The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1903-01-01
FP00EPIUIlLIISST Oh ULISST NOMINATIONS
Congressman Stark Urges the Peoples
Party to Practice What it breaches

Editor Independent: Responding to
the many requests | have received l
beg leave to respectfully suggest to
you thought relative to the function
of the citizen in politics. Let us see
if our departure from old time meth
DDS has any probable connection with
present conditions.
In the early days the people met in
town meetings and discussed matters
pertaining to the common good. Po-
litical action was spontaneous, hoW-
ing from the collective citizenship,
they being the prime movers thereof.
In latter day politics the primary cleo
tion system comes nearest to the at
tainment of the objects sought in the
old time town meeting; and the con-
vention system is it's antithesis. is it
not possible that we have blamed the
existing parties foE many things that
they could not avoid under their form
of organization and their methcd OF
operation? Cannot the boss-ridden con-
ditions of politics in many states be
directly traced to the convention sys-
TEN that organizes and operates from
the center out instead of from the cir
cumference in?
We have to face this question, rs
the citizen the unit in political a'tion,
or is the convention the unit and the
citizen an infnitesimal fraction there
off," Another question that we should
try to answer, is, can we hope to sue
ceed in the PRONUNCIATION OF pure po-
litical principles and practically work
out the ideals of the founders OF this
government when we make use OF the
same methods and machinery by which
those ideals have been well night OBJ
liberated? Why is it that party
whose platform declares for reforms OF
various kinds elects men who never
give serious thought to the perform
ance of those duties to which they are
pledged? Simply because the method
of selecting candidates is in direct
opposition to the accomplishment OF
the declared purposes; results flow
from actions, not from declarations.
The best illustration of attempts to
work out the accomplishment of our
declarations under the convention
method and system would be to seat a
man on a horse backward and have
him vociferously declare that he is
travelling northward when the horse
is going south. Our principles may be
very good but if our methods Of oper-
alton are radically wrong our declar-
alton of principles will avail nothing
If we believe that our government is
by the people and not an outward flow
from some centralized power, then we
should seek some method of political
operation which will secure and re-
tain the power to select men and de-
clare measures in the hands of the in
dividual elector. Especially is the Sc
lection of men all important, because
the right stamp of man will do right
and strive to preserve our liberties
without any platform, if need be. Many
men will not do these things, no mat
ter how strongly bound by platforms.
This can most effectually be done by
the primary election system. AS it's
name implies the first or primary po-
litical action rests with the individual
electors of the state and is exercised
anu dUoOluICly lO1tloliCu III bilC uiCCI-
ings of these electors in their respec-
tive election precincts instead of being
authorized by some boss" who holds
the power of political action by virtue
of his retainers and henchmen.
The peoples Independent party has
been a school master in politics to the
republican party. 1t taught the guam
titative theory of money value and
President Mckinley made use of the
lesson. While his party was declar-
ing that prices did not depend on the
quantity of money in circulation, he
was wise enough to avoid a monetary
stringency by coming large amounts
of silver although his party had made
gold the standard.
The peoples Independent party has
a splendid platform and the Chicago
and Kansas City platforms of the
democratic party are both excellent;
but in our state we have the spectacle
of reformers who declare in their plat.
form for the election Of United States
sef,e.~-~.s by direct vote of the people
and then deny their own party the
privilege of selecting any nominee by
direct vote do not say these things