The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-10-25
STICK 10 THE PRIMARY PLAN.

STICK TO THE rRxMARY PLAN. -TlsU yeare ago the Democratic Party h this ssdeeided2 d2toaabandon the old con.
 vention system of making nominations and to take up the primary plan This
 change was made deliberately. There
 was discussion of the pros and
 cons of the change. which ran on fol
 months.
 This change was made because the rank
 and file of the party demanded 1t. A ma
 jority of the State Executive Committed
 was undoubtedly opposed to making the
 change when the discussion first started,
 but when members looked carefully into
 the state of party opinion, when they
 heard from the people. that majority saw the wisdom of, the necessity for, tho change to the primary.
 The rank and file of the party demand ed this change because of two strong rea- sons. The first was the deep and general dissatisfaction with the old convention system, with its attendant evils of domi- nation by crafty wire-pullers and the fre- quent nomination of undesirable candi- dates by trades and combinations in some cases doubtless by the use of money among delegates. The second reason was tneSdawuing of new regime of a puri- ned electorate through the new constitu- ton. The bulk of the Party was tired of the rottenness of the old regime in all it's phases. and it insisted upon a new deal
 The primary. where every voter had equal power. was the happy solution of the problem. e.
 The State Committee has just met, and the gossip is abroad that there is some tendency in that body to 20 back to the hesh-pots of our political Egypt. There are on this page two editorials on this subject clipped from. The News and The Age-Herald of Birmingham. where the Committee met a few days ago. The im- pression alluded to seems to be very dis tinct in Birmingham and doubtless there Is much ground for it.
 The Advertiser does not hesitate to say that any such movement is dangerous to the harmony and welfare of the Demo- cratic Party in this State The people do not want any more trading and tratficinx conventions, and it will be dangerous to try them on. It would tend to all sorts of bad feeling and discord. And such dis cord would be dangerous to straight party supremacy. The threat of negro domina- tion is gone,- and with 1t the power of outside pressure to force the bulk of the white people to stand together. An in- dependent movement in any County, in any District in the whole State, is with In The range Of easy possibility. The Democratic Party can be held together only by the nominations of the best men made in the fairest way. The lines of natural cleavage have already been ma A- ed. and it would not require 6 very big wedge to make the split
 As a matter of course there are many political manipulators who are more or less out of jobs when there are no con- yentions for them to exercise their talents in. They afe well nigh reduced to ranks in a primary. Naturally they are restive and want to restore the old system where they. were "it,'' where they could make trades and combinations to put their fa- vorites through. But the selflshness of these nnanipulators should not be deter mining factor. except negatively. iths State Committee should ignore all infiu- ence of this sort. and stick to the primary plan. It is what the bulk of the Party want. and fl is the salvation of the Party. The purified electorate of Alabama today Is just as competent to name candidates directly as to select delegates to conven- tions to do so for them The stream new CT rises above the fountain. and usually the contamination gets into the stream after 1t leaves its source. There is a very good primary law now, and there is noth- ing in the way of harmonious, effective primary except the selfish ambitions of those who excel in the game of political chess fin conventions.
 We do not believe the State Commit tee will pay very serious attention to that element at it's next meeting. Neverthe- less 1t is in order for the people and the press to let their wishes in the matter ha understood tvf y1loi,n x1aaOnnu