Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-01-11

to carry his schemes. This, is the man
| whom the proposed law seeks to Danish
from legislative SURROUNDINGS; while u
protects the reputable attorney or agent,
who is willing to make the character of his
business known and TO advocate the cause
he represents in an honorable, open ana
public manner.
A Comprehensive and Practical Pri-
mary Election Law.
1t has been the practice In nearly all of
the southern states for many years TO
nominate party candidates for state ana
congressional offices by u direct vote OF
IN recent years this method of making
party nominations has gained n toothold
in q number of northern states ana me
sentiment in its favor is rapidly sprsadlns
over the entire country. New dorsey,
Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois; Wiscon-
sin, North Dakota, Oregon and Minnesota
have enacted laws applying the direct vote
in one form or another in the making OF
nominations,
their party conventions held in 1896, both
the republican and democratic parties de-
clarcd In favor of nominations by state
wide primaries. The demand for legis!a-
ton of this character arises from the
abuses which have become intolerable UNI
der the old caucus and convention system.
The aim of this legislation is TO over
throw the party boss and dictator and TO
shake off the hold OF the corporation upon
the great political organizations of the
state. The great enterprises of today are
carried on by artificial creations of law
| hllONH as Cul iOl dNlpli1, Silli
of corporations. Frequently they become
SO powerful that they attempt to TX and
control the prices Of the neeessarles Oh
to sell, as we'll as the prices of what the
masses must buy in order to live.
We have come to the point where they
have destroyed heaIthful and legitimate
| competition, and where they stubbornly
resist all attempts upon the, part of the
which they are guilty, or to place them
under regulation and control. They enter
the field of politics for the purposes Of
controlling the declarations of political
platforms and the selection of candidates
for public office and by many and divers
ways, use their vast power to corrupt the
| action of public officials, This Is a mat
ter of common knowledge. They usurp
the right of choice belonging 20 the aver
Isage voter and manipulate Caucuses, con-
troll nominating conventions and bring
about the nomination of candidates for
public office for the selfish purpose Of
controlling the conduct OF such officers
%touching all matters in which they have
an interest. The question confronting the
people of this state, ana indeed the pSo-
Pile of all the states, is whether they shall
IN fact rule by selecting their administra-
tive, legislative and judicial officers, and
whether such officers shall be sufficiently
free from undue influence by public serV-
ice corporations, to enable the state to
whether such officers shall be selected by
such corporations and the state ruled by
them. This is the question.
No amount of sophiStry and evasion can
set it aside. 1t is the issue before the
American people today. No reasonable
and fairminded person desires to treat the
corporations unjustly, nor in a spirit of
prejudice and demagogism. but on the con-
trary, wishes to give them a square deal.
The trouble is not with the corporation IN
it's rightful place. 1t begins when the
great corporate interests refuse to sub
to prevent control by unfair means, by
granting special favors to public servants
for the purpose of placing them under OBJ
legations which hinder a faithful dis
charge of public duty by going into nomi-
mating conventions and establishing part
nership relations in politics with party
nominees for mutual cooperation, by con-
trolling party organizations by such means
as free transportation dealt out lavishly
nitteemen; by large contributions, TO
campaign funds, SO that they may claim
Immunity from legislative restriction.
These abuses exist. Any man who affirms
otherwise is either blind or reckless OF the
truth.
The political machine and the public
service corporations are in partnership
everywhere. The purpose of the primary
election in nominating a ticket is to get a
direct expression of choice OF candidates
from the people,.
Under such a law the power. of directly
expressing his choice remains In the
hands of the voter, who is allowed to say
by his ballot who should be placed upon
the ticket of his party as its candidate
for congress, and for state, legislative and
county OFFICERS; also who should be Sc
lected as the candidate of his party for
| United States senator. !.
| Il lie ODJeCl Is IL III We lhN 3 VI
choice in it's purity in the individual voter.
1t gives him a Weapon of defense against
the encroachments of the machine-cor-
poration alliance.
You will find that the principal objec-
tons urged to a state wide primary are
the following: First, that 1t is too eX-
pensive and bars poor men from office;
second, that there is no limit to the NUM-
Der of candidates and the person recetv-
ing the highest number of votes may, not
withstanding, receive only a minority of
the votes cast; third, that voters of the
opposition party vote at the primary OF a
party of which they are not members and
force weak candidates upon it whom they
will afterwards help defeat at the polls:
fourth, that in county politics II results in
punching the candidates in the larger
towns and denies to the country a fair
representation upon the ticket
AS to the question of expense: There Is
no reason why a candidate standing upon
his own merits should be at any more ex-
fair primary election law than a candi-
date standing upon his own merits under
the caucus and convention system. II a
candidate is willing to go into a deal with
and become politically indebted to the cor
pofate influence which is most apt to con
troll the convention, he may avoid ex-
and make his contest with some independ-
ence upon individual merit, he cannot hope
making a vigorous campaign in every
county and fighting for delegates in every
precinct in the state. This means a very
large personal expense. Under a pIacti-
cal primary law he can be required to pay
to the state or county a comparatively
small fee at the time of filing his nominat-
ing petition and this Will entitled hlIn,
without further expense, to have his name
printed upon the primary election ballot,
and to have that ballot placed by a nom
partisan judge into the hands of every
voter at his party primary in every voting
precinct in the county, district, or state,
as the case may be, and to have every
vote cast for him honestly counted and
returned, the expenses of delivering the
ballot boxes, receiving the votes, canvass
ing and making returns, all being paid by
the county and state.
This in itself saves the candidate a large
expense. The primary law should be fol
lowed by a law restricting the expendi-
ture of money for campaign purposes be-
fore primaries as well as before genera
elections, so as to prevent the ~extravagant
and corrupt use of money in such cam
paigns. In this way all reasonable OBJ
jections as to expense can be obvfated.
AS to minority nominations and num-
Der of candidates:
of Pennsylvania, oregon and Wisconsin,
before a candidate is entitled to have his
name printed upon a primary election bal
lot. he shall, at least thirty days, Cor some
other specified period, before the primary
is held, file with some designated public
officer a nominating petition duly signed
by a specified number of voters of his par.
ty. (the number being sufficient to show
that he has a following large enough &c
make him a material factor in the con
test). This provision tends to prevent thc
encumbering of the ticket with the names
of candidates who have no apPreciable
following. A further provision might be
added fixing a fee to be paid by the can
didate to the county or state at the time
of filing his nominating papers, to be used
towards paying the expenses of the prim,
airy. ranging from $50 for candidate foi
congress-, United States senator and Cover