The politicians of Chile were not satisfied, however, with leaving the management of municipalities with the national government. City offices were attractive political plums, and the control of public works and improvements could be used to advantage in influencing election results, and a means was found for placing them in the hands of officials elected by popular vote. The scheme for changing the plan of municipal government originated with Senator Irrazaval, who having traveled in Switzerland, thought to engraft the system employed there upon the laws of Chile. After his return from Europe he secured the passage of a measure by Congress which provided for the election of municipal officers by accumulative vote. Under this system one man can cast as many ballots for a single candidate as there are names on the ticket. If there are ten offices to fill, the voter may cast ten ballots for one candidate instead of voting once for each of the ten different aspirants to office. This gave politicians an opportunity to deal with the lower classes, to encourage unscrupulous men to engage in questionable political practices, and the working classes now dominate municipal politics. Having become a political factor in the cities and towns, they aspired to higher positions, and in recent years a number of representatives of organized labor have been elected to Congress. There is an encouraging sign, however, in the fact that a better class of people is beginning to manifest greater interest in political affairs. There is also a strong public sentiment in favor of abolishing the law providing for the accumulative vote in municipalities. As a result of the present political system the management of municipalities in Chile is proverbially bad. As an illustration of this fact, there could be no better example offered than Valparaiso. The business portion occupying a narrow strip of land along the water front, the residence districts extending over and occupying the hills that rise abruptly all around, Valparaiso affords natural facilities for drainage which should render it an easy matter to establish and maintain an excellent sewerage system. Yet it is proverbially and notoriously filthy, and it is only the influence of a salubrious and healthful climate that prevents the population from being annually decimated by contagion and epidemics.