ot? To have a law by
which any legally named number of voters (a sufficient number to keep
out lonely cranks, but not a sufficient number to suppress
considerable minorities) should indicate by petition desire for a
chance to vote for a specific representative of their political
ideals? The legal requirement that such persons so named should have a
place on the official ballot and that all voting citizens should be
able to indicate their graded preference for all candidates thus
officially listed, would give the people of a democracy a chance to
really choose the kind of legislators they want and the kind of
executives they think they need. In the present situation the
independent mind and conscientious purpose often has a choice only
between "necessary evils" or the refuge of the political "woods."

=Proportional Representation.=--The adoption of some form of
preferential voting can alone give the voters a chance for
proportional representation of their ideals and aims in legislative
bodies. We are seeing that the limits of useful partisanship in
politics are narrower than was once thought. No sane and sensible
person really believes that all of goodness and of wisdom is contained
in his party and that its success is a valid reason for "turning out
the rascals" of the other party. No sane and sensible person believes
that there is such a thing as "Democratic" economy, or "Republican"
justice, or "Socialistic" efficiency, or "Labor Party" good
government. There are only economy, efficiency, justice, and good
government. Each party may have a different ideal of the best method
of attaining these political necessities, and, therefore, since truth
is not gained by dogmatic assumptions of any one set of persons but by
approach to problems of mind and character from different angles of
experience and of study, each party should have its representatives in
the legislative bodies of nation, state, and community. And every new
idea of political reform and social progress that by dint of hard work
among the intellectual and moral elite has gained a substantial
following in public opinion of even a relatively small minority, has,
in justice, and in demand for constant advance in human affairs, a
right to a place in the high debate of political leadership. It is,
therefore, for those who believe in the worth and use of freedom and
of mutual tolerance and respect, in political discussion and action,
to work for some method of sele