The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1900-09-07
PENNSY'S PRIMARIES.
A Study of Crawford County
Plan, Similar to la
EoIIette's.
YET SOME FEATURES MISSING
Especially the Blanket Ballot for All
Parties-Deiaware County Com
promise Plan.


as l can learn by correspondence with
the states where some such device
against the failure of the caucus eX-
lists. is original in this-that he makes
the Australian secret ballot an impera-
tive and dominant feature.
The ballot carries the names of all
candidates Of all parties; its area or
application is the whole state, not in
dVidual counties. and the system is
organic law, not an unofficial party,
optional as in some states; nor party
initiative, thereby earning pro fOrma
official state supervision, as in others.
a number of states have some form
Of the primary election plan. The
idea of giving it legal sanction and not
merely operating as a party regulation
is not new. But hitherto each party
has held it's own primary election: and
the idea of making the whole system
a part of the law and operation of the
state is new.
1t will be profitable to study first
the experience Of Pennsylvania. AS
q source of information Editor Thorn
as Y. Cooper of the Delaware County
(Media) American has been called into
service. Mr.. Cooper was for eight
years chairman of the Republican
state committee and is the author of
'American Politics." a work much in
vogue ten years ago.
Primary Elections in Pennsylvania.
In reading Mr.. COOper's essay it
will be well to qualify its serious con-
demnatiOn of "free voting" by rpmem-
bering these newer features proposed
in the La Toilette plan. 1t is likely
they would forbid the purchase of
votes in a primary, as secrecy and state
control do in elections.
"TOuching primary election rules
aud laws, Pennsylvania has had a
more varied experience than that of
any other state. Forty years ago the
primaries of both parties were scarce
ly that in name. In nearly all Of the
counties they were participated in
only by the leading families or party
leaders, and these, as a rule, nOml-
mated close relatives or friends, except
in doubtful counties, where naturally
the best selections were made. The
system grew into abuses, and was de-
nOunced as one tending only to old
family government or to government
by rings.
Pennsylvania Sought Reform.
From 1868 to 1872 there was great
agitation in Pennsylvania looking to
popular primaries SO great was the de-
mand for better methods that the I'm
ion league Of Philadelphia offered high
prizes for essays on the subject.
1.-TWO counties took the lead-CraW-
ford and DelaWare-On the northwest
ern and southeastern extremes of the
state. Each adopted different syg
TENS. Crawford county looked only
to the popular vote, and left this I'M
checked. The primary ticket was
voted for as a whole, no one office
bearing any apparent relation to the
other. Under this system, in a cOun-
ty with several very pOpulOus towns,
discomfort followed because Of the
greed of the towns. These could pool
their votes and get away with the
leading offices.
A System of Vote Buying.
lone would think that there would
be little corruption in primaries where
all could freely and secretly vote, but
Crawford soon became known as the
most demOraliZed county in all of
Pennsylvania. Possibly the oil de-
VelOpment had much to do with this
previously uIheard of corruption. for
it developed millionaires very rapidly,
and these sought political preferment.
The writer could name three score and
ten who struggled in this way, now
winning. next losing, and always los
ing to the richer man. The condition
became deplorable, and the more de-
plorable the stronger it became, for
those who sold their votes wanted to
sell them again. and they have per-
sistently refused to yield their power.
Graz fOrd county is an exhibition of
unchecked electors, with the pur-
chase of voters and election officers as
the principal incentives and ingredi-
entS. All thoughtful men confess this.
and not Il single man who promoted
this corruption has been able to live
in its politics, for the demand has
been for more. and yet more, with
each succeeding year. Merit there is
as nothing compared with cash, and
the cash is often black mailed by
fights inaugIirated for the sole purpose
of getting it. In strictly farming COM
munitieS, containing no great towns or
cities, and having few. if any, very
wealthy men, the Crawford system is
the ideal one, for it is free and ought
to be honest In Pennsylvania. noted
for its diversity in production and in
dustry, there are few such counties.
Lancaster County Initiates
Lancaster the empire county of the
state and of the United States, with a
population close upon 100000, much of
it farming, naturally and very quickly
copied the Crawford system for it's Re
publican primaries, the county being
Republican by fully two to one. This
was done in 1870, the single delegate
system ii. e. a delegate to each voting
district being displaced. This single
delegate plan had led to constant quar-
rels between little and big districts,
the little refusing to concede repre-
sentation proportional to the number
of votes, and when the chance was
presented the greater numbers COM
PEELED the adoption of the Crawford
system.
Hog" and "Bu1I' Rings in Lancaster.
Its results were for a long time
better in Lancaster than in Crawford,
because of comparatively fewer towns
and greater farming districts, and far