The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-02-06
BATTLE BEGINS.
Contest Over Primary Election
i--~ Bill i'm the House.
Ideas on Question Numerous as
Members.
O. *. ON TWO SECTIONS.
Even These Encountered Some
Serious Opposition.
Small Towns to Be Exempt
From Provisions.
}. X. ON TWO SECTIONS.


mittee of the whole for Tuesday after
noon resulted in lot of heated talk
a few amendments. and a motion tc
rise and report" after two whole sec
tons of the Stubs direct primary had
been read and amended to suit Al
this rate the house, by working day
and night until about July 4, may be
able to pass a primary election law,
unless some of the members who dozed
during the afternoon session yesterday,
decide to wake up and remove the en-
acting clause.
The affair was peaceful to the exc
treme for three-quarters Of an hour
the time consumed in reading in full
the Creech primary bill, number 35S,
which was read from cover to cover
action thereon being deferred. Then
came the piece de resistance, Stubs
bill No. 1853. The clerk skipped the
| abstract, which is a general index to
| the SO pages and % sections of the
tion is simply list OF definitions for
the words primary" election" pre-
/ cinct," district" ''sub-district'' "Sep-
TENDER primary and March prim-
ary," and was evidently intended to
save legal authorities the trouble of
hunting for a weak spot in the bill.
Section 1 passed easily. Then came
section 2. 1t progressed nicely to the
end, and then Stubs himself made the
/ fatal mistake of offering an amend
ment. Here is the section as it was
| originally drawn:
| "CANDIDATES-H NOMINATED
Section 2. Hereafter all candidates
| for elective offices shall be nominated
by: Cd A primary -held-in accordance
with this act. CD Nomination papers,
signed and filed as provided by existing
statutes. CD Party candidates for the
office of United States senator shall be
Z 80 T.
herein for the nomination of candi-
dates for state offices. This act shall
not apply to special elections to fill va
| cancies, nor to annual or special school
district meetings for the election of
school district officers
Stubs wanted to amend this by
striking out for the nomination of
candidates for state Offices This
amendment carried. and the fireworks
started. A dozen members got out
their shears and writing materials and
began to build amendments. Foley of
Rice county moved to amend by adj
ding onto the end of the section: Nor
to city elections when the population
does not exceed 5000 He explained
that the little towns didn't want to be
driven into party politics, as the bill
proposed and that the issues at stake
in small cities was usually of nom
partisan nature. His amendment car
ried with a whoop and vote of "A
to 90, regardless of the plea of Mr..
tried to get in with an amendment to
the amendment which would make the
section close thus, in addition to the
Foley amendment Unless one-fourth
of the qualified electors of said city
shall petition the city council there
for. and said city council shall so
order"
This motion was howled down by
the noes" division called for and a
count made. The result was disastrous
to the Bergman amendment, by a
vote of 81 to IS.
The next effort was made by Nor
gan of Reno. His amendment was to
trim off all of Foley's amendment but
the first four words-"nor to city cleo
tons" There was a loud protest on
the part of the hackers of the virgin !
bill, and Stubs again pleaded with the i
house not to mutilate his pet bill by
inserting any such amendments. While |
the argument was in progress, stone
of Shawnee tried to smear little oil |
on the troubled waters by substituting /
for Morgan's amendment, Except in |
cities of the first class" At this point |
some one tried to get in a motion to
arise and report. The motion was cut |
off by a loud and decisive. NO" The
anti-Stubbs bill contingent were not
loaded for the occasion, but the de-
would not let the committee arise un-
til the Morgan amendment had been
voted down. Then a motion to arise
carried, as did motion to make fur
special order for this afternoon at 2
O'Clock.
When the special order committee
of the whole house was called to order,
with Representative Kirkland in the
chair, Stubs rose and stated that
very important proposition was in or
der and asked consent to have the
ceived on the subject. The clerk read
the kilograms, which were mainly
from wholesale merchants, who were
heartily in favor of the Stubs pri-
mary bill. In some of these kilograms
the 2-cent fare and antipass PROPOSE
tons were also mentioned. At the
close of their reading Gesner of Bar
Der sprang to his feet and said:
Two months ago / attended a meet
ing of wholesale and retail merchants
in Wichita. 1 didn't hear them say
anything about primary elections, or
antipass legislation, either. What they
wanted was better freight service and
more cars. You claim they want those
things, but I say not. Ask Billy Nor
This speech was the occasion for ex-
tensive applause.
The feature speech of the afternoon
was made by Speaker Simmons. He is
in favor of primary election laws, but
most emphatically against the Stubs
bill in its simon-pure state. He wanted
It amended, along the lines suggested
BY Foley and Morgan. to exclude small
cities and villages from the necessity of
falling a primary under strictly par
-isan rules.
Stubbs and others tried to placate
him by pointing out clause in the bill
which had not been reached in the
'eading, which made it optional with
he city unless per cent of the voters
demanded a strict compliance with the
'egula lions set fc-th In the bill.
Yes" replied Simmons, cit is fixed
10 per cent, in some cases. in small
two worthless ward-heeIers
ould demand 1t. The per cent is al