Tightening the Direct Primary

In his study, “Government and Society,” Professor Charles E. Merriam makes an interesting observation which may be interpreted by enthusiastic students of government as evidence of progress in the movement to reform the complex and obsolete electoral system prevailing in a majority of the states. “The number of elective officers,” he writes, “estimated at more than 750,000 in the United States, has decreased somewhat in states, counties, and cities under the influence of the short ballot movement. The number of elective offices in 202 cities decreased from 3,118 to 2,343 in the period from 1915 to 1929.” These observations are unquestionably indicative of the tendency to shorten the ballot and, if accepted without qualification or modification, the decrease noted is sufficient evidence of progress to offer encouragement to the supporters of the short-ballot movement.