The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1904-10-28
PAINTING THE LILY,

Justice of the Peace Stein. His career
on the bench was considered one of the
most honorable and upright Of those who
have held the Office of justice during
several years, yet be went down, while
his running mate, Teagan, was renomi-
mated One explanation gwen by
friend of Justice Stein is that the latter
decided several cases against the street
] railway people of late, and it is said that
! Stein was not in the combine OF men
| whose candidacy got such sudden boom
when the street car man from the East
came to Detroit, and in whose office GER
tain candidates compiled their returns
on the night after the primaries"
Is it really possible the street railway
Influence alone in Detroit could defeat
candidate for judicial place? If that
is so, and we have 20 authority for it
other than the primary reform Free
Press, who would deliver US from the
corporate interests of the state if our cir
cult and supreme judges were nominal
ed bl direct vote?
Then "they say" the use of money
would be reduced to minimum under
the primary system. We contend the
power of money would be largely in
creased by it Listen to the Free Press
again, not in its biased editorial utter
ances, but in its truthful news columns:
Nobody denies that an immense lot
Of money was used at the recent primar-
! les j."
Then "they say" that the primary sys.
ten would not demoralize, but strength
en- party organization Listen TO the
Free Press again, this time editorially:
"The object Of primary elections is to
give the people chance to express their
views and it would be distinct gain If
all questions of party were eliminated
and the aspirants for Office were printed
in single column without regard to
their undetermined and Understandable
party affiliations. We may 90 even a
step farther-and if the progress contin-
ues for ten years more, we doubtless
willard say that the primary election
should be abolished altogether and with
a few additional restrictions framed for
the regulation of the announcement of
political aspirations and some restrictive
rules as to the means to be followed in
placing names on the ballot. let the
whole matter be determined finally at
the one general election. Why not?
That would be true progress.
The Free Press believes in party dis
Indignation. So does every voter in
Michigan who is in sympathy with dem
ocratic principles. 1t might enable some
of the faithful" of that party to occa-
sionally slip into office on his personal
popularity, without any reference to the
unpopular principles he might represent
The True Northerner is a partisan, and
glories in it. We believe in political
parties, and that needed reforms should
be worked out through party channels,
that candidates for public Office should
60 before the people representing some
definite party principles, and that by
those principles they should stand oil
fall. We believe in party organization
that it is for the highest good of the
commonwealth, and that no measure
tending to efface party lines is any steI
of progress.
Again the Free Press says:
"Maybury, in the same precincts, re
ceived $500 votes, or only about one
third of the total number of votes cast il
the republican column, showing COP clus
lively what has been charged for som,
time, that thousands of democrats voted
in the republican column"
, The fact seems to be indisputaby es
tablished that under the primary system
as in force at present in Detroit, tn,
4 members Of one party are enabled to die
. tate the nominees of another, which W,
o have always believed, and still believ,
!. will be found a weakness OF the system
9 Along the same line the Detroit Evening
8 News, another ardent primary reform
advocate, says:
4 at is evident that large number o
democrats were willing to lose theil
votes in behalf of their own candidate,
:, for the sake of mixing in a republican
n contest"
J. In view of the condition OF things il
o Detroit and Wayne county primaries, W,
8 are more than ever convinced that tn,
position OF the republican party in Mich
g igan is right, and that it is best to max,
4 haste slowly in the introduction Of tn,