Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 6.djvu/561

 A YEAR'S MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT 547

voters were educated up to the point where they would vote for the best men for city offices regardless of national party affilia- tion. This work was consummated by requiring from the alder- men running with the league's indorsement a pledge to organize this council on nonpartisan lines. A year ago the council was so organized. Last spring the pledge as to nonpartisanship was made stronger than ever. Before the election there was some talk of organizing on partisan lines ; but the league and the independent newspapers at once challenged this talk, with the result that the idea of partisan organization apparently was abandoned, and the league's pledge was signed by all the alder- manic candidates who had the league's indorsement. After the election the majority met in caucus as partisans and finally put through the committee slate approved by the caucus. The personnel of the council is good, and of the committees fairly good. The fact, however, that the council was organized by a party caucus, in violation of the pledges made by a majority of the caucus to organize on nonpartisan lines, gave rise to much criticism and is regarded as discouraging. It is taken to mean the reintroduction of partisanship into aldermanic elections, and next spring voters no doubt will be urged to adhere to party lines on the ground that the men elected are likely to act as Republicans or Democrats, as the case may be, when in office.

The Municipal Voters' League, in a report dealing with the subject, has called attention to the difficulty of securing and holding a good council under the partisan system of nomination and election. It points out that the candidates offered by the party organization are frequently weak or colorless where they are not openly bad. In short, the partisan system does not operate to bring to the front the strongest men. Under the partisan system of nomination and the partisan ballot there is a limit to the betterment of conditions. Improvement can go only so far and it must halt. It is the opinion of leading officers of the Municipal Voters' League that the best results in city affairs can only be attained when the nonpartisan ballot shall have been substituted for the partisan ballot. Probably the next legislature of Illinois will be asked to provide for such a ballot