The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-02-09
THOMPSON DEFENDS HIS BILL.


Senator Thompson, of the Senate COM
rnittee on elections. last night gave out
statement as to whether the primary cleo
ton bill. which has reached the second
reading stage in the Senate. is the Com
mercial Clubs measure. He said:
THE directors of the Commercial Club,
says DR.. Hunt have disowned the bill. L
was invitetd to the club meetings and APP
pointed on committees to consider and
draft the bill. A. c. Harris. as chairman
OF the clubs committee, has given the bill
a great deal of thought, and so have other
members OF the club. There has been no
desire or intention on anyone's part, that
I know of, to embarrass the club with this
bill. SO much for that. What Mr.. Hunt
says IS to the bill known as the Minturn
bill Is worth consideration for purposes OF
comparison.
HE says: The result of their (the COM
mittee's) months OF patient labor was the
preparation of one of the most carefully
written laws / have ever seen and at it's
last annual meeting the State Board of
Commerce passed a resolution declaring
that that law embodied the main point
looking to true primary reform and again
indorsed IL. The Commercial Club. as
constituted body in the State board, con-
CURED in this resolution
1.-The Minturn bill provides, first. the
primary shall be direct and no other; sec
ond. the primaries of both parties shall be
held at the same time and at the same
place Is a direct primary only wise pro-
vision? 1t means another election. The
direct primary has been tried here. 1t was
burdensome and expensive. 1t Is said by
good authority that ii has never been more
than tolerable under the most favorable
conditions in cities and usually has proved
an unrnitigated failure as TO joint primar-
f..c NJ no.. ftaaxr IfIA 10 raEyfE
tration law, and often one showing party
Mutations OF the voters
"On account of constitutional conditions
we cannot now get registration law. The
Commercial Club proposes TO hold joint
primaries and the only barrier it offers
To the encroachment OF one party on an
other is the separate ballots. i think that
is utterly insufficient and that joint primar-
les cannot be held without registration
laws. When we can get registration L am
in favor Of joint primaries. They go to-
gether.
Except that township trustees shall be
inspectors In the precincts in which they
live the Minturn bill lodges the appoint
ment of election officers in the county
chairmen, excepting the inspectors. who
appointed by the county commissioners.
The primary board of election commission
ers Is made up OF the county clerk and two
appointees of the county chairman. III the
Republican party is dominant that means
the inspectors, one judge and one clerk are
Republicans and one judge and one clerk
Democratic. The Democratic primary is
thus conducted by a board. the majority
OF whom are Republicans. The primary
board in that case would be two Repub-
leans and one Democrat. These provisions
are borrowed from the Australian law, but
this is a primary election and a different
purpose is in view, and that is to select
nominees. The advantage that the domi-
nant party has In general election (seem-
fngly unayoidable) is carried into the
primary. where the majority party is pre-
pairing for the general election. The prim-
airy board has two-thirds OF its members
OF the dominant party. The election board
has three-fifths of its members of that
PARTY and the only protection against the
encroachment on the minority party Is
separate ballots. In practice L think that
would prove utterly insufficient.
II voted for the bill two years ago, not
a perfect measure, but better than
the substituted one The bill now before
the Senate, the provisions of which have