Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 6.djvu/425

 CITY COUNCIL OF BERLIN 411

taxes paid by the persons whose names appear in this list, is obtained. The persons who together pay this first third consti- tute the first class of voters. The process is then continued until a second third of the total sum of taxes is obtained. The people who together pay this second third constitute the second class. All the others, who together pay the last third, constitute the third class of voters. In the case of the list prepared for the election of November, 1899, the total sum paid in direct taxes was 56,057,800.93 marks. One third of this sum, 18,685,933.64 marks, was paid by the 691 persons whose names stood first on the list. The second third was paid by the 7,740 whose names followed next. And the last third was paid by the 308,517 persons whose names stood last on the list.

To state the same facts in another way : All persons who paid a direct tax of at least 8,333.80 marks were entitled to vote in the first class. All persons who paid a tax of at least 1,095.40 marks, not exceeding 8,323.20 marks, constituted the second class. All the other taxpayers of the city constituted the third class.

Each of these classes is entitled to choose one-third of the members of the city council ; or, in the case of the present council of Berlin, 48 members.

It is easy to see, on the very face of these returns, that an enormous advantage is given to wealth in the matter of consti- tuting the city council of Berlin. It is not simply a city council based upon tax-paying qualities ; it is not simply a council con- trolled by taxpayers; but it is a city council controlled by large taxpayers. Less than 700 persons elect one-third of the entire council, while another third is given to over 300,000 persons. It is, moreover, apparent that no one can be admitted, even to the second class, who would not be counted among the prosper- ous members of the community; for a payment of $250 in direct taxes, under the system of taxation in force in Prussia, indicates a very considerable accumulation of wealth. Of course the actual numbers in the different classes and their relative propor- tions vary from year to year, according to the shifting amounts of taxes paid by the individuals and classes. On the whole, under the working of the present scheme, the number of people