The leader., 1900-05-30
4 STATE CONVENTION JUNE !.

4 STATE CONVENTION JUNE ).
The action of the State Democratic
Executive Committee in ordering a
State primary election June 2lst to
elect delegates to the Kansas City Con-
vention and to nominate candidates
for Presidential Electors continues to
be the all-absorbing political topic.
The warmth of the discussion has been
greatly increased by the refusal or
failure of the committee to meet and
reconsider its former action when the
illegality of its order was clearly point
ed out and the general dissatisfaction
with which it was received by the party
became so Enthusiastically manifest.
Chairman Miller is especially censur
able, because of his virtually
turning a deaf ear to all complaints
and appeals and refusing to so much
as call his committee together to con-
fer on the subject-a course which
would, without doubt, have resulted in
its recalling its former action.
About half of the county committees
of the State have met to date, and of
this number, nearly half have fatty re-
fused to obey the State Committees
illegal mandate, several which have
acquiesced have done so under avow
ed protest, and few, if any of the num-
Der, have given it a hearty assent. I'm
less some way out of the difficulty
soon opens, party disruption is newt
able.
Under the circumstances, the most
feasible solution of the difficulty, APP
pears to be that proposed by Major j.
X. Vardaman, in the address which we
publish today, and which is being
widely endorsed.
There are two very lame things, how
ever, in Major Vardaman's plan as it
appears to us. First, it proposes to
recognize as binding the order of the
Committee for State primary, which
order is illegal and made in the very
teeth of plain statute for party gov
eminent in such cases. Secondly,
while thus recognizing and condoning
the illegal order of the State Commit
tee, in one very important particular
it adds to that order and provides for
the election of a new State Executive
| Committee at the primary.
Now if. as has been charged and seems
probable. the main reason the State
Committee had for ignoring the law and
ordering State primary in the outset,
and not providing at the same time for
the election of a new committee, was
to perpetuate itself in office and be-
come returning board to count the
votes for State officers and United
States Senators three years hence, will
the committee recognize any new com
mittee elected in disregard of its order
and step down and out? As the Com
mittee has refused to respond to all
appeals and protests from the people
to rescind its illegal order and will
sit as a returning board, count the
votes and officially declare the result
of the primary called for June DIST, the
probability is that they will refuse to
count or recognize any votes cast for
a new committee in defiance of their
own plan and purpose.
OF course this would raise a great
deal more sheol in the party, but the
kickers, having recognized the official
authority of the committee by partic-
ipating in an illegally ordered primary
would have the worse end of the argu-
ment and be estopped both by proper
regard for party discipline and con
sistency itself from taking an appeal.
The LEADER favors the Vardaman
Convention on June 9TH, as the best
thing yet proposed for remedying the
wrong done by the State Committee;
but, it seems to us before that Conven-
ton commits itself by act or resolu
ton to a ratification of the committees
illegal order calling the primary, the
suggestions above made should be ma
terially considered.