some of the crooked politicians that had been members of the house of delegates and were running for re-election. In one ward especially, there was a very notorious character named Frank Hussey. A little incident that happened in the House of Delegates when I was a member with Frank illustrates his character and intelligence. It was the custom there at the beginning of each session to bring in a resolution instructing the clerk of the House to purchase fountain pens for each member, being just a little bit of graft for their friends. Frank was selected to introduce the resolution. I opposed it, as a matter of course, but equally, as a matter of course, was badly defeated. When he sat down Frank turned to me and said, "Say, Dwight, what the hell is a fountain pen anyhow?" The church organization in this ward telephoned me one day during the campaign, and said they wanted to get busy and help beat Frank. Of course we encouraged them, and they made a house-to-house canvass, and did very active and very excellent political work, with the result that Hussey was badly defeated. There is an organization in St. Louis inside of party lines which is rather unique, and which I think has possibilities that might be developed. It was organized by some of the leaders in the republican party at the last election, and was called "The Young Men's Republican Auxiliary", the idea being to bring into touch with the Central Committee active young men throughout the city who would not be brought into political work in other ways. After the campaign they were discussing how to keep their organization together. They are now taking up the discussion of such questions as home rule, in the line of police and election boards, as we have state boards in Missouri; the question of primary reform, and the short ballot, and various other matters which are of political interest, and yet of interest to the outside organizations. I think there is a great field in that way to extend influence within party lines to see that those laws are put upon the statute books [Applause]. CHAIRMAN BINKERD: Gentlemen, I am very sure that we would be loath to leave this conference without a word from Ex-President Eliot, of Harvard. [Applause.] DR. ELIOT: I have been listening with great interest to these discussions, and all the more because it is the workers among the young men that are the hope of the country. But on the whole, what we have heard here during the two days about Elementary municipal reform seems to me to indicate that most of the active work being done in our country is still but a very elementary stage of reform. Away back in the very elements is most of this work. I happened to be in Louisville, for instance, when the gentlemen there interested in municipal reform were congratu lating themselves most heartily that at last they had had a square election, a fair election; that the violent methods which had prevailed there absolutely in 1905, had at last been overcome. Now just think what an elementary condition of things that is, that a civilized community in our country should be rejoicing that they had had an election free from violence and fraud! Then I fell in with Mr. Walter L. Fisher, of Chicago, yesterday. And he was telling me something about the proceedings of the Chicago Voters' League, how successful it had been, and how much good it had done. All true. But how elementary, how far back in the march of progress is that first step when the best thing that a body of courageous -very courageous and devoted-men can do for their city is to publish that among the candidates for office there is this large proportion of criminals, saloon keepers, brothel keepers, and keepers of gambling hells. Now that is indispensable work, gentlemen; but regarded as an element in municipal reform, is it not a tolerably elementary step? The work which must be done in our country for municipal reform is much of it extremely elementary from the point of view of a publicist, and also it is only a palliation of existing evils. It is just like the physician's work, absolutely necessary; hospitals are absolutely necessary; but there is hardly any constructive work in them except when they go beyond the work of the hospital as such, and as individuals take hold of the work of preventive medicine and of medical research. We have been talking here to-day about constructive work for these bands of men who wish to further municipal reform, who want to get at the constructive business, not what I might call the defensive business Constructive against outrage and criminality, but want to get at the constructive business, the positive doing of good, the driving out of evil by good. That is the only way we get on in this world through the personal efforts of individuals or municipalities, states and nations; and the next thing I think as an outcome of this discussion is, that these organizations in the intervals between what they call campaigns-some sort of fight that means generally in the intervals can do genuine constructive work. What is it? To study the best modes of action for the future in regard to municipal reform, and find out in the first place the promising experiments which are going on in our own country. There is a favorite field of labor. I have heard the short ballot mentioned once or twice, but only in quite a casual way, as if that were not absolutely the gist of all constructive reform the short ballot; few candidates to be voted for-so few that the voters can really inform themselves about the merits, or demerits, of the candidates. Now there is the only way to get rid of "bosses" and machines." All the "bosses" and "machines" know it perfectly well, and have uniformly opposed every motion toward a short ballot. The commission form of government is a motion toward the short ballot, a pretty effective one. Not a single charter has been constructed of that sort in this country that has not been opposed by both machineswhere there are two. In Texas there is only one. Now then, there is another element in all municipal reform which I think has now been amply illustrated in our country. Not only is it perceived in many American cities that publicity is an essential feature of every reform, that we want publicity in regard to every act of the city government, but that it is possible to provide publicity. The thing has been done over and over again—already done—complete publicity. Then there is another thing which is recognized as essential, and which has been done, the absolute prevention of an elected officer of the city or of an appointed officer of a city having anything to do with the city contracts or the granting of city franchises. We have got that in many American cities to-day, and in different parts of our country and cities of various size-to be sure none of the greatest. There is a third element which has succeeded in many places in this country where they have been shown how to do it; and that is recognition of the fact that good city business can only be superintended by experts, that the day of sub-committees of our council or school committees is past, and that the only way to get the business done properly as a business man would transact his own business, is to put every department of the city government's work into the hands of experts, not elected but appointed, and appointed for long terms. Again, and finally, there is another principle which I think may be said to be recognized, that every appointment in a city should be made under what is called civil service rules. All the new charters in the United States recognize that fact, for they all declare as a principle of the charter that every appointee in the city shall come in for merit and not for political partnership or political activity of any sort. These are a number of principles which are recognized in many places of this country, and the way to do them has been shown. Is it not the function of these bodies which aim at civic reforms, municipal reforms, in all the places where these things have not been done to steadily set forth before their communities how they can be done, we may say how they have been done? Now there is another kind of work which has been frequently mentioned yesterday and to-day which I am sure all the associations such as those here represented can work at steadily, year in and year out, and not have much to do with the actual campaign either. It should be done in the intervals between campaigns and done steadily. It has been referred to several times; namely, the education of voters, and particularly the education of that portion of the voting community which believes that it does not pay any taxes. This kind is really and truly called constructive, gentlemen, it is not palliative. It aims at an ideal, and it aims at an ideal by practical methods, which require, however, all the time the diligent service of patriots. CHAIRMAN BINKERD: Before we adjourn I want to call your attention to the fact that the time is now past when the discussion of the short ballot shall be only casual, and that the Round Table Conference to be held here to-morrow noon is going to be devoted to this very question of the decrease in the number of elective offices, which, as President Eliot has truly said, is the gist of the whole matter. The conference now adjourned until Thursday noon, November 18, 1909. THURSDAY NOON, NOVEMBER 18th. PROF. AUGUSTUS RAYMOND HATTON, WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY, CLEVELAND, PRESIDING. The following matter printed on a small card was found by each of those attending the luncheon at their respective plates, viz: The dangerously-great power of politicians in our country is not due to any peculiar civic indifference of the people, but rests on the fact that we are living under a form of democracy that is so unworkable as to constitute in practice a pseudo-democracy. It is unworkable because: The Short Ballot First-It submits to popular election offices which are too unimportant to attract (or deserve) public attention, and, Second-It submits to popular election so many offices at one time that many of them are inevitably crowded out from proper public attention. Many officials, therefore, are elected without adequate public scrutiny, and owe their selection not to the people, but to the makers of the partyticket who thus acquire an influence that is capable of great abuse. The "Short Ballot" principle is: First-That only those offices should be elective which are important enough to attract (and deserve) public examination. Second-That very few offices should be filled by election at one time, so as to permit adequate and unconfused public examination of the candidates for every elective office. Obedience to these fundamental phinciples explains the comparative success of democratic government in the cities of Great Britain and other foreign democracies, as well as in Galveston, Des Moines and other American cities that are governed by "Commissions." The application of these principles should be extended to all cities, counties and states. PROFESSOR HATTON: Gentlemen, even among reformers there are unavoidably differences of opinion. However, I think I will be safe in saying that among the reformers here represented there is no difference of opinion, or at least if there is I have not heard it expressed, that it is absolutely essential that by some method the people shall rule. At the presidential election a year ago this fall, when I went to the ballot-box I was handed a sheet of paper, whose size I will not undertake to describe, because after all that is rather immaterial. That sheet of paper contained 349 names. As I remember it, there were 45 offices to be filled on that ballot. Now it happens that I am a member of the executive committee of a militant organization in Cleveland that passed upon candidates that appeared upon the ballot that I was called upon to vote on that occasion. I had carefully made out my data for marking my ballot. I discovered, however, when I got to the polls that I had forgotten my memoranda; although I had been giving a large amount of time, all the time I could take from my regular work and from my vacation for perhaps two weeks, to a consideration of the merits of the names on that ticket. I knew before I left the voting booth, and I am more certain now, that I made a number of mistakes, for I positively could not remember, notwithstanding all the time and attention that I had given to it—my memory is not notably bad—but I absolutely could not remember the names of the men my organization had selected, except as to the few more prominent places. The question resolves itself into this, as to how many men the people can select and get their will expressed. Among this practical crowd of reformers it is not necessary to say that the democracy in which we all Democracy believe is not a question of any particular form of organization. The sole question at issue when the point of democracy is raised is whether or not the people do rule; I think that none of us would agree that with the kind of a ballot that most of us vote in most of our cities, states and counties, there is no possibility of getting an adequate expression of opinion, there is no chance for the people to rule. With this brief introduction I will first call upon a vigorous young man who claims no credit for anything or for having developed any new idea, but who does deserve credit for his work, Mr. Richard S. Childs, of New York, who is vigorously advocating the short ballot idea. MR. CHILDS: There are two forms of reform. One undertakes to combat the enemy on the spot where we face him, and the other undertakes to find a more favorable battle-ground. The short-ballot idea is a reform of the latter class. Now we have here a sample of an American battle-ground at its worst. It is a natural ambush (exhibiting a sample of New York ballot at the recent election); and here I have an English ballot, containing |