Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1901-02-28

[ is concerned. It is, of course, easy to
know when a candidate receives a
majority vote in a convention. 1t is
| almost impossible to know whether
that candidate would have had a
majority of the party vote in the
territory represented in the conVen-
ton. 1t has often occurred, as every
| intelligent citizen of this state knows
that a man has been nominated for
an important Office whose name had
not been before the people at all
when the delegates to the convention
| were named. All that can be done
under the present system is to go
right back to the individual source OF
party life and action and then be
guided by the largest aggregations OF
individual judgment.
The provisions of the primary cleo
ton Law tend to restrict the number
of weak candidates. The require
ment that nomination papers must be
Isigned by two per cent. of the voters
of the territory in which the can
didate can be voted for, and the other
requirements with reference to the
distribution of the signers, will re-
strict the number of candidates with
in reasonable limits, and the as
sumption is fair that in a great
majority of cases a majority Of the
members of the party voting will
agree in their selection.
! The objection that questions of
geography and nationality will not be
considered in the selection of noml-
nees is in the main an argument for
the proposed law. Men ought not to
be nominated for Office simply be-
cause they live in some particular cor
ner of the state or county, or because
| they or their ancestors were born in
some foreign land. Men should be
nominated for Office primarily because
! they have character, because they
have the ability to do the work Of the
| office to which they aspire, because
| they are abIe to fight the battles of
the parties which they represent, be-
cause they stand for good things in
political, business and social life.
Other things being equal, questions Of
nationality and geography can be
considered. There are foreign-born
citizens in this state and descendants
of foreign-born citizens who have
the same qualifications and high order
Of talent and of character that are the
characteristics of the best American
citizenship. Under any system they
will stand a fair show in political con-
tests. And in every corner of the
state, when you come to q considera-
ton Of geography, men can be found
who have the brains and capacity to
do things in public life and whose
talents will not be obscured by the
political exigencies Of parties con
sidering the location of candidates
and not their individual merits.
1t has been stated that the official
ballot under this law would be 61a
feet long and so wide that an
ordinary polling booth would have to
be enlarged to admit it. The ballot
provided for by this bill is Z inches
wide and less than 20 inches long. It
is much smaller than the regular
official ballot now used at general
elections which is 10 inches wide and
40 inches long.
The operation of the proposed law
would entail small expense upon the
state. The claim that it would COM
pei an expenditure of one hundred
thousand dollars in each election is
absurd. The following estimate of
expenses necessitated by this bill, if
it shall become a law, covers the
entire cost:
Publication of notices in 40
newspapers at $4,000 for