Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-11
BONAP ARTE FOR
LOCALIZED BOSS
Secretary of the Navy Thinks
People Should Elect One.
MEANS BETTER CANDIDATES
Some Man With More Leisure Than
He Himself Has.
SELECTED BY THE VOTERS
It Takes Time and Trouble To Elect
the Right Sort Of Man, Says
the Secretary.

BALTIMORE. Md, November 1O-In an
Interview published In the News today Sec
rotary of the Navy Charles j.. Bonaparte
suggested the establishment of a legalized
boss in each political party. In each OF
| the states and cities. the boss" to be en-
| powered to select candidates for the vari-
Gus elective offices, thereby doing away
with nominating conventions Declaring
that he was speaking seriously, Secretary
Bonaparte continued:
1T is hard indeed. very hard. often i'm
possible. to get the men who are fit for
public Office to become candidates Some
body has to do a great deal of work in find
ing the right man for each place and In
ducing him to run for It. Unfit candidates
can be secured by the bushel, but public
| life in this country involves such grave
sacrifices of both inclination and interest
for men of ability and high standing In the
community that they have to be driven into
IT by sort OF compulsion through appeals
| 10 their sense OF ppolic duty, in some cases
| of party loyalty
LOCALIZED Boss.
Now. by a 1egalized boss / mean an
| individual authorized on behalf of one of
our parties to choose all candidates of
| that party for elective Offices within a
designated territory-to do inteligently de-
liberately and carefully the work which Is
| supposed to be done by nominating con-
ventions or Crawford county primaries.
but which would be done by such agencies
SO thoughtlessly, hurriedly and negligently
that 1t is done usually. in fact. by the
local boss or ring in secret.
of course, every facility should be
| afforded for making independent nominal
tons. whether within the organized parties
or without. so that all citizens who may be
dissatisfied for whatever reason with the
regular nominations may be able to vote
effectively according to their convictions"
The reporter asked how Mr.. Bonaparte
would choose his proposed ''iegalized boss"
He ought to be elected annually" said
the Secretary, 'by the legal voters of his
party, at primary held under all the sane
ton of law, and at which only this one
Office or rather position should be filed.
Each voter would have only to say whom
he considered the best man in the party
to be constituted a nominating convention
of one for all elective offices within the
state city or county, as the case might be.
This would be a very simple duty, and /
am inclined to think 1t could be very salts
factoriy performed by the average voter;
and l likewise think it probable that no
one of the persons who have been known
las bosses since have known something
about politics would have 'beei elected at
such primary. 7a.7i So. ,'s-f W. p
= Perhaps it m. ght be wise to provide that
the 'nominator' or 1egalized boss I have
suggested should be himself disqualified to
hold public Office, but of this am not sure
there are certainly two sides to the ques-
Ption.' - -
Crude and Undeveloped.
The secretary'was then asked whether he
expected to get up an agitation in favor Of
establishing ''legaiized BOSSES"
NO" he said, the thoughts have just
expressed are crude and undeveloped and
probably worth more than you will pay
for them. Moreover, I fear / am getting
decidedly into the sere and yellow for pur-
poses of political agitations; perhaps for
other purposes also But l am inclined to
| the belief that If somebody with half my
years and four times my leisure would
take these ideas up seriously he might per-
haps work out something of benefit to the
public and tending to promote good gov