that "ballots" and
not "voters" are counted, it seems a silly
waste of time to discuss the extension of the
primary or, indeed, to give attention to any
reform by means of a ballot system itself
corrupt from the ground up.

The initiative has been strongly advo-
cated by many as the one sure and certain
means of remedying all the ills the body
politic is heir to. Whether it is fundamen-
tally a correct procedure is not the question
here. It is only necessary to point out how
highly dangerous it is to further enlarge the
scope of the initiative until we know to a
reasonable certainty that dishonest men
cannot use it by trickery to further their
nefarious schemes. Let us listen to a strong
friend of the initiative as he outlines its
beneficent operation:

"Where the initiative is in force, the people are
not entirely dependent upon the state legislatures.

Urgent Need of Ballot Reform 73

In many states, no broad, fundamental policy which
requires a constitutional amendment, can be adopted,
even though it is favored by a large majority of the
voters, because everything must begin with the legis-
lature and the legislature refuses to take the first
step. The initiative on constitutional amendments
gives to the people a power that is most elementary
in a democracy: i. e., the power to fix the funda-
mental law of the state. That the power of initia-
tion in this direction has been so completely placed
in the hands of a few temporary officials is one of the
wonders and anomalies of our government. Much
less important, but nevertheless of the greatest value,
is the right of the people to propose specific laws
other than amendments. The hands of all the people
should not be bound so far as legislation is con-
cerned, because they have selected a few men to
enact laws. State legislatures should make the great
bulk of the laws and always will make them, whether
the initiative is adopted or not; but machine poli-
ticians and special interests should not, by winning
over a few hundred legislators, and inducing them to
do nothing, thwart the wishes of millions to obtain
some pressing reform through legislation. The initia-
tive, first of all, recognizes the right of a majority of
the people to change any law, constitutional or stat-
utory, whenever they so desire and whether the
legislature is willing or not."

The author goes on to enumerate further
advantages of the initiative. It gives to
"fairly large minorities the opportunity of

74 Reclaiming the Ballot

forcing their demands upon the attention
of the state." It prevents legislatures from
emasculating good laws that have been in-
troduced by friends of reform. It encour-
ages the individual to take a more active
interest in legislation.

In writing of the possible disadvantages
which have been argued against the initia-
tive, the author says:^

"It is undoubtedly true that under any initiative
system politicians find no trouble in obtaining the
signatures necessary to call an election, and although
the percentage of signatures required should be high
enough to prevent the election from becoming a nui-
sance, there is no reason why any body of men
should not propose any measure, good or bad, for
public consideration. But while it may be admitted
that the political machine encounters little difficulty
in calling an election, it is certain that it encounters
a great deal in attempting to carry one. Public
opinion, if given sufficient time and information, can
ordinarily be trusted to expose a bad measure."

Here is the nub of the whole matter. The
author admits that political machines will
have no trouble in calling the election.
Then, if the political machine is strongly

*B. P, De Witt, in "The Progressive Movement."

Urgent Need of Ballot Reform 75

entrenched in the election boards, why will
it have difficulty in carrying the election
also ? When a large percentage of election
officials are deputy sheriffs, deputy assess-
ors, clerks in various city and county offices
all directly under the domination of the
machine, it can easily be seen that the ma-
chine will have considerable to say regard-
ing the way the votes are counted. It is
true that it is more difficult to alter a ballot
voting on a question of "yes" or "no" than
it is to alter one involving candidates.
However, it is just as simple a matter to
"assist" or "instruct" voters in marking
their ballots, and in this way the corrupt
voter can be made to deliver the goods. In
a single precinct in the colored settlement
of a large city, a challenger reported that
out of three hundred voters, over two hun-
dred received assistance or instructions.
This was invariably from the precinct boss,
the same man who had earlier rounded up
these voters and brought them to the polls.
It is easy to perceive that were this precinct
boss in favor of any initiative amendment,
there would be very few "nay" votes re-

76 Reclaiming the Ballot

corded on the proposition in his baili-
wick.

It is a general practice under the initia-
tive to submit several propositions at one
time. Some of these propositions will be
discussed to a greater or less extent in the
daily press and among individuals. Others
will hardly be more than mentioned. The
average voter will not have pronounced
convictions on more than half. Few voters
will have opinions concerning them all. As
a result many voters will not vote on all of
the propositions submitted. Feeling that he
is not informed on the subject and not car-
ing to risk a wrong expression, the voter
will pass the matter entirely. This will
leave a very fertile field for the vote manip-
ulator. Every blank on the ballot will
make it possible for him to express his opin-
ion in a concrete and effective way. A
clever short-pencil man could quickly fix
the ballots so that they would be in line
with his convictions, unless alertness on the
part of those in the voting house with him
interfered.

It may be said that no "important'*

Urgent Need of Ballot Reform 77

proposition could be carried or defeated in
this manner. It is well known, however,
that "important" officers have been and
constantly are elected by these underground
methods. There seems to be no reason why
a similar condition should not obtain in the
case of measures. It is far easier to arouse
heated public opinion regarding the merits
of candidates, than in the yes or no of any
given proposition. Even the most critical
franchise referendum will not bring out the
voters as will a sharply contested mayoral-
ty campaign. There is little reason to
doubt that by a judicious use of "in-
structed" voters and the full possession of
the counting processes, the machine could
put through any measure, except where
public opinion was at least seventy-five
per cent, decisive on one side or the other.
The balance of power is plainly in the hands
of the controlled districts and that it will be
used is inevitable.

Then very much depends upon what we
term "important." Perhaps in the case of
a heated franchise fight where public opin-
ion is strongly alert and where a large pro-

78 Reclaiming the Ballot

portion of the registered voters come out,
it may be difficult for the manipulators to
accomplish their object. Indeed, they do
not expect to win all battles. Once in a
while, the situation is too cumbersome to
handle. They well know that the time will
come when the people are quiescent and
when it will be safe to *'put something
over.'' There are few propositions put on
the ballot by the initiative process or that
are submitted to a referendum that are not
of considerable importance. Many involve
large expenditures of money. Many make
radical changes in terms of offices and the
powers conferred upon the incumbents. To
leave such *' unimportant" problems to set-
tlement by a manipulated vote and a fraud-
ulent count, largely in the interests of those
involved, is highly dangerous.

The case of the recall is somewhat simi-
lar. It has been assumed by those favoring
the recall that it will be used only in the
best interests of the whole people in getting
rid of an undesirable incumbent or in so
controlling public officials that fear of its
operation will keep them in the path of

Urgent Need of Ballot Reform 79

rectitude. It has never been considered for
a moment that the recall may be operated
by evil men for evil purposes to recall good
men from office. It has been presumed that
if a prosecuting attorney fails to enforce the
law, the people may recall him and dismiss
him from office. Suppose, however, that a
prosecuting officer does his duty in a more
rigorous manner than the machine poli-
ticians expect or consider desirable. There
is nothing whatever to prevent their secur-
ing petitions for his recall and by means of
their control of the voting processes actu-
ally ousting him from office, even in the
face of popular approval of his course of
action. It has been assumed that the recall
will inspire a certain fear in public officials,
who, realizing that their terms may be
brought to sudden end, will be the more
likely to do right from fear when possibly
they might not do so as a matter of con-
science. If this contention of the admirers
of the recall is true, that public officials fear
the power that puts them into office and
will do nothing to antagonize that power
because of the threatened recall, what do

8o Reclaiming the Ballot

we find when we consider that in so many
cases officers owe their positions to a ma-
chine vote and a controlled count? Is it
not apparent, then, that they will fear those
who control the voting and the counting?
Without the recall, they might be more or
less independent during the interval be-
tween elections, but with the recall hanging
over their heads, would they ever dare to
disobey the power that might remove them ?
Could a prosecuting attorney bring to trial
political grafters and still hope to remain
in office in a county where the grafters con-
trol the voting and the counting?

So with the recall of judicial decisions.
It has been assumed that the recall would
be utilized only to recall bad decisions.
There is no reason to believe that brave de-
cisions might not likewise be recalled if they
did injury to any component part of the
machine or its supporters.

All of this is set forth not to condemn the
initiative, the referendum or the recall,
whether of officers or of judges' decisions,
or to set aside efforts in the direction of a
direct primary, Svich questions do not

Urgent Need of Ballot Reform 8i

come within the scope of the writer's pres-
ent purpose. The intention is to show that
the reform of the ballot must precede all
other reforms; that placing more power in
the voters' hands is not only not likely to
prove beneficial, but may very well prove
decidedly harmful, until we see to it that
the votes are honestly cast and honestly
counted. A corrupt vote ties our hands in
the presence of any other possible step in
advance. It keeps honest men from the
polls, because they have little assurance that
their votes will be counted as they record
them.

Very often it is said that it is shameful
that Mr. So-and-So, who proved so flat a
failure in office, whether from incompetence
or dishonesty, should have been re-elected.
The fact of the matter is that it is alto-
gether likely he never was re-elected. He
was merely counted in. More than prob-
ably, he himself controlled many of the
election boards, possibly even was chairman
of one himself. The outsider had little or
no chance to dislodge him.

Those who believe, therefore, in the ef-

82 Reclaiming the Ballot

ficacy of the ballot to effect reform, who
believe that the people will make right de-
cisions once given the chance, should band
themselves together to see that the people
have a chance to vote honestly and to have
their votes correctly counted. It is the
height of folly to talk about the infallible
righteousness of the voice of the people,
that in the long run the people are always
right, that if the people choose wrongly the
people will themselves suffer and so be led
to rectify the error; it is useless seriously
to consider these things when the verdict of
the people may be, and all too often is,
the verdict of an unscrupulous politician
equipped with secrecy and the ever-efficient
short pencil.

CHAPTER VI

CONSERVATIVE REFORM

MOVEMENTS looking toward the cor-
rection of ballot abuses will need, first
of all, to arouse the interest of the people.
It will be necessary to convince them that
wrong is being done and that it is a solemn
duty to take such steps as seem to promise
a betterment of conditions.

Even under our present system, it is
easily possible to frame laws which, if en-
forced, would greatly mitigate the evil as
far as corrupt voting and corrupt counting
are concerned. For those who do not deem
the time ripe for any wider reform of our
civic processes, it may be well to consider
what may be done to insure an honest vote
and an honest count. Surely all men who
have the faintest spark of Americanism in
them must believe that this is desirable.

84 Reclaiming the Ballot

It will be necessary to drastically curb
the wide use of instruction and assistance
for the voter. In a previous chapter, we
gave some hint as to the corrupt use that is
made of the apparently innocent stipulation
that the voter may under certain circum-
stances receive instruction or aid from of-
ficers of election. All too often it seems
that practically entire election precincts be-
come suddenly lame, halt or blind. A large
number of votes can be and are absolutely
controlled by the men who handle the as-
sisted and instructed voters. Election dis-
tricts where such assistance is rendered to
a large proportion of voters almost invari-
ably report heavy majorities for certain
candidates and not usually those which can
be termed the most desirable. As to how
far the practice of aiding voters should be
allowed is a matter of wide difference of
opinion. Many believe that no assistance
should ever be rendered under any circum-
stances. They hold that the voter should be
handed a ballot and that the responsibility
for its use then rests entirely upon him. If
he cannot read it, so much the worse for

Conservative Reform 85

him, and so much the better for the state.
According to this view, the very few voters
who are deprived of their ballots because of
actual physical disability should be sacri-
ficed for the benefit of the fraud that can
be thus barred out. Others believe that
only those whose physical disability, such
as blindness or paralysis, is obvious, should
be assisted, and these only under oath and
with a special record kept of the assistance
and the nature of the disability. Still
others believe that aid should be granted il-
literate voters but only under oath and with
a careful record made of the voter's name
and request for assistance. It would seem
that any man who cannot read the ticket
that is placed before him is obviously unfit
for the task of making any intelligent choice.
The best thought on the subject seems to be
that no assistance should be given the illit-
erate, and that if this results in a light vote
among that class, it will be advantageous
rather than otherwise. The general tend-
ency, it would seem, lies in the direction
of the elimination of the illiterate voter.
Apart from this, it is highly important

86 Reclaiming the Ballot

that rigid regulation of the process of assist-
ance be enforced. The disability must be
manifest, the act of assistance must be per-
formed in the presence of witnesses, and a
record kept of the cases where assistance
was given. Failure to comply with these
provisions must constitute a misdemeanor
and be punishable.

It is important that legislation in the in-
terest of honest voting should prohibit the
incumbents of elective and appointive posi-
tions from serving as officers of election.
Ordinarily, election boards are packed with
various minor job-holders, who plainly rec-
ognize that the "boss" expects them to
"deliver the goods" on election day. The
evils of the situation are so manifest that
they hardly require argument. They re-
quire drastic action. Keep the office-holder
off your election boards.

Laws regulating the conduct of elections
should provide means by which the regis-
tration may be checked up. Very loose
methods now very generally obtain and reg-
istration books are loaded up with the
names of dead men, absentees and those

Conservative Reform 87

who have removed to other precincts. A
simple method to prove the correctness of
registration lists is to mail a letter to each
of the names on the book. Such letters as
are returned marked "not at" or "'address
unknown" it would seem would furnish
material for investigation, if indeed this
should not warrant formally erasing the
names from the registration list. Letters
sent out by a civic organiztaion to a list of
voters in a certain city precinct as given by
the registration book conclusively proved
that a goodly number did not reside at the
place given on the list. Yet municipalities
generally make little effort to prove these
lists of registration, and whatever has been
done has been the work of various civic
organizations. There does seem to be a
change coming, however, and already at
least one city has recognized that its voting
list ought to be free of error and fraud and
is taking steps to verify the books of regis-
tration. All cities should do so. The cost
will be little in comparison with the benefit
derived.

The rights of the public in general and of

88 Reclaiming the Ballot

challengers in particular should be carefully
safeguarded. It is not enough that the
various political parties should have the
right to appoint challengers and witnesses.
Too often, such challengers can be rendered
entirely harmless by a little family arrange-
ment. Then, too, challengers appointed by
the politicians in control will only challenge
when their particular bosses' interests are
invaded. In a word, they are not safe-
guarding the purity of the ballot, but only
endeavoring to maintain the rights of their
own superiors. The right to appoint chal-
lengers must also be allowed to the various
civic organizations whose objects include
the purity of the ballot. The most rigid
safeguards should maintain the rights of
these challengers, and they should be ac-
corded privileges sufficient to make them as
well informed in regard to what is taking
place as any member of the election board.
It must be made a misdemeanor for any
election officer or any policeman to inter-
fere with the challenger in the performance
of, his duty. Challengers appointed under
an act as outlined above were stationed in

Conservative Reform 89

the election booths in a recent Detroit elec-
tion. They made note of the name and ad-
dress of every man offering to vote and
with the protection of the law watched
throughout the casting and counting of the
ballots. Expert observers stated that, as a
result, the election was the fairest held in
years. It will be seen, therefore, that it
will be necessary not only for the law to
protect challengers, but it will also be es-
sential that public-spirited citizens should
volunteer for this highly important and fre-
quently very disagreeable duty.

Besides the challengers and witnesses, it
is desirable that the process of counting be
made as much a public matter as possible.
It is a natural thing for the neighbors to
desire to drop in and see how their precinct
is going. This desire ought to be fostered
rather than discouraged. This leads us to
a point that must be sufficiently obvious.
Our polling booths do not permit of this to
any degree. There may be room for the
prescribed challengers, though hardly that,
but none at all for the general public. It
would almost seem, therefore, that any rad-

90 Reclaiming the Ballot

ical reform of our ballot system should in-
clude a more commodious and better-
equipped polling house. In the next chap-
ter we will try to set forth something of the
possibilities in this direction. Here we have
attempted only to show what seems to be
absolutely necessary to honest voting and
honest counting and what can be put into
operation without any great change in our
present equipment. This far at least all
ought to be willing to go.

CHAPTER VII

THE PRECINCT CIVIC CENTER

THERE are many, however, who believe
that something far more radical in the
way of change is necessary in our processes
of voting than will result in even the best
laws enforced under our present equipment.
It will be possible, though difficult, to se-
cure an honest election even in our port-
able voting boxes; but it will not be pos-
sible to bring about several other reforms
that are almost as necessary. As Mr. Ed-
ward J. Ward so well points out in his
splendid book, "The Social Center," we
Americans are accustomed to thinking of
our government as something above us,
ruling over us. The seat of government,
to most of us, is the Capitol at Washington,
the state house or the city hall. Properly,
the center of government is the precinct

92 Reclaiming the Ballot

voting house. We think little of spending
millions for elaborate Halls of Congress,
state capitols, municipal buildings; but our
precinct voting centers, the real common
ground of American institutions, must be
housed in barber shops, livery stables, or
iron boxes set up in the street !

Besides assuring an honest casting and
counting of ballots, a voting reform pro-
gram should provide means by which voters
may easily come into touch with all candi-
dates and learn the arguments for and
against the various proposed measures; a
way should be opened for intelligent dis-
cussion of the issues of the campaign by the
voters themselves, thus arousing civic spirit
in the average man. This cannot be done
without a fundamental change in present
election methods. Such a change will no
doubt cost money. Professional politicians
do not always wish to spend any money in
this direction. Even the most wasteful ad-
ministration will hold up its hands in holy
horror at the very idea of "wicked extrav-
agance" in the direction of ballot reform.
Many cannot see any good reason why the

The Precinct Civic Center 93

people, as a government, ought to spend
any real money in endeavoring to safeguard
their most precious possession, the ballot.
This idea is often sedulously cultivated by
those in office who, having been the ben-
eficiaries of the present order, euphemisti-
cally style themselves conservative and
place obstacles in the way of any change,
particularly any change involving the expen-
diture of money. Public officials who have
piled up taxes mountain high in a hundred
directions are shocked at the idea of putting
electric lights into election booths.

Nevertheless, there are many of us who
believe that a fundamental change in elec-
tion methods is not only necessary, but de-
sirable. The program which we are about
to consider gives every prospect of accom-
plishing the essential purposes we have set
forth. It will make it comparatively easy
for every voter to come into personal con-
tact with many of the candidates. It will
provide means for a general discussion. It
will do away with such power in politics as
the saloon possesses by reason of its being
the accustomed meeting place; and it will

94 Reclaiming the Ballot

thereby relieve the office-holders of the bur-
den of obligation to the saloon men and
from any necessity of being unduly respon-
sive to their wishes. Most of all, it will re-
lieve the candidate for office from a consid-
erable amount of the expense he now incurs.
It is true that a part of this expense —
though we believe only a small part — ^will
be transferred to the taxpayers. A large
portion will be eliminated. If there is any
object under the sun better worth spending
money for than to secure competent and
honest public servants, we do not know
what it is. It is better to spend a little
money in discriminating selection than to
risk dishonesty and incompetence by hap-
hazard methods. Prevailing conditions in
regard to casting and counting ballots
would be greatly improved under the pro-
posed program, though it could not be
guaranteed that all crookedness and error
would be immediately eliminated. No
scheme could possibly assure that desirable
result.

The proposed program contemplates noth-
ing less than a complete civic center in each

The Precinct Civic Center 95

election precinct, housed in a permanent
building, properly equipped for the impor-
tant work to be undertaken. There are two
ways of accomplishing this. The first one is
to utilize the public school buildings by
making the school district and the election
precinct coincide. The best opinion on the
subject seems to consider the school as the
logical and best-fitted place for such a pre-
cinct center. Certainly economy recom-
mends it. The buildings are there and they
are idle much of the time when they would
be needed for civic purposes. It would re-
quire considerable alterations of present dis-
trict boundaries to place a school house in
each election precinct, but new school build-
ings could be located with this in mind. It
would be necessary to have well-equipped
auditoriums in all new school buildings;
while in those already constructed, a large
class room could be made adaptable to this
purpose.

The other alternative provides for a
special building for civic center purposes.
It would be more expensive. Whether more
desirable or not i§ open to difference of

96 Reclaiming the Ballot

opinion. The author of "The Social Cen-
ter" believes that the very institution of
the school house inspires the reverence and
respect with which we ought to approach
civic problems. It is quite possible that a
building devoted to civic purposes might in-
spire similar respect when put to use, and
its dedication to this purpose would, no
doubt, interest many in the purpose itself.
With the large increase in the public play-
ground movement, it will be an easy, nat-
ural step to the public work-shop move-
ment. Here the great American people
could be provided with the tools necessary
for their great task of self-government.
These tools they do not now possess and it
is little wonder that perfection in govern-
ment is not attained under the conditions.
This civic center might very well be worked
in conjunction with the play-grounds, and
wherever space was available, the building
could occupy a portion of the lot. It is
manifest that the demand for public play-
grounds will constantly increase. The man
who is five miles from the municipal tennis
CQurt will insist upon the same privileges a^

The Precinct Civic Center 97

the man who has one in the next block. The
American public is showing a great liking
for the municipal play-ground and this is
well and good. When the man who can-
not afford the dues of expensive clubs en-
joys himself on a city tennis court, he real-
izes that his city is doing something for him.
The community spirit is encouraged and out
of such public movements there is sure to
come a fine feeling of partnership in the
community. It may safely be predicted
that the people will not allow their play-
grounds to be taken from them. Rather
they will insist upon having more and more
of them. It will thus be seen that the pre-
cinct civic center might very well work in
with the play-grounds. These as now con-
stituted are practically limited to out-door
sports. In connection with the civic center
building, facilities for in-door enjoyment
might be maintained: a bowling alley, bil-
liard and game room, a gymnasium and a
reading room. Every argument that pre-
vails for the out-door play-ground is equally
strong for the in-door equipment.

It will be seen that while the above con-

98 Reclaiming the Ballot

templates a separate building for each elec-
tion precinct, the idea can easily be adapted
to suit those who believe that the school
house should be used. Whether an espe-
cially built civic center is used, or a school
house properly equipped for the purpose, is
a matter of detail to be settled by the practi-
cal conditions and economic considerations.
The main thing is that such a civic center be
provided in every election precinct.

The civic center must contain a room
capable of seating at least three hundred
persons. This auditorium should also be
used for election purposes. During the cam-
paign, political meetings should be adver-
tised for certain evenings. These meetings
should be presided over by the duly elected
precinct chairman. The precinct secretary
should send invitations to all political
parties and an announcement to every voter
in the precinct. No political party should
have jurisdiction over any meeting or any
part of any meeting nor be allowed to pay
any of the expenses, excepting the fee of any
professional speakers who are employed. It
will be the precinct chairman's duty to see

The Precinct Civic Center 99

that speakers are provided by the various
political parties and to introduce them,
without undue praise, to the gathering.
When it is learned that a political meeting
is to be held in one's own neighborhood,
that it will be held in a desirable place and
that speakers of various opinions will be
heard, the voters will be easily induced to
attend. It should be provided that either
at these general meetings or at special meet-
ings designated for the purpose, or both,
the general public may be given oppor-
tunity to discuss the various issues. It may
very well be that prominent men living in
the precinct will have light to cast upon
some matter of public importance and will
welcome the opportunity of addressing
their friends and neighbors. Such an oppor-
tunity ought surely to be provided under
our scheme of self-government. At pres-
ent, little attention is given to this phase of
community life. It is essential to correct
action that deliberation precede decision.
We do not now provide for deliberation ex-
cept such as the individual voter may devote
to the subject.

loo Reclaiming the Ballot

Out of these meetings would arise genu-
ine candidacies for office. A man's neigh-
bors would recognize in him qualities that
make him superior to his fellows and there
would come of it a spontaneous desire to
have him serve his city in some capacity.
Here we would have a real case of the office
seeking the man and choice for public po-
sition based upon knowledge of ability. The
precinct members would voluntarily sign
petitions to make their favorite a candidate.
Eventually, he might become alderman,
mayor or city treasurer because his fellow
citizens wanted him to. The demand for
his candidacy would arise outside of him-
self. It would naturally originate in the
desire upon the part of the people to place
a good man in a suitable position, for the
benefit of all. These precinct meetings
would reveal the exceptional man and give
him opportunity to reveal his qualities.
How different is our present procedure! In
ninety-five cases out of a hundred, the man's
candidacy for office originates with himself.
He wants to be school inspector or alder-
man or constable and his motive most fre-

The Precinct Civic. Geiitet loi

quently concerns selfish advantage for him-
self. Money, power, position, publicity or
other real or imagined benefit for himself is
usually the mainspring of the candidate's
ambition. He himself sets in motion the
machinery looking toward his nomination.
He either hires a professional to secure sig-
natures for his nominating petition or he
solicits them himself. Frequently his name
is placed upon the ballot by means of a
monetary fee. After the nomination, he
spends whatever sums he may have at his
command to advertise himself into office.
In all this, there has been nothing that re-
motely resembles *'the office seeking the
man," nothing that would direct the can-
didate's mind to view a public office as a
public trust. Rather, if he attains the office,
he inclines to think of it as a personal pos-
session. He had "worked hard enough to
get it." That this point of view is only too
prevalent is well known to all who have
studied the subject. That it is absolutely
opposed to a healthy state of government
ought to be evident to all. With the public
service a natural field for prey, it is not to be

I02 Reclaiming the Ballot

wondered at that we have not attained bet-
ter results. Such terms as " the pie-counter "
and "the trough," when applied to public
office are only too appropriate.

One of the strong points of the scheme of
precinct civic meetings is that it would
surely tend to improve matters in this re-
spect. Men of modesty and reserve who
would never suggest themselves for office
would be brought forward. Moreover, stu-
dents of economics and political economy
who now have little opportunity of making
their talents useful, would become of genu-
ine service to the community. The ancient
art of the debate, now utilized only in the
more or less sham battle of the school con-
test, would be revived in real earnest.

Precinct meetings of this type would also
provide a means by which the office-holder
could keep in touch with his constituents.
The alderman's present alleged representa-
tion of the people is more or less mythical.
After his election, he is really entirely free
to vote as he pleases. He has no way of
sounding the people's judgment should he
wish to do so. The recall itself would prob-

The Precinct Civic Center 103

ably be used only when an issue of the great-
est importance was at stake. Moreover, the
recall does not attempt to guide the office-
holder in voting according to the wishes of
the people, but only to punish him when he
fails to do so. In these meetings, there
would be the public discussion which not
only brings out general opinion, but forms
it and crystallizes it. The man who opposes
some project because of a single weakness
will become more favorably disposed when
he learns of compensating good points. Im-
provements will be suggested which will
make the proposition more satisfactory to
every one. The office-holder will be able to
receive a direct mandate from his people
and will thus become truly representative.
As it is now, he overhears some one voicing
an opinion on the street car, and if the view-
point coincides with his own, he will aver
that his constituents favor this procedure
or oppose it, as the case may be.

These precinct meetings will do a great
deal of direct good in connection with the
topics discussed. They will do even more
good to the people taking part in them

104 Reclaiming the Ballot

who will begin to feel that they have a
real, an actual part in government. Their
counsels, as well as their votes, have been
sought. Government has become a vital
concern because it has come down where
they live. They are a part of it.

Glance for a moment at prevailing condi-
tions in cases where public questions are to
be settled by the vote of the people. Usu-
ally, there is absolutely no provision made
for any discussion of the subject. What-
ever discussion does arise is casual, acciden-
tal and often with a great deal of bias.
Newspapers line up on opposing sides of a
question without regard to the merits of the
proposition itself. It is a foregone conclu-
sion often that when one paper takes a
stand in favor of any proposition, its rival
will oppose it. In such cases, discussion in
the public press becomes of the most parti-
san character. Nothing is printed that is
detrimental to the viewpoint chosen and
the reader must be satisfied with a one-
sided view of the question. It is often pos-
sible accurately to forecast a voter's leanings
on a given issue by learning which news-

The Precinct Civic Center 105

paper he reads. At any rate, whether a
newspaper's views are honestly held, as is
no doubt usually the case, or whether they
represent prejudice and self-interest, it is
evident that newspapers do not and can-
not furnish sufficient means for a thorough
discussion. Nor are newspapers under the
slightest obligation to provide this educa-
tion for the public. If they should, at any
time, deem it wise to pay less attention to
matters political, nothing could be done to
enjoin them from doing so. We are at pres-
ent practically without substitute for their
efforts.

Nothing less than the open forum will
serve such a purpose. Large meetings by
their very nature do not readily lend them-
selves to discussions. In the small, precinct
meeting, where a man meets his friends and
neighbors, we will have the nearest possible
approach to the old-time New England
town-meeting, need for which is so greatly
felt in our modern political life.

To sum up some of its advantages, we
see that these small, precinct meetings held
under entirely non-partisan conditions would

io6 Reclaiming the Ballot

do much to bring about these necessary im-
provements: the voter would more gener-
ally come into actual contact with the can-
didates for office, not only those of his own
party, but others as well; there would be
an opportunity to discuss the points at issue
informally; men especially fitted for public
office would naturally be brought out;
choice for public office would originate oth-
erwise than with the candidate himself;
office-holders would have opportunity to
test the public pulse; the people would feel
themselves to be participants in the gov-
ernment and would, therefore, take more
interest in it.

What this program of civic centers would
do for the honesty of the casting and count-
ing of the ballot is of the utmost importance.
It is obvious that much will depend upon
the co-operation of the voters. No scheme
can be contrived that will work spontane-
ously. There are no self-starters in the field
of reform. The best-conceived proceeding
can do little more than to put it within the
power of the people to protect themselves.
The proposed program would give power to

The Precinct Civic Center 107

the people to watch the proceedings and to
interfere with crooked practices. This
power they now lack. After the closing of
the polls, the election officials may clear the
booth if they see fit. This is not usually
done and friends of the board at least are
allowed to remain, but a controlled board
can easily find a pretext for insisting upon
secrecy. The proposed program would not
only take it for granted that the general
public should witness the counting. Even
now the law assumes that. The civic cen-
ter would make it possible to carry out the
idea. At present, the election is nowhere
near enough of a public matter. Too often,
it is strictly a private affair. If the election
board chooses to lock itself in the election
booth, outsiders can do nothing to assure a
correct count, however much they may de-
sire to do so. The precinct civic house
would provide a room large enough so that
the public generally could follow the count.
There would be plenty of room for neces-
sary challengers. The handling of assisted
voters could be done in the open and all
could see whether or not the law were

io8 Reclaiming the Ballot

obeyed. Beyond this, it would be up to the
people of the precinct to insist upon right-
eousness in the count. The auditorium elec-
tion room gives promise of giving the people
real power over the processes of election.
Furthermore, the precinct center provides
a means by which civic interest can be
aroused so that the people will want to
watch these processes. We can see no other
hope for a healthier municipal life in
America than a new political scheme which
will bring the American voters into co-
operative relations with each other and with
their public officers, a new plan that will
insure deliberation before decision. The
plan of the precinct civic center, utilizing
the school houses or specially constructed
buildings in connection with play-ground
activities, seems to offer the best chance of
success in this direction. Until the people
achieve some means of properly selecting
candidates and of making known their will,
it is absurd to characterize our city govern-
ment as " the people's rule."

The day will come when these public
forums will open the door for both the

The Precinct Civic Center 109

native-born and the foreigner in our midst,
to a real citizenship, a genuine co-operat-
ing partnership in this great country of
ours.

THE END

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