The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1905-02-04
DIRECT PRIMARY
LAW NEEDED
GROWING DEMAND FOR PRACTI-
CAL POLITICAL REFORM
Proposed Law Would Restore to the
People the Power Which is Now
Theirs in Theory Only-The House
Vote of 1891 and 1898.

The present legislature will earn
for itself an honored place in the
history of the state if it opens the
way for practical political reforms
by enacting a direct primary law
similar to the laws in force in Mime
sofa and Wisconsin. There can be
no question that the wish is general
among the people of the state that
such law be enacted. The first
direct primary bill introduced in the
Legislature by Representative Jones,
Of King County, four years ago,
lacked but one vote of passing the
house. Forty members voted for it
and twenty-nine against it and
twelve were absent, including the
member from this county. Two
years ago Mr. Jones introduced
another bill which passed the house
by the decisive vote of ffty-one to
twenty-one, with twenty-five ab-
sentees. Representative Thacker, of
this county, voted for it. The bill
then went to the senate where it
was smothered by the Siftings com
mittee, who refused it a place on the
calendar
No man can in any sense be a rep
resentative of the people who OPP
poses the enactment of a law de
signed to give to the people in fact
the political power which thev are
supposed to have in theory-a theory
which, by the way, is delusion and
a snare. 1t is greatly to the credit
of the Post-Intelligencer, the fore
most Republican paper in the state,
that it has for years been an earnest
and consistent advocate of this great
reform To quote from an editorial
in the P.-I. nearly four years ago:
The direct primary means the
abolition of the political machine and
the restoratio to the people of that
political power which they are sup
posed to exercise but do not. Every
voter knows that, as rule, his share
in the selection of public officers is
limited to the choice of voting for
one or the other of two candidates
in namiog whom he had no part what
ever. They were nominated by
party conventions; the delegates to
these, in turn, were chosen at party
caucuses; and those caucuses were
arranged in advance in the in
terest of certain candidates or lead
ers, at conferences from which the
public was excluded altogether. The
voter casts free ballot, indeed; but
as to the names that are printed on
those ballots he had about as much
liberty of choice and initiative as if
he lived in Russia.
'sThe direct primary proposes to
change all this. 1t goes back to first
principles. 1t restores to the voter
his freedom, and to his vote its just
weight and power. 1t makes nomi-
nations for the public office condi-
tional upon a popular vote, conducted
exactly as is the vote at the general
election. Only those can be candi-
dates for office who have been
selected as such by the people them
selves. The principle is so sound,
the reform so great, that the wonder
is how any opposition can exist. And
as a matter of fact, wherever it
does exist, other than by reason OF a
lack of information, it is inspired by
the political boss. His occupation
will be gone on the day when a direct
primary act becomes law.