Orangeburg times. [volume] (Orangeburg Court House [S.C.]) 1877-1881, 1878-05-11

mated for Office by the people
through the papers or Otherwise,
as is proposed by the primary
system, and were elected upon t. cir
merit, and not on account of their
olit'cai combinations or supposed
availability.
Since the, war upon he advent Of
| Nadlcalism, conventions becu me
fashionable. In the Radical party
they Immediately became tho vehi
c'es upon which the shrewdest and
most corrupt politicians inva, iablv
succeeded TO power. In the Demo-
cratic party of course it was different t,
tu! still the increasing tendency to
undue lnHuences through stock
| delegates and po!!t;ca! combinations
suggcsteda a change. This change is
recommended by the State Executive
Committee in the primary system,
which refers the matter directly to
the people.
Livery county arrangcs its own
plan of conducting primaries, but the
general idea is simply this:
On certain day before tho genc.-
al election the polls are opened at
every precinct from sunrise to sun
set, during which time every Demo
crat goes to the ballot box and puts
in his own vote for his cl.oicc for the
nominees of the party, instead Of
twenty-five men clubbing tngeth er
and sending q man to the convention
to do their voting for them. The
votes are then counted in such way
as may be agreed upon, and the can
did ties receiving the majority Of the
votes are declared the nominees Of
tie party.
Now for consideration of some of
the objections raised a ;ainst the sys-
TEN:
lst. 1t is argued by Hampton
Democrat" that ii viii be ''the vchl-
cl, upon which the ofice.seekers arc
to ride into power"
Now would like t, know if it
makes any difference with office seek
ers from whence the office comes.
VIII the fact that the office they seek
is offered by the convention, instead
of the people, make the number of
ofliccseekers any smaller, or their as
pirations and intrigucs less ardent? In
fact is it not probable that the small
Ter vcte to manipulate, us before said
and the grca.cr secrecy and oppor-
;n!itcs for wire pulling in convcn-
tions, offer Il more cnlicing field 70 l.
office seekers than the people through
primaries.
And again, if men will seek Office
1t would seem that the people, which
is the meaning Of the primary system :
is the proper vehicle upon which"
they ARE to ride into power"
The primary plan will tand more
to harmony also OH this score, that
defeated candidates before conven
tinns will croal ab,u. stock dele
gates manipulations &c, and become
fit subjects for boiling, but when the
people vote them down in primar e 5
they will he compelled to see and ad-
init that they are not the penp,o's
c!,nicc
2nd. t is argued that in the prim-
AIRY system the populous sections will
have an advantage over the spar
sedly settled communities.
Now who can fail to see the fallacy
of This Argument? Are not all sec
items represented in the conventio II
according to population Therefore
have not the roplIous sections at
least tie same relative vote and
| therefore the same advantage in the
convention ns they have out of it. or
ut the pr imarics Is not the ratio
| the same?
Bat ! assert that the populous sec
tons have even greater chance of
monopoliZing the offices iii the con-
vention than in the primaries, from
the simple fact that in the convention
the entire delegation ola populo lous