Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1902-05-31
SIXTH LETTER.


$50 much had been said in regard to
restoring to the people the political pow
er which had been taken from them,
to adopting political methods which
would enable the people to execute their
own politica, will and to placing the
voters in direct control of all the affairs
of the political parties to which they
belonged, that we should not have ex-
pected to find, in the Stevens bill, a pro-
vision like the following:
"'Section %. The county chairmen
at their meetings to canvass the vote for
state officers shall, in the proper years,
choose by ballot the electors of their
party for President, and vice president.
The names of the persons so selected
shall be placed upon the official ballot,
as now provided by law
'Under this section, in the year of
national election, when the county chair
men of a party were 70 meet as a state
canvassing board, they were constituted
ex-officio a nominating convention to pro-
pose candidates for presidential electors.
Their selections (nominees) were to be
placed upon the official ballot.
Provisions as to Alternates.
"In this connection let me call atten-
ton to the provision of section 49, relat-
ing to the selection of delegates to ma
tional conventions at a primary election
held in April of presidential year. The
required number Of persons receiving
the highest number of votes were to be
delegateG at large or from the congress
sional district, as the case might be, and
an equal number of those receiving the
next highest number Of votes were to be
the alternates, except that there was no
choice of an alternate declared unless
he had at least 2 per cent. OF his proper
party vote. If, under this rule, there
were a failure to elect alternates the
delegates elected were to choose alter
mates. Here are two sections relating to
national party politics and four different
ways of doing the things proposed to be
done % An ex-officio convention to NOM
mate presidential electors; 90 a primary
election to select delegates to the ma
tional convention; O. selection of alter
nate delegates by a conditional second
choice at the primary election; ~ a Sc
lection of alternates by delegates acting
ex-officio.
Platform Clause n Surprise.
"Here Is another surprise from the
bill:
Section 81. The candidates for the
various state Offices and for Senate and
Assembly nominated by each political
party at such primary election shall meet
in the Assembly chamber at the capitol
at - o'clock noon on the second Wednes-
day after the date on which any primary
election is held preliminary to any gen.
eral election. They shall adjourn to suit
able places in the capitol building, where
they shall forthwith meet and formulate
the state platform of their party. The
chairman and secretary of the state Gen.
trail committee Of each party shall act
as chairman and secretary Of such meet
ing. Said platform shall be adopted by
a majority of all candidates voting at
such meeting, by roll call, the record Of
which shall be filed and preserved by the
secretary Of state. The platform Of each
party shall be framed at such time that
it shall be made public not later than
O'Clock Ill the afternoon Of the following
day (the afternoon Of the second Thurs
day after primary election day..
'"This section provided for a biennial
party convention, made UP, ex-oficio, of
candidates for the various state offices
and for Senate and Assembly, The off,
GERS of this convention were to be the
chairman and secretary of the party state
central committee. Notwithstanding the
claim made by the friends of the bill that
this government is based absolutely upon
the idea that the people can be trusted
to determine public questions, so far as
that is a physical possibility the time
honored custom of political parties in
this state which had always prevailed in
delegate conventions Of framing plat
forms before candidates were nominated,
was set aside and its place filed by an
ex-officio convention to be held at regu-
lar intervals under the law, where the
candidates themselves were placed in SUI
prema authority, and authorized to for
mulats the state platform Of their party
Still Another Convention.
Here is provision from the bill, all