The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-11-18
TALKS ON CURRENT TOPICS.
A. c. Harris and Primary Election
Law-Favors Voting Machines.

Addison c. Harris, chairman of the Com
mercial Club committee on a primary cleo
ton law, said yesterday that nothing had
been done as yet in the way of drafting
a bill to be submitted to the Legislature
this winter.
Il was exceedingly busy during the cam
paign," said Mr.. Harris, and since the
election / have been engaged in a number
of awsuits. Consequently 1 have not found
time to call the committee together to
work on the primary question. However,
during the campaign 1 took some pains
to find out the sentiment of the people in
the places 1 visited in regard to the pri-
mary law, and 1 found that there is a
general sentiment in favor of a law that
will embody many of the features of the
regular election law-that is, similar pro-
visions regarding the qualifications of the
voter, the counting of the vote by a sworn
board, with watchers, ETC., and certified
returns, and the punishment for the buying
and selling of votes.
ST think no one in Indiana wants such
a farce of a primary law as that which
now prevails in Minnesota, where the
primaries of both parties are held on the
the voter is taken into a booth and given
a ticket with the candidates Of both par
s sissi to % EGse It tor is w Possib ne P 2Or the b Bender
Gratis TO detail a certain number of their men
TO vote for the weakest Republican candi-
date. insuring his nomination, ard vice
lican should be permitted TO vote at a Re-
publican primary, and that Republicans
should have nothing to do with the selec-
ton of Democratic candidates.
sI believe that IL will be impossible to
secure the passage of a uniform primary
aw-one that requires every county and
city to nominate by direct vote. In some
counties the voters are welded so the plan
of nomination by convention, and while
they will select their delegates by primary
they will fight a law for direct nomination.
The committee will take up the question
in the near future and will endeavor to
enlist the interest of some members of the
Legislature to offer a bill e~mbodying the
ideas that represent the sentiment or the
voters of the State"
Mr.. Harris also spoke of the voting ma
chimes and registration law questions and
he said that he had found considerable
people of Indiana are ready for voting ma
chimes and / believe the coming Legisla-
ture will consider and pass a measure pro-
viding for their adoption. AS to the regis
tration law, l found hat while the people
in the larger towns and cities of the State
favor il, the people of the country districts
do not see the need of ii. In the rural
districts, where every voter in a precinct
knows every other voter, there really is
little need of a registration law, and nat
urally the representatives from these dis
tricts will oppose ii, but in the large CEN
tiers of population, such as Indianapolis
and the other leading cities of the State, the
need of a registration law Is clearly seen.
/ have no idea as to what the Legislature
will do with the question, however"
Mr.. Harris was q member of the state
Senate twenty-five years ago and was ac-
tive in securing an amendment to the state
Constitution making a registration law pos
sible, but the question has never been set
tied by any of the succeeding legislatures.