"r"-5reir4f
The Commoner
JANUARY., 1917
17
TT
j
and their environment In tho east, the com
mon man is over-shadowed by concentrated
wealth that he has not the freedom of express'on
or action that ho has In the west, and then, too,
ho is tho victim of a press that publishes tho
truth by accident and .falsehood by consistently
cultivated habit. When I look back over twenty
years, and see four hundred thousand demo
crats in Pennsylvania, and more than that many
in New York, and democrats also in every New
England state, fighting and fighting and fight
ing with a courage never surpassed, I wonder
how we have ever been able to keep our splen
did army together with the poor means wo have
of furnishing them the. information so neces
sary for their fight. In campaigns, extending
over twelve years, I polled almost the samo
number of votes three times. It was practically
six millions and a half of votes three times, and
'in all that time I never had the support of a pre
datory corporation or of a newspaper that was
under obligation to them. And yet, in spite of
all misrepresentation, these men walked up to
the polls and voted the democratic ticket year
after year. I am grateful to the democrats of
the south and west, but I love them no more
than I do"" these brave men of the east who an
swer the description the lible gives of those who
"come up through great tribulation."
There is no appropriation of money moro
clearly and fully defensible than ov appropria
tion intended to inform the people of the coun
try in regard to the matters upon which they
are to vote. I would like to see the democratic
party a party that believes in discussion, is
the champion of free speech, and an advocate
of intelligence among the voters I would like
to see that party become the champion of a
measure that would put into the hands of every
voter a government publication, issued t In
tervals between campaigns and at shorter in
tervals during campaigns, with editorial space
divided between the parties in proportion to
their respective representation in congress, so
that every group represented in congress would
have a chance to present its principles and its
policies to the voters for their judgment at the'
polls. If in the last campaign we had had such
a paper to present our cause to all the people,
it would have been worth more to us in votes
than our entire campaign fund.
Someone has made a suggestion I am not at
liberty to give the name of the author of, it
that appeals to me, namely, that the newspapers,
in return for the valuable privileges that they
are given by the post office department, be re
quired in return to give a certain percentage of
the space devoted to reading matter to the gov
ernment for the spread of information among
the people who read the papers.
The first need, I repeat," is a means of inform
ing the public, and I suggest to you that a na
tional bulletin would be in keeping with the
spirit of our times; this is a reform imperatively
demanded by the present situation.
DEFECTS OP ELECTORAL SYSTEM
The second: Wo never consider remedies un
til we are convinced that we are sick; but every
such experience as the one through which we
have just passed reveals some evil that needs
to be remedied. No democrat can look back to
the anxious hours between midnight on election
night and the time when they heard from the
west without understanding how clumsy the
electoral college is now, and what a menace it
contains to the safety of the people, and the se
curity of elections. When we vote for electors,
if the vote is as close as it was this year in sev
eral states, we run the risk of having some elect
ors run behind, because they are personally un
popular, or run ahead because they are popu
lar. When you remember that every elector
nominated upon a ticket is pledged to the can
didate, and has no discretio whatever, and
when you remember that people "vote for him,
almost all of them, because of the candidate he
stands for and whom he must support, and not
because of his name or personality, I think you
vill agree with me that it is not fair to have the
result of the election changed by the accidental
Popularity or unpopularity of one or two men
who happen to be nominated as electors.
The electoral system was established before
we had telegraphs or railroads, on the theory'
that the people selecting these electors whom
they knew would trust them to meet and select
a president, after they had time to canvass the
merits of the Yarlous candidates. That used to
be the theory. It is gone, and If tho thoory upon
which It Is built is gone, tho system ought not
to be continued, unless some new reason has
como into existence. I hope congress will con
sider tho dangers that are embodied in our pres
ent electoral system, and give us some reform
that will give assurance that tho will of tho
people expressed at tho polls will not bo defeat
ed by accident or chance.
Now my own opinion, although I stato it with
hesitation and am open to conviction on tho
subject, my own opinion is that It would bo
better to havo direct voting for the candidate,
than to vote for electors committed to tho can
didate. But that does not mean that it would
be wise to adopt-what is called a popular vote.
There are objections to that, tho chief objection
being that it would offer such a temptation to
fraud in communities where tho sentiment was
overwhelmingly ono way, no matter which way,
that it would call into use means of prevention
that might create more evils than the existing
ones from which wo are trying to escape. My
mind has been gravitating towards a plan by
which we would vote by congressional units,
tho states reserving tho election of electors at
large. By this plan every voter would vote for
the candidate of his choice, and yet we would
elect by units, each stato representing two, and
each district one. This plan- would give us moro
assurance than the present plan that the pop
ular majority and the electoral majority would
go to the samo canaiaato.
In the last campaign, a few votes would have
changed the result in the electoral college, and
yet Mr. Wilson had a popular plurality of over
some five hundred thouspnd. The electoral college
is so faulty that a man whom the people rejected
at the polls was almost chosen in tho electoral
college . This is a matter worthy of our consid
eration. The next is an amendment to the constitution,
making tho constitution itself more easily
amendable. Our constitution provides that in
order to amend It, there must be a"resolution
passed through both houses by a two-thirds vote
submitting the amendment, and then tho amend
ment must be ratified by three-fourths of tho
states. 'The progressive element of the country
is sufficiently handicapped when it Is required
to control a president, senate and house. Tho
progressive has to havo all three; the reaction
ary only needs one. Now that Is a sufficient
handicap; when you add to that a constitutional
provision that gives the minority such an ad
vantage that the majority must carry both
houses by a two-thirds vote, and then control
three-fourths of the states, It is an unfair bur
den to place upon those who want to go for
ward. Those who want to hold back do not de
serve so much favoritism at the hands of tho
government. When you remember that thir
teen states can defeat any constitutional amend
ment, then remember that those thirteen
states may contain a popular vote of less
than one-tenth of the entire vote of the country,
you will see that in the matter of a constitu
tional amendment, it Is possible for less than
one-tenth of the people to defeat the wishes of
the other nine-tenths, b propose, therefore, a
change that will bring our constitution up to
date, and make it possible for the people to rule.
I suggest an amendment that will make it pos
sible to submit an amendment to the constitu
tion when a MAJORITY of both houses approve
ONCE, or, If you prefer TWICE. I would much
rather have it possible for the majority in two
successive congresses to submit an amendment
than to have it necessary for two-thirds to con
cur once. Then let It be ratified by a ma
jority of the states, PROVIDED, a majority of
ALL the people, voting on the proposition in all
the statps, vote in favor of tho change,, This
plan would preserve the rights of the states, and
preserve the rights of the people also. I belfevo
the time has come when we ought-tp seriously
consider making our- constitution reflect tho
spirit of confidence that we today have in tho
intelligence of the people.
There is another reform, the need of which
has been brought out by the war across the sea.
When our constitution was framed, we took tho
nower to declare war out of the hands of tho
executive, and deposited it In the most popular
branch of the government, that is, in congress.
We went as far as human wisdom had then
pointed the way to protect the people from be
ing carried Into war In excitement or passions'
but in tho time that has olapscd sneo then, w
havo discovered that tho real safety of our sa
tion lies in tho pcoplo thomsolvcs, and not la
their representatives. Wo are Increasingly re
ferring questions to tho people for their vote.
In nearly overy city now, boforo bonds can b
issued, tho question muBt bo submitted to the
people at the polls, and wo aro moro and more
submitting to tho pcoplo tho soiling of fran
chises in cities. Tho initiativo and reforonduaa
havo been adopted now in a number of states;
and I believe thQ timo has como to amoud our
constitution and submit every declaration of
war to a referendum of tho pcoplo, EXCEPT IN
CASE OF ACTUAL INVASION OF THE COUN
TRY. Tho mon who must givo thoir lives, if
need bo, and the pooplc who must boar tho bur
den of taxation howovor oppressive it may be
come these mon should havo a voice in saying
whether wo should resort to tho arbitrament of
the sword, or seek some method in which rea
son and not force will bo employed. Beneficial
as such a provision would be to this country, I
believe it would be even moro beneficial to the
pcoplo across tho sea.
Wo aro now discussing how we can help the
people of Europe; how, when this war is over,
we can aid them in making sure that no such
war will ever como upon tho world again. The
only method that seems to find largo support
among our people Is a method which, to my
mind, is stopping down instead of stopping up.
They ask us to join Europo in the ENFORCE
MENT OF PEACE. Why, my friends, it is force
that has been the cause of war across tho ocean.
Talk about our being an international police
man! I would not surrender tho moral prestige
of this nation for all tho glory that bruto force
can givo us. What tho world needs Is not that
wo shall step down to their level, but that we
should lift them to a higher level. And how
shall wo lift them? There Is only ono way p
lift, and that is the way that is given us by the
Author of our religion "And I, it I bo lifted up,
will DRAW all men unto me." It is tho draw
ing power of example. That is the difference
between tho philosophy of force and tho philos
ophy of lovo. Love is a drawing power; fores
is a coercive and compelling power. Because Eu
ropo has worshipped force, they aro writing
their history in blood. If wo can convince the
world that the Individual citizen who must glvs
his life "upon tho battlefield has a right to a
voice in the declaring of war, wo will do mors
to protect tho pcoplo of Europo from tho am
bitions of their monarchs than we can do in any
other way. The principles of real democracy,
put Into practice In a republic, will be more po
tent for peace than all tho armies we could send
across the Atlantic, moro than all the warships
wo could build.
TWO IMPORTANT REFORMS
Now, my friends, I havo spoken of several
reforms; the need of some has been made known
by the experiences of the last few years, and some
by the experiences of the last few months, I
havo left for the last two reforms that aro more
important, and upon which I expect there will
be more division of opinion.
Let me say, however, In advance that none
of you need agree with me at all. It has been,
so long since I said anything that nobody ob
jected to that a little opposition does not em
barrass me. But, my friends, I would not ba
living up to what I regard as my duty if I did
not tell you what I think lies before us, and givo
you my views, and I am, I assure you, as anxious
td receive yours as I am to give mine. I believe
tho time has come to Invite the women of this
country to share with men the responsibilities
of suffrage. This reform has made progress
more rapidly than any other great reform we
havo seen in our life time. I have told you
that It took us twenty-one years to secure the
election of senators by the people, and yet that
reform only affected the method of electing the
members of one branch of thti federal govern
ment. Here Is a reform that practically doubles
tho voting population of this country, and Tjrings
into the arena of politics" an element whose In
fluence will be felt in the settlement of every
ethical 'question that shall arise hereafter. And
yet, before this reform had ever received an en
dorsement by either house of congress, it had
becomes the one thing upon which all the par
ties agreed in the last campaign. x We differed
i
ib
r. n
