Title | Socialism summed up |
Creator (LCNAF) |
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Publisher | The H. K. Fly Co. |
Place of Creation (TGN) |
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Date | 1913 |
Subject.Topical (LCSH) |
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Genre (AAT) |
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Language | English |
Type (DCMI) |
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Original Item Extent | 110 pages: illustrations; 20 cm. |
Original Item Location | HX86.H77 1914 |
Original Item URL | http://library.uh.edu/record=b8304545~S11 |
Original Collection | Socialist and Communist Pamphlets |
Digital Collection | Socialist and Communist Pamphlets |
Digital Collection URL | http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/scpamp |
Repository | Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries |
Repository URL | http://libraries.uh.edu/branches/special-collections |
Use and Reproduction | This item is in the public domain and may be used freely. |
File Name | index.cpd |
Title | Image 67 |
Format (IMT) |
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File Name | uhlib_2100825_066.jpg |
Transcript | THE POLITICAL PROGRAM 65 I tions of 1912 the total number of votes cast for all parties was about 15,000,000. Of these the Socialist Party received in the neighborhood of 900,000, or about 6 per cent. On this basis the party was entitled to 26 out of 435 members of the House of Representatives. It did not elect one. Assuming that the Socialist vote is evenly distributed all over the country, which is very largely the case, we may conceive of a situation where, with a political strength equal to one-fourth or even a full third of the voting power of the country, it may remain without representation or voice in Congress. And the situation is similar with reference to our state legislatures and city councils. The objection most frequently raised to the system of proportional representation is, that it would tend to enhance the importance of political organizations as against the personality of the individual candidates. But in the eyes of the Socialists this is rather an argument in favor of the measure than against it. For the Socialists consider their party first of all as the political instrument of the working-class struggles. The Socialist Party as such formulates the political demands of the movement, conducts the campaigns for their enactment, and is accountable to the workers for the results of its policies. The candidates of the party are merely its agents, agents with restricted powers and specific mandates. The principle of proportional representation is directly opposed to the philosophy underlying the |