The Yale expositor., 1904-10-28
PRIMARY REFORM.
DEACON r. B. LOOMS ATTENDING BAP-
TIsT CONVENTION

Tells How Law Works in Grand Rapids and
Kent County townships arc Ignored
and City Gets All Officers.
The following interview of the Port
Huron Times with Senator LOOMS of
Kent Co., one of the strongest primary
reformers of the last Legislature, is very
significant:
From Port Huron Times, Oct. 2l.-
Deacon II. B. Loomis, of Grand Rapids,
is a delegate To the Baptist convention
i'm session i'm Port Huron at the present
time. Mr.. LoomiS served for number
of years as state senator from Grand
Rapids and was one of the men who
voted for the primary reform law for
Grand Rapids and Kent counties. Mr..
LoomiS, in an interview with The Times
this morning. said:
1--WE have the Burns law, which COW
ers direct nominations in Grand Rapids,
and the Barnaby law, which covers the
county Of Kent. | have lived long
enough to see that the two bills passed
were mistakes One Of the great defects
in the law is that members of the op.
posing party can come into our primar-
les and practically control all nomin-
atiOns. This has been done in the
nomination for mayor in Grand Rapids.
The Democrats forced the nomination
upon a weak Republican and practical
ly turned the city over to the Demo
Cracy a year ago.
Another detect is the corrupt use of
money. A nominee willing to spend
large sums of money has vast advant-
age over the nominee who has no mon
ey to spend. The city OF Grand Rapids
| has 66 per cent of the population of
! Kent county, and the townships "a
per cent. Under the convention system
no ticket was ever made up which was
not equally distributed throughout the
city and townships. At aprimary held
a month ago there were candidates
| from both city and towns, but the work
done by the city candidates gave us a
county ticket without a single repre-
sentative from atoNnship. Our oppon'
ents arranged their ticket in committee
and guarded against this point. The
ten men on the Republican ticket reside
in the city of Grand Rapids and the re-
mainder of the county is barred out
At the time the two bills were passed
felt that it was a step in the right di'
rection, but in the future l will advise
all members of the Legislature to be
careful of primary reform bills and sur
round them with every safeguard. AT
the time the Grand Rapids bill was be
fore the senate Senator George w
Moore, of Port Huron, and Senator At
wood, of Caro-, strongly opposed the
measure, and we were obliged 30 re-
main up nights in order to rush il
through. / thought at that time Sena
tors Moore and Atwood were wrong in
opposing a strictly local measure. Al
the present time / am willing to say, II
the measure had been general one
they were everlastingly right. / am in
favor of a primary reform bill, il it car
be so drawn rs to treat all sections of q
county alike. l believe the Republican
party will eventually give us a bill
which will be satisfactory to all con
cerned This cannot be done, however
in trying experiments
In view Of this experience in Kent
county, and precisely similar experience
in Wayne and Alpena counties, it is
not q matter Of surprise that many
members Of the house and senate re-
fused to saddle a similar law upon the
whole state. The delay will be profit.
able, and future legislation can and
will be better drafted to avoid these
manifest laws.