Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-01-23
DES MONIES
IN EARNEST A | 4 } |
PEOPLE OF CAPITAL CITY WANT
A sTRlcr7PRIMARY
IiG,, ia LAW.
SAY 1T is NECESSARY
They Regret That the State Leslsla-
ture Was Not in Session Monday So
I. That the Members Might Have Seen
! the Work at Primary Elec.eiqns.
IBY LEON CROWN
Des Moines Bureau of the Courier,

des Moines, Jan. ri.
The primarrg election Monday in the
city Of Dee Moines has aroused de-
Termination among prominent Des
MONIES people to demand of the legis-
iature an adequate primary law. There
seems to be no two opinions about the
gxatter. The present, primary law is
absolutely worthless The ,disgraceful
scenes of Monday here convince the
people of this community that they
need a real law which will make it
really criminal to follow criminal prac-
ices at The primary election.
And Des Moines has got to the point
where it will not quarrel about de-
s.ails. II the legislature doesn't want
TO pass a statewide law it will be all
right; If it doesn't want law requir-
Ing registration of voters, it will be all
right; if it doesn't want to abolish the
delegate system, it will be all right.
Just so that there is some protection
for the people at the primary election
polls-that is all that Des Moines asks
No Law for Thieves.
It seems ridiculous, but there is no
law which would punish the men who
stole the ballots from one of the Des
Moines precincts. They might be
charged with petit larceny, but that is
all. The extent of their crime would
be.measured by the value of the paper
ballots which they, stole. There ap-
pears to be but one crime under the
present primary law of this state
that is, for one partisan to vote at the
primary. of another party. And it would
be impossible, utterly, to secure evil
dence to convict any man of this of
Tense. M
Legislature convenes Monday.
Members of the legislature are ex-
pected to begin to return to the city
tomorrow and the next day. Several
of them remained here during the re-
cess. Senator Hayward, of Scott coun-
fly, Senator Brooks, Of Hedrick, and a
number Of others stayed in the city be-
cause they had all made arrangements
to remain here, having come down to
the session in the first place, and they
regarded it as quite useless to go home,
again.
1t is a matter of regret among Des
Moines people that the legislature was
not in session here Monday to witness
the Des Moines primaries. They could
conceive of no better argument for
the enactment of an adequate law than
was in those primaries.
Wants Trusteeship.
Hilton M. Let's of Louisa county,
will be candidate for member of the
board of trustees of the state agricult-
nral college from the first district
against S. H. Watkins. of Libertyville.
This is said to be the probable line
up in that fight before the legislature
this winter. In all probability Mr..
He was formerly a member of the leg
islature himself, and is very popular
man among his fellows, generally. Mr..
Watkins has served for two terms. He
made vigorous fight for the Washing
ton candidate for the presidency of the
college during the years negotiations
relative to a successor for President
Beardshear. 1t was said, however,
that Mr.. Watkins would, at any time,
have been glad to go over to Charles
F.. Curtiss for the presidency had it
seemed possible to elect Mr.. Curtiss.
The trusteeship of the state educa-.
tional institutions are filled by the dis
trict caucuses in the case of the state
university and the state college. These
caucuses are republican, of course,but
the democrats are always given some
OF the, positions. as in the case Of
Judge Babb, of Mt. Pleasant, on the
university board.