The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-03-02
Would Secure Maximum of Six.
teen Thousand Names.
NEW KIND OF MACHINE
Plan to Have Big Working Force
to Rely Upon.
+. Dum0nt Smith Is Turned
Down at Home.

for the office of governor. His plan
is to secure the maximum number of
signatures which the law allows
about 10000, and to distribute those
signatures throughout the state Sc
curing from SO to $50 in each county
The plan will be to send one man
in each county the blank petitions for
Stubs and allow that man to cir
culate the petition in his county An
effort will be made to secure the sig
natures of the most representative
citizens of the county. and the result
will be that when the petitions are
all in, Mr.. Stubbs will have enrolled
under his banner a working force of
about $4,000 of the leading Republi-
cans of the state. scattered evenly
from one end of the state to the
other.
This will not be political ma
cine of the new style, under which a
selves must get behind mans can
didacy.
The primary election law provides
two ways for a candidate to get his
name on the ticket as candidate for
a state office.
First, he can get at least one per
cent of the voters of the party in at
least each of ten counties of the
state, and in the aggregate not less
than one per cent or more than ten
per cent of the total vote of his party
in the state.
Second, he can get at least one per
cent of the total vote of his party in
each of twenty counties.
Mr.. Stubbs will take, the first plan,
which merely limits the total to ten
per cent of the total vote Of the party
in the state. Ten per cent is about
IS, 900 and the law does not limit the
number OF counties.
The second plan. while it limits the
number of counties, does not limit
the number of signers. This fact has
politicians, who have figured 1t out
that g. candidate might select the 20
largest counties in the state. which
contain majority sAof the voters OF
the party in the state, and by putting
in enough time and labor, might in
those 20 counties actually secure q
majority Of the voters of his party in
the state to promise to vote for him
before the election.
While this plan looks all right in
theory, it would be very expensive
undertaking to work it out in prac-
date would have to get about 10000
signatures on his petitions in 20 coun-
ties. Such an undertaking is not to
be gone into lightly. 1t means a tre-
mend0uS expense.
Mr.. Stubbs. plan, of securing sign
ers in every county in the state. is
better politics, because 1t places in
every county an active, interested
force of men who will. after signing
the petition. it is hoped, take an ac-
tual personal interest in the success of
the candidate.
Politicians are predicting, how
ever. that after the primary plan has
been in use for a few years people
will become wary of signing any petit
tions at all, and a candidate will have
to hustle to get the minimum, instead
Of figuring on how close he can come
to the maximum without stopping
over.
The Edwards county Republicans in
delegate convention Saturday voted
down resolutions indorsing Senator F.
Dumont Smith by the decisive vote Of
indorsing Roosevelt, Taft, Madison and
Stubbs were adopted. There was a Bit
ter and protracted fight over the Smith
resolution, which read as follows:
"At this time We express our partic
ular approval of the course Of Senator
F. Dumont Smith of our county in the
last special session. We realize that
upon public questions there is always
room for difference Of opinion, but we
assert that upon the whole the public
services of Senator Smith in the last
eight years have been Of vast benefit,
not only to the people Of this district
but to the whole state at large, and If
he shall be a candidate for renomina-
ton and reelection we pledge him our
best efforts to that end"
Smith was also defeated for delegate
to the state convention. The delegates
elected to the state convention are: M
c. Tubbs, M. Parkhurst, Clay McKfb-
I1I< ,&,c
to the district convention are: C. G..
Sprigg, F. D. West. j. s. Craft, B. F.
Brown and A Hardy. The latter were
instructed to vote for w. M. Kennison
for district national delegate.
Senator Smiths friends say that he
will be a candidate for reelection not
withstanding the action of today's con-
vention.
The Republicans of Lyon county un-
animously indorsed the candidacy of
William II. Taft for president of the
United States, and emphatically COM
,nended the administration OF Theodore
forts of Taft's enemies. Only one other
Endorsement was made by the conven-
ton, that of W. G. Austin of Cotton
wood Falls for state printer. Repre-
sentative J. M. Miller arrived here to-
day from Washington, prepared for a
fight against George H. Tucker, state
senator of Eureka, who is a candidate
for congressman against Miller. No
fight materiafized, however and the
work of the convention was completed
in little more than an hour. Tucker
was here. as were also W. c. Austin
and F. B. McKercher Of Marion, chair
man of the congressional central COM
mittee fuckers friends gave Senator
Curtis and Senator Long and Congress
man Miller a slap in the resolutions
which were adopted, in which was en-