The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-03-03


There's a good time coming coming, help help II l. on
Fergus Falls will be winning,
AL the air with it is DINING,
Help it on, help it on. help It on. On, On.
The sarmstiys is r ,bt help ssp It i on on
With our songs and with applause
Wen defend the prim'ry laws,
Help it on, help 1T on, help 1t on, on, on.
When the Fergus high shall win, help it on.
Then the hot time Will begin
For Well make the welkin ring.
Help it on, help it on, help 1t on, on, on.
Fergus did not win, but the welktn rang just
the same and the team made splendid show
ing. Nor was the applause all on side The
Willmar boys were cheered Justify their
opponents when they made telling points, and
telling points numerous on both sides. The
Fergus team advocated the primary the right
Of the American citizen-the right to nominate
his candidates as well to elect them. The
team took the ground that 1t was only thru
primary election laws that the country could be
freed from the rule Of the bosses; that the citi-
zen could gain the rights Of which corrupt poll
ticians had deprived him.
:. Team Refers to Boss Rule.
- The WillmarS team, the other hand, pointed
ztoa~the faet.thatss American government was
representative government; that the caucus
and convention system had grown up as the
most practical plan OF nominating candidates,
and that it was in every sense the best plan;
that parties were necessary feature Of the
American political system, and the convention
system resulted in the perpetuatton of the party
and enabled the people thru their duly elected
representatives in the conventions to declare theil
wishes on public questions thru the medium OF
the party PLATFORM; that in the multiplicity OF
candidates under the primary system the nomi
nee seldom received majority of all votes cast
and the man nominated was often the choice
of minority Of the people; that the primary
| system nice thing in theory, but that Il
did not work we'll in practice. The team hello
that the primary did not eliminate boss rule
in cities, but rather tended to strengthen it.
and held up st. Paul as a striking example Of
the most boss-ridden and misgoverned city II
the northwest.
The affirmative replied that II the people coult
be trusted to nominate delegates to conventions
they could certainly be trusted to nominate the
candidates.; that the present system Of party
platform making the merest farce, the plat
! form being prepared by platform committee
and worded with view to catching the most
votes, the convention merely indorsing the re
| port Of the committee, and going on with thu
| more exciting work of making nomtna tions.s- i
was held that q better way to frame party
platform would be to have it framed by a cen
| trail committee composed Of the chairmen %
the various county committees, who could NEE
| and act deliberately, with an eye single tt
the best interests Of the country and the party
The team also dwelt strongly on the corruption
| Of conventions, and the buying, selling and trad
| ing of votes.
| Willmar replied that their opponents had OK
| aggerated this feature of the case, and the1
pointed to the splendid men who had been nom1
| mated under the convention system, such a
Lincoln, La Toilette and Folk. 1t was thorol.
| interesting debate turnout, and the winners ar
| entitled to hearty congratulations. -