THE MUNICIPAL LEAGUE OF PHILADELPHIA 341
and in the Senate, and was then ready to be submitted to the voters of the state for adoption.
To avail itself of the co-operation of other organizations which by this time had become interested in the movement for the personal-registration amendment, a "Union Committee for the Promotion of Election Reforms in Pennsylvania " was formed. Of this committee the league was a constituent part during the period of its existence, and a dominating factor. The committee (afterward known as the Joint Committee for Election Reforms, and now known as the Electoral Reforms Committee) conducted a campaign for the adoption of the amendments, which was suc- cessfully concluded in November, 1901, the amendments receiv- ing 214,798 votes to 45,601 contra.
Thus the constitution of Pennsylvania was amended, and effective personal registration made possible. This at the time and since was considered a great achievement for the cause of pure elections. Without it subsequent efforts would have availed but little. The next step was to secure the pasage of an adequate personal-registration bill. The league participated in this work through the Union Committee. A bill representing the most complete form of personal registration was drafted and introduced in the session of 1903, and again in the session of 1905. Thus far it has not been enacted into law ; but the state of public sentiment in Pennsylvania is such as to justify the belief that the Legislature of 1907 will grant the now almost unanimous demand for legis- lation on this subject. 4
The Municipal League was, moreover, very active in the agitation for ballot reform, which in Pennsylvania means the elimination of the party square, which is the equivalent of the party column, or group in other states, and the substitution of the Australian system. Thus far this effort has not been successful ; but, as in the case of personal registration, the present prospects favor an early granting of the people's demand. Indeed, steps have already been taken looking toward the drafting of a more
- Those who are interested in the discussion of the inefficiency of the present
election laws in Pennsylvania will find the whole subject considered at length in an article entitled " The Election Laws of Pennsylvania," published in the Annals of the American Academy, 1901, by the present writer.
