The Monticellonian., 1898-01-21
LET US REASON TOGETH
 FER.

lllg iji illldI SlSCliOI TOT lHS nomination of Judicial candi- dates. So far as we are individ- ually concerned 1t is immaterial how the nominations are made, as we are neither a candidate for Judge or Prosecuting Attor- ney, and only have an interest in selecting the best men for the place. But while some may ob- feet to the old Democratic usage of conventions, there are also drawbacks to the primary cleo tion plan for a whole district. In the outset there is no provis- ion made by law for district legalized primary election, but the matter of having a legalized primary election is left solely and exclusively with the politi- cal parties, which may desire the same, of each county. Hence, in district composing a half dozen counties, some of the counties might deem 1t best to hold legalized primary elections, for the nomination of candi- dates, some might decide to hold primaries, not legalized, and some might prefer to hold conventions, so it will be readi- ly seen that no authorized ju- dicial political tribunal can con- trol in this matter.
 Then, again, the Judicial com mittee has prescribed iurisdic- tion, made so by the political custom and precedent, which cannot be ignored, or enlarged It's duty is to call a convention for the district, and not to order primary elections, either legal ized or otherwise, for the coun- ties. Of course, If each county, in the Judicial district, should decide to hold a legalized prima- " election for the selection of Judicial candidates and request the Executive committee of the district to cast up the esult and declare the man nominated who received more votes in the whole district than any other man, the committee would have the DOW CT to so declare, by virtue of it's delegated authority from all the counties.
 A correspondent of the DeHl0- craf, whose opinion is endorsed by that paper and heartily ap- proved by 1t, in closing his arti- cle advocating primary elections, and a casting up or the counting of the votes by the Judicial com mittee, says: And when our primaries are over and the re- suit declared, We will have men for office nominated by a MAJOR ITY VOTE of the DEMOCRATIC PARTY of the WHOLE DISTRICT, and not by a packed conven- tion," and then subscribes his article under the nom de plume An Honest Voter That the gentleman is "an honest voter" we will not gainsay or deny i; but from his ready use of small capitals in emphasizing, and his lack of logic i'll assertion, we must beg pardon for inferring that he IS, also, a wiry poli- tician or, maybe, one who would like to hold office.
 To analyze his polenics and expose the fallacy of his asser- tion 1t is only necessary to make a little calculation that any tv- TO in mathematics can under stand. To illustrate If, in the District, there should be four candidates for Judge and three candidates for Prosecuting At torney (which is not at all un- likely, but more than probable) and the total vote should be 6,000, which IS q reasonable es innate. and one of the candi- dates for Judge should receive 1,503, and the other three can didates for Judge should receive, each, ,499, the first, under pri- mary election rules, would be the nominee and instead of be- ing nominated by a majority vote of the Democratic party of the whole District" he would be nominated with a majority of 2,SS4 against him. The same would be true with the district