toral quotient, no candidate is to be declared elected. Under these circumstances a new election must be held two weeks later; if in this election no list obtains the electoral quotient, the seats are assigned to the candidates receiving the largest vote. However, it can readily be seen that it is the purpose of the law (and the results at the recent elections have justified the expectations) to reduce the ballotage, or second ballotings, to a minimum.

Although the law makes drastic changes, the new scheme is still far from an exact system of proportional representation, such as that identified with the name of Hare; and it remains to be seen whether it is superior to the Belgian list system, whose faults it is supposed to remedy. The law tends to strengthen the party at the expense of the individual, to force small groups to combine, and to encourage the elector to vote a straight ticket.

Efforts were made to combine the anti-Socialist vote on one list of candidates in each district, representing the Bloc National Republicain; and in many districts such a list representing a combination of Republican groups was arranged. But in a considerable number of districts there was more than one list bearing a title which indicated such a union; and generally there were at least two, and often as many as three or four, lists of Republican candidates for one district. At the same time there were not infrequently two or more lists of Socialist candidates.

At the elections on November 16, 1919, there appears to have been a substantial increase in the total Socialist vote, from 1,400,000 in 1914 to 1,700,000 in 1919. But under the new law the result was a very decided victory for the moderate group, especially the Bloc National Republicain. The 'Progressives and Republicans of the Left gained about 100 members; while the Socialist Radicals lost more than 80 seats and the Socialists about 40. In Paris, the Unified Socialists obtained only 10 seats out of 54. In one Paris district the Bloc National Republicain elected the entire 14 members, with an average of 150,000 votes, although the Unified Socialist list had an average of 112,000 votes.

M. Clemenceau, who has consistently opposed proportional representation on the ground that the foundation of democratic government is the clearly defined formula of action of a well-established majorityand who in his notable Strasbourg speech of November 6 asked if this was the hour "to fabricate in an incoherence of votes, such as has never before been seen, an electoral system whose avowed end is to reduce the majority for the benefit of minorities, some of whom are outspoken in their destructive tendencies"-has been most agreeably disappointed.

The extremists of the Socialist parties and candidates who had shown bolshevist tendencies were entirely kept out of the new chamber. Probably the most noteworthy defeat in the election was that of M. Jean Longuet, leader of the Socialist Extreme Left. Among the eminent Radical Socialists to go down to defeat were M. Messimy, former minister of war, and M. Franklin-Bouillon, chairman of the foreign relations committee of the last Chamber, who urged rejection of the peace treaty.

M. Briand, one of the best-known leaders of the Republican majority, and one who has been talked of as a possible successor to M. Clemenceau, carried his list to an overwhelming victory. His program may well be considered the majority program of the new chamber. It affirms the advisability of modifying the constitutional laws so as (1) to provide for the election of the President of the Republic on a wider basis; (2) to introduce constitutional guaranties against confusion between legislative and executive powers, but at the same time to allow the President to play a larger and more important rôle; (3) to reduce the amount of paper money in circulation; (4) to eliminate all taxation hindering production; (5) to modify all rigid departmental rules interfering with the rapid rehabilitation of the devastated areas. The program promises a study of the labor problem from the viewpoint of both masters and men. The lists headed by Captain André Tardieu, former High Commissioner to the United States; M. George Mandel, confidential private secretary to M. Clemenceau, and M. Réné Viviani, former premier, were also returned with heavy majorities. Among other notable men who were elected are M. Albert Lebrun, former minister of blockade and the invaded regions (the position held at present by M. Tardieu); M. André Lefevre, former minister of finance; Captain Réné Fonck, the aviator; M. Leon Daudet, leader of the Royalist Association, and General Castelnau.

The new chamber contains 626 deputies, and over half of its number have been elected for the first time. Eighty-three members of the old chamber were killed in battle, and a large number of the others did not enter their names for reëlection. Among the noteworthy features of the installation of the new chamber was the reappearance, after fortyeight years, of deputies from Alsace-Lorraine. The first session of the new chamber, on December 8, was, however, the occasion, not only of a rousing welcome to the twenty-four deputies from the regained provinces, but also of a vociferous demonstration against the Socialists. It was only after a quarter of an hour of loud jeering that M. Albert I

Thomas was able to read the Socialist declaration. The chamber voted to placard throughout France the speeches of Premier Clemenceau, Deputy Siegfried (the oldest member of the chamber), and M. François (the youngest member), who spoke for Alsace-Lorraine, while it completely ignored the speeches of the Socialist orators, MM. Thomas and Varenne.

Early in January elections were held for the Senate by the departmental and municipal councils, to fill the seats of two-thirds of the members whose terms had expired, and other vacancies caused by deaths and resignations. These also resulted in a decided victory for the moderate groups, although the Socialist party, for the first time, is represented in the upper chamber.

The regular election for President of the Republic, by the national assembly of both chambers, was held on January 17. M. Clemenceau, whose retirement from the ministry was expected, allowed his name to be presented; but he was defeated in a close vote, at the preliminary caucus, by M. Paul Deschanel, president of the chamber of deputies; and at the formal election M. Deschanel was chosen by a large majority.

This was followed by the resignation of the Clemenceau cabinet; and a new cabinet was installed, with M. Millerand as prime minister. GRAHAM H. STUART.

University of Wisconsin.

Swedish Parliamentary Elections, 1919. The elections to the upper chamber of the Swedish Riksdag, in July, 1919, cannot claim any large share of the world's attention. None the less, being the first parliamentary elections in any of the neutral European countries since the armistice, they have some interest as an indication of the political temper of the northern neutrals at the close of the war.

The 150 members of the upper chamber are elected for a term of six years by the county councils (Landstings) of the 25 counties (Läns), as well as by the councils of the larger towns. The members of the local councils are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation, and the same system is, in turn, used by the members of the local councils in choosing the members of the upper branch of the Riksdag. The constitution provides for overlapping terms, with onesixth of the members of the chamber elected each year. In the early summer of 1919, however, the king exercised a prerogative seldom used, and, because of its opposition to the eight-hour day, dissolved the

upper house, thus making necessary an election of the entire membership at one time. The chamber when dissolved consisted of 86 Conservatives, 43 Liberals, 19 Social-Democrats, and 2 Left Socialists. The new house is made up of 39 Conservatives, 10 representatives of the new Peasants' Alliance, 8 members of the new Farmers' National Alliance, 41 Liberals, 48 Social Democrats, and 4 Left Socialists. No elections were held for the lower house, and its membership continues to consist of 71 Conservatives, 68 Liberals, and 97 Social Democrats. The present ministry, with Nils Eden as premier, rests upon a coalition of the Liberals and the Social Democrats.

The matters of principal interest in connection with the elections are the workings of the proportional representation system, the increased strength of the Socialist groups, and the growth of the farmer parties. The Swedish form of proportional representation is the familiar list system, except that the voter may include any candidate under any party label. Ballots having no party indication are regarded as forming a distinct group known as the free group. The seats allotted to a constituency are divided among the groups according to the d'Hondt rules, and the seats won by each group are distributed among the candidates in the group in accordance with the principles of proportional representation. Detailed figures gathered from Swedish dailies1 of July 12 to 29 furnish the complete returns for 21 läns outside of Stockholm, and show that the elections resulted in a distribution of the seats in the chamber almost exactly in the same proportion as the members of the several Landstings are distributed among the various parties. The following table shows how well the system of proportional representation worked in this election, at least as far as 21 läns are concerned.

The Socialist and the Liberal percentages would, of course, be higher, and the Conservative percentages lower, if the figures from Stockholm and other cities were included.

Dagens Nyheter and Folkets Dagblad Politiken, both of Stockholm.

The Social Democratic gains, which were made almost entirely at the expense of the Conservatives, are most striking. In the 21 läns studied, the only instance of a decrease in the Social-Democratic representation was in Norrbotten. But even there the loss was not to the older parties, but to the Left Socialists. The Left Socialists have an independent organization and are supporters of the Third International Socialist Congress.

The agricultural classes have been without direct party representation since the fusion of the Agricultural party with the Conservatives several years ago; and the two new parties-the Peasants' Alliance and the Farmers' National Alliance-are manifestations of the desire of the farming classes for political expression. The two organizations have essentially the same program; they remain separate apparently because of the inability of the leaders to coöperate. They are agreed that the aim of the agrarian movement is to awaken the agricultural classes to the need of united action in order to protect the interests of the food producers, and thereby to promote the general welfare of the country and strengthen the foundations of society. The attitude of the Agrarians toward the Social Democrats is similar to the attitude of the farmers' parties to labor parties the world over; that is, one of suspicion and almost open hostility. The Socialists are demanding the socialization of the land, and on this question, as well as on most others, the Agrarians will vote with the Conservatives. There is little hope in Sweden of coöperation between the agricultural and labor groups, in spite of the fact that they have many common interests.

Ohio Wesleyan University.

2 Stockholm letter to Nordst jernan” (New York).

B. A. ARNESON.