Chapter VIII - Too Many Elective Offices, Checks and Balances

Merely to see them is to condemn such complication. Here again, if administrative officers were not elected, and election limited to legislative officers, only a very short ballot would result immediately and auto matically; and with it for the most part would come the separation of local, state, and national elections, so as to do away with all possibility of trades. The [ 21 3 ] Too Much Government-Too Much Taxation mere necessity of such a device as Mr. Mills used is enough to damn so bewildering an array of candida cies at an election submitted to many thousands of voters, often very ignorant voters. It is a sort of "Find the candidate" picture-puzzle. There could hardly be a better example of useless multiplicity of elective offices than that presented by the State of Connecticut. I sent out a few weeks ago a questionnaire to the Secretaries of State of the 48 states, asking, among other questions, how many elective offices on the average there were to the county, city, and town in their respective states.

Most of them answered the questions, showing wide variations both between and within the different states. But the Connecticut Secretary threw up his hands, and sent me a copy of the State Register, tell ing me to dig out the multitudinous figures for my self. Here are the results. The state seems to he divided into 8 Counties, 19 Cities, 21 Boroughs, and 169 Towns. All officials are elected annually, except in 26 towns where biennial elections prevail. State officers and Legis lature are elected in April. Town officers in Octo ber, and Borough and City officers in November. Most voters must go to the polls at least twice a year. Here is the roster: City officers, State officers, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary, Treasurer, and Comptroller ... State Senate, ....................•............. State House of Representatives. . . County officers, Sheriffs . Other officers appointed.

Mayor, Clerk, Treasurer, Selectmen, Registrars, Sheriffs, Aldermen, Audi tors, Assessors (from 13 to 104) 19 cities at average of 40 . Borough officers, Warden, Burgesses, Clerk, Treasurer, Assessors, Auditor, Collectors, Inspec[ 214] 5 35 262 8 I •.' TO YOTlt FOR A CAllDlDAtt 011 1'HIS 8AIL01' IIAU A CIIOII X IIAIIIt IN ONI! OF TIlE SQUAaU OIl III TIll. SPACt 41' TIlE LDT OF IUS·~ Z. TO VOTlt POI A CANUlDATIt NOT 011 THIS BAUOT WII1'It HII IIAIIIt • THE &.\NIt IPACa UlCDIIl THE <:.ulOIDATU FOR 'l'HAT OffICI. So MAlUC ONLY WITH A PENCIL HAVING aLACK LEAD. 4. ANY OTHER MAlK,. EltASUU OIl TEAll ON TIlE IIAILOT IUHDIIS IT VOID. S. IF YOU TEAll, OR DEFACE, OR WAOIICLY IIAIlIt nus IIAILOT, Il£TUIIN IT AND oaTAIN ANOTH£L ........... ~ .................... ALPHONSO ••HOPICINS ................ BItNEST POOUI , WILUAM J. MOItAN v. HAItRY B. STOWEl.L Nc811 SOL. P1£LD.AN ~ .ATTHBW T' UNDIBY ••, ••••••••••Pro ........

PETER J. DOOLINO : {=.~.:: , JAMES A. ALLeH J::= JI,"N :5LOA,N MEMBER OF ASSEMBLY-T.-IJ' ........ A..emb!y DiItrict (Vote for _) 12 I17mozor'rim crn oon'!'~'!'o au.,~ a:ptrt1Ir~S1,1919(V*'...). ... __._A_R_TH_U_1t_JO_NE_S__..._,,_._,,_,,_. _..._._.. _.00_-_-_-1 ! __._C_H_AIt_LU_E_.1t_IC_E_,J_r_._. _._._._.._.._ __-1 III ICItUYLER M. MEVER Pro __ s.clall,. .Soclall,. p,.,rt •••v, lIIIC:HASL ICItAAP . ',' . NICHOLAS ALEINIKOFF wAl:ra It HIIUICIC. ... .00....... CHARLES E. MANIERRE 5. JOHN BLOCK • HUGH GOROON MILLER JOHN It. DAVIES, ISIDOIt WASSER VOGEL JAMES C. MEYERS BAItTOW S. WEEKS AIIOcu''I'Il mDoZ or 'rim COUlt'!' or APPULI (Vote lor 0IIlI)_8OOllPTltOLLD (vote lor. ODe).4OOVUIfOIt'(Vote for ODe). M4RTIN H. GLYNN.. .. ••. • • .'. rr.:~= qlARLES " WHITMAN , ',' . ; , ,k'_ .

Judges Probate Town officers,-Too Many ElectiveOffices, Etc. tors, Bailiffs, etc. (From 10 to 22) 21 Boroughs at average of 14· . . . . . . . . 294Clerk, Selectmen, Tree Warden, Tax Collectors, Assessors, Board ofRe view, Grand Jurors, Registrars, Auditors, School Committee, etc. (From 20 to 40) 169 Towns at average of 29 •••••••••••••••••••••••4,90 I ..........••.••••••••••••••••••••.114 6,379 There are 209 units of local government whose laws might well be made say by a body of not more than 3 men in each case; and the State Legislature might well be red uced to a single chamber of say 15 members-at-Iarge. The number of elective officers would thus be reduced from 6,379, most of them elected annually, to· 642. All the rest of the elective officers are purely administrators, and should not be elected at all; but should be mere em ployees, with tenure of office according to efficiency and good behavior. If also legislators' terms were made long enough (say four years) to dignify office and make it important, and all were unsalaried, all the legislative offices, state or local, in the State of Connecticut would very certainly become attractive only to candidates of highest standing; and the local elections would become of the greatest interest and importance to the electorate, instead of, as now, the merest of local squabbles.

The foregoing assumes the retention of all the 209 units of local government; but if they were to be consolidated into say one tenth as many, around the important towns as centres, how much more im portant and interesting would local elections at once become to candidates and electors alike! Connecticut is not the only multi-governed state. l subjoin a statement compiled from the 35 replies [ 21 5 ] Too Much Government-Too Much Taxation received from a questionnaire sent to the secretaries of all the states. It is very difficult to make up exact totals of county, state, and town elective offices, by reason of the great variation between cities and towns. So many of them are organized under special charters, without much reference to each other. However, such totals as I am able to arrive at indicate an average of 167 elective state offices, 10 elective county offices, 10 elective city and town offices. Inasmuch as there are 3,065 counties in the United States and many thousands of cities and towns, the total number of elective offices is simply bewilderingly great. Of course, the bureaucrat will reply that this is a great country and that it needs a lot of paid officials to run it, which is true enough.

But the essential point to bear in mind in consider ing our existing situation is this: that by far the vast majority of all elective offices are administra tive, not legislative, in character. All administrative officers simply carry out the law, which is deter mined for them by elective legislators. Those elec tive legislators are supposed to reflect and carry into effect the changing will of the people. They, and they alone, ought to be elected, as elsewhere set forth. To elect administrative officers-namely, the vast majority of those now voted for at our frequent elections-simply makes them independent; able to disobey the mandate of the legislatures without risk' of removal, and deadlock the Government. This happens constantly. It ought never to happen. RESULTS FROM QUESTIONNAIRE SENT TO SECRETARIES OF STATE (See Tabulation at end of this chapter) 48 states elect a total of 5,677 state representatives, or an average of 118 each.

[ 216 ] Too Many Elective Offices, Etc. 48 states ele~t a total of 1,795 state senators, or an average of 37 each. 19 states have no limit to their legislative sessions. 29 states have an average limit of 60 days per session, the maximum 90 and minimum 40. 25 states elect an average of 12 state administrative and judicial officers. 24 states elect an average of 10 officials for each county. 13 states elect an average of 10 officials for each city and town. 27 states passed 11,629 acts and 986 resolutions at the last sessions average 467, of which approximately 58! per cent. were "private" acts for special interests. Using the averages obtained from the replies recorded above, we get the following totals for the 48 states: State Representatives 5,677 Legislative Acts and Resolutions State Senators 1,795 passed, say 23,000, of which over State officers 576 13,000 were "private" acts. County officers, say 30,650 Local officers, too numerous to guess at.

Since the for~going was written, in the election of November 7, 1922, according to the Boston Herald of November 20, in spite of a large Democratic majority for Governor and House of Representatives, the State of New Hampshire by virtue of "Gerryman dered" districts has elected Republicans for two thirds of the Senate and four fifths of the Executive Council. That state seems to be blessed not only with two houses of the Legislature, but a third house, an Executive with only five voters. A member of the Lower House is frequently elected with only two voters participating in his choice. Could there be a more striking example of democracy run into the ground? Could political thoughtlessness go farther? [ 217] TABULATED REPLIES TO QUESTIONNAIRE N f No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of State Elec. Elec. Session 1921-22 0.0 Resolu-Gen;. Pri-Days Sena-Rep- Elec-County Off. Acts tions eral vate ses-tors resentative Officers Cities Acts Acts SlOn tives officers Towns ---r ~ Arkansas ............. 690 25 249 441 60 35 100 II 9 91-4 00 Arizona ............. 42 22 - - 60 19 39 10 9 -Colorado ............ - - - - 91 35 65 14 8 8 Connecticut 886 2 4°4 482 80 35 262 5 I Florida .............. 723 3° 202 521 60 32 77 15 Georgia ............. 285 38 81 2°4 5° 51 206 Idaho ................ 262 - - - 61 44 54 8 12 8 Illinois ............... 318 48 - - 100 51 153 8 10 9Indiana .............. 280 19 - - 61 5° 100 20 20 14 Kansas .............. 295 8 116 179 - 4° 125 8 13 -Kentucky ............ 138 29 112 26 60 38 100 8 9 9Louisiana ............ 142 35 - - 60 41 118 9 4 8 Maine ............... 387 175 224 163 60 31 151 2 10 Maryland ............ 548 22 136 412 60 27 106 4 14 Massachusetts ....... 545 55 - - - 4° 24°Michigan ............. 4°4 4 398? 6? 19° 32 100 Minnesota ........... 527 14 - - 9° 67 131 9 II Missouri ............. 321 7 - - 60 34 142 6 17 Montana ............. 318 25 - - 60 54· 108 44 14 Nebraska ............ 313 4 - - - 33 100 II New york ............ 672 9 396 276 60 51 15° 7 10 North Carolina ........ 1°72 52 237 835 60 5° 120 39 8 6 Oregon .............. - - - - 4° 3° 60 - 19 14Rhode Island ......... 184 186 149 35 63 39 100 5 - -South Dakota ........ 418 7 - - 60 45 1°3 34-8 6 Tennessee. ; .......... u60 141 178 981-75 33 99 - 6 Vermont ............. 314 46 29° 24 86 3° 247 6 5 18 Virginia .............. 520 - - - 69 4° 100 - - -Washington ........... 19° - - - 60 42 97 9 14-7,......, West Virginia ......... 220 41 133 87 64 3° 94 7 II 8 t-) Wisconsin ............ - - - - - 33 100 5 10.-4 \0 Totals 12,174 1,041 3,305 4,686 1,900 1,212 3,747 3°4-252 124 No. Reports .......... (28) (25) (IS) (IS) (27) (3 I) (3 1) (25) (24) (13) Averages' ............. 435 42 220 292 70 39 121 12 10 10 S8!% Private.