The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-03-12

|
eivinr the friends of the measure a
ma iority but not the constitutions
ma iority required for the passage OF
the measure. The motion 10 recon-
slider having carried me notiom ~
adopt the report of the cohIerelce
committee was taken up and the de-
Stubbs of Douglas started the debate
on behalf of the opponents of the senate
bill He said: This is an important
matter 1t is serious question. as /.
a1'ects the rights, the sacred rights. OF
every citizen of the state 1t GOES not
affect. favorably or unraTOrapiS, st ang
mans political fortunes, The questloIi
is whether we will give to the people OF
Kansas the right to exercise their SUI
frage in every instance II TINS COM al-
| promise bill. the mongrel bill, If you
please. is enacted into law it still puts
the nominations of the large OFFICES, the
offices In which the people are more ol-
rectly interested. into the hands OF
| professional politicians, who use the po-
liticaI suffrage of the offices to grease
the political machines
| THE expressions of opinion or the
primary bills in other states do not
! Justify the conclusions of the governors
message. The governors of states that
| have a similar law have made recon-
| mendations against this bill and they
| want it taken from the statute books.
| Where the people have the right to
vote for every officer from the top to
the bottom of the ticket, it is shown
| that the people attend the primaries in
greater numbers than in the regular
! elections. 1t is not the county elections,
| not the township elections, that make
| the convention system a stencil in the
nostrils of every honest man. but 1t Is
| the manipulations of the politicians In
| the state conventions and the trading In
the nominations for United States SEN
ators and the delegates to the national
| conventions.
II hope that every man who has voted
| three times against this mongrel bill
will not go back to their people in dis
| grace. I hope they will not reverse
| themselves, and that they will keep
their records clear"
Bergman of Clark said: 81 have gone
| to the last ditch in an attempt to Sc
cure the passage of primary DILL ana
while this is not such a bill as 1 should
primary law and this is the best that
we can do. My constituents demand
primary law and this is theb est tnat
we can give them and will support the
bill because it is in my judgment bet
ter than none"
Crumley of Thomas said This bill in
my mind is double barrelled back ac-
with the possibility of the passage OF
a primary election law two years from
now if it is passed and is worse than no
law at all.
Guyer of Stafford said: This is one
of the .saddest spectacles in the his
be whipped into line for the support OF
a measure which believe to be wrong
We need primary election law but
such a m1Keskift of an affair as the
one which we are asked to vote for to-
day will not answer the purpose"
Ham of Rocks: This bill contains
all of the evils of a primary election
law and none of the redeeming features
and l cannot give it my support nor
my vote. The people could well afford
to give up all of the other p: DIVISIONS of
the bill If the state officers were in
Guided but they are not. 1t is In the
state conventions that the mantpula-
tions of the politicians thwart the will
of the people and it is a=demand for
primary election law to suppress this
that the people are demanding and not
county primaries"
Stone of Shawnee said: II was one
of those called upon the governors car
pet today. 1 respect his judgment, his
party patriotism and his love for Kan
sas. He is honest in his conclusions.
For myself 1 allow only my heart and
my head to dictate to me. asked
the governor why he had not called IN
the senators, asked him why he did
not plead with those men who had be-
trayed their public trust. He had no
answer 10 give except that 1t was not
the governors prerogative to interfere
in legislative matters. 1 then said, 1
would to God that you had exerted the
same power ana influence on that SEN
ate that you are now threatening TO
give u.s. 1 heard the arguments in the
senate against granting third con-
ference. These arguments were nothing
mora than heaptr g contumely on the
head of the gentleman from Douglas
(Stubbs). over there you will find the
same "a men lined up for this bill as
were for tie senate's anttpass bill, the
maximum freight rate bill and the p
cent fare bill.
For days there has been a powerful
lobby lowering over the senate cham
Der. The senators have been asked to
prevent the passage of these bills. Now
when we have them in this branch the
lobbyists are here and are asking US to
throttle MAIN the measures which
will directly benefit the people of the
state.
The people," he said. ARE not asking
for relief from local conditions, but for
relief from the state and congressional
conventions The senate says to the
people that they are not fit to take
charge of the nominations of state Off
GERS They tell us that the people can
nominate their local officers, whom they
all know, but they are not willing to al
low the people to have a chance to say
who shall distribute the state patron
age The senate insists that Tom Kelly
and Dave Mulvane should be left in
control of state affairs.
IF you pass this law the people will
say it is an insult and hurl it back into
your face for we allow the politicians
to hold on to all the privileges of the
state and give to the people the empty
honor of nominating the county officers.
Are you going to surrender all your
rights to the dictator of the senate and
to what his masters allow him to do? If
YOU do this the people will not trust
you They will say we went only skin
deep after this cancer and did not
touch the cancer and next year they
will see what the Democrats can do"
Archer of Brown followed Stone
and in defense of the measure said:
Il want to commend the governor
for the stand he has TAKEN" he said. |
He did right in asking the house in
the name of God. in the name of COM