Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-12-05
PRIMARY LAW CERTAIN
Majority of Legislature Lining
Up In Favor Of Some Kind
Of Election Bill
MAY DISAGREE AS TO FEATURES
Sentiment crystaIizins in Favor of a
Party Caucus Measure in Which
Personalities Are EIminated-Bank
ers Want Unexpended Lobby Fund
Returned.
special to Times Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, Dec. 5.-"Make the pri-
mary election law party caucus
measure and eliminate all PERSONAL
ties" is the statement of number of
politicians.
A recognition that some kind of a
primary election law is going to be
passed at the coming session of the
legislature is growing and the discus
sion of how it will be passed, what
kind of a bill 1t will be and the meth
DDS generally Of getting it passed.
Progressives might naturally be ex-
pected to look with some suspicion on
the bill that Senator Crossley will in
troduce, partly for the reason that pro-
Tossing to be "a standpatter the only
vote he brought in favor of the measurr.
was his kown. Standpatters remember
ing the statement of Crossley before
the Polk County Republican Club dur
ing the session of the legislature last
winter when he hailed the primary as
goodbye to the power of Blythe"
might be expected to look at Cross
leys bill with the same degree of sus-
picion.
Now the proposition is to bury per-
sonalities and in the light of the fact
that the republican party platform
calls for primary election law, make
it a party caucus. measure and put 1t
thru as such.
It took $1,000 to defeat the bill in
troduced in the senate last winter to
provide for banks paying interest son
city funds on deposit. The money was
raised by subscription among the
bankers Of Des Moines mostly and was
placed in the hands of one of themsto
disburse. The bill was senate file NO.
225 by Dowell.
1t develops now that 1t didn't take
the entire $1,000 to kill the bill. Only
about $500 was spent in defeating the
bill but there has never been any re-
fund to the bankers who made the sub
scriptions and as result there Is some
soreness being felt among said bankers.
They think they should have seven
thirteenths of their subscriptions back.
In the meantime the question rs be-
ing asked, who got the 5000 for killing
the bill? The banker who had the funds
for disbursement it is claimed argues
that he was given $1,000 with which to
kill the bill and it was killed and there
should be no more discussion of the
matter. The others argue that the
fund was raised with no knowledge OF
how much it would take. The infor-
nation leaks out thru an ex- employe
Of the bank that disbursed the funds
Judges of election select the names
from which the grand and petit jury
panels are made up. The county au-
ditor selects the judges of election and
the corporations select the county au-
ditor"
This is the endless chain as discov-
cred by those in this city who are op-
posed to the present methods of secur-
ing juries and will go before the legis-
lature next winter in an attempt to get
the system changed. One of the cleo
ton judges in Des Moines last election
was C. F. Meade. He is a star of the
same general class as e. II. Hunter
but of little less magnitude, and the
friends of Alderman Hamery are point
ing to the fact that Meade was an cleo
ton Judge as evidence that the meth
DDS of selecting jurors is wrong.
Meade gained prominence some years
ago In the transaction in which the
Mail and Times editor was paid a
check for $1,000 by the Des Moines
Gas Company to induce it to let up on
its editorials against the gas COM
pany's corrupting methods.
1t is pointed out by Hamery, and his
chief argument is that system that
makes it so easy to manipulate the Sc
lection Of juries is bad. He does not
believe that the county auditor should
name the judges Of election-if the
Judges Of election are to certify names
for the jury panels, for the reason that
the politicians and corporations have
only to control the county auditor in
order to control the entire jury selec-
lions.
Alderman Hamery's crusade for a
change in the jury system has not pro-
crossed to the point where the bill is
drawn, but one feature of the bill when
drawn will be that the selection of jury
panels from the names certified for
jury selection shall be in open court in
stead Of in secret as at present
With this bill to change the jury Sc
lection methods7eis to be introduced
another bill that will raise the maxi
mum limit Of punishment for bribers
from $500 to $1,000 and ten years in