The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1908-01-30
What IS OBJECTION? Fl
FOraker'S Old Personal Organ Says
Primary Call Entirely Complies
With Senator's Request.

Cincinnati Commercial Tribune De-
eIares All Republicans Are Given
Fair and Equal Opportunity, and
Provisions in Call Are Necessary
for Protection Of All.
For many years the Cincinnati Com
mercial Tribune has been the one
prominent newspaper organ of Sena-
tor Joseph B. Foraker that could al
ways be depended upon to espouse
the cause of the senior senator. Its
loyalty in this respect has been pro-
verbal
After carefully studying the call of
the Republican state central commit
tee for the state convention, with its
provisions for the election of dele
gates from each county at direct and
uniform primaries, the Commercial
Tribune declares the call to be exactly
what Senator Foraker asked for In
his letter to State Chairman Walter
Brown. ,.
In discussing the call the Commc'
cial Tribune, in a leading editorial
under the caption What Is the Objec-
tion?" says:
Acted on Foraker's Request.
What objection is to be found to the
| action of the state central committee
| directing the holding of a primary cleo
| tion in Ohio. for the purpose of ascer-
| tanning the preference of the Republi-
can voters on the question of the presi-
dency? IT, under the call of the com
| mitIee, 1t could be demonstrated that
| any candida te or that the Republicans
/ of any precinct. ward, township, village,
| city or county would be deprived OF the
| privilege of freedom of expression OF
! preference. the objection would be good
| and the pri lary would defeat the object
which Senator Foraker averred he had
| in mind when he requested the commit
| tee to take the necessary steps toward
aScertaining the preferences OF the men,
| bership of the party The committee did
| not act originally of its own accord. The
| first officially framed request from gen.
| tleman who had announced himself q
| candidate for the presidency was from
Senator Foraker, and it contained this
| specific re lurSt:
| I'm ACCORDANCE with announcements
| heretofore made, | respectfully request
| that the Republican state central COM
! mittee shall In its call for the next Re-
i publican state convention, explicitly pro-
| vide that all delegates to that conven-
| tiOn shall be directly chosen at duly au-
| thorized primary elections. held in ac-
| COrlancr with the statutes of the state
applicable thereto
Objections Purely Technical.
In response. the state central commits
| tee has iSSued the formal call for the
holding of the primaries on Feb. II, for
| / sHertanment of the preference of the
! Republican voters of Ohio That, COM
| mittee is the highest constituted author
ity of the Earty In Ohio. and In its call
| 1t was inevitable that the mode and the
manner of ascertaining that preference
should br specifically stated II the
| COMMITTEES had not been specific in form
ulating the necessary details of the pri-
mary it would have been recreant to
| duty and the Republican party would be
swift to condemn it.
| The questiOn-and the only question
| is: las the state central committee. in
arranging the details of TIE primary, OPP
Grated to prevent any Republican votel
from expressing his preference. or has
| 1t placed any undue restrictions upon
any candidate desiring to go before that
primary?
Senator Foraker asked that the prefer
| ence of the Republican voters of Ohio
! should be aSrertained by primary cleo
| tiOns The state central committee has
acceded to the request and, has provided
| the mode in which the preference shall
be as2ertained, and what more could be
asked? The objections assigned by Sen.
ator Foraker are wholly and purely tech
meal
Unfairness Not Charged.
To hold a primary there must be 3
method provided, and unless that methoG
can be shown to contain elements of un-
fairness to the Republican voters or can.
didateS, objections to it are not worthy
Of considers tion. 1t is not charged by
rI Senator Foraker that the methods are
unfair. His only objections are tech.
meal, and only technical and not wei
, founded. II is not to be a campaign O
technicalites but a campaign in which
the preference of the Republican voter!
of Ohio is to be taken on the question
of Ohio's choice for the presidency. Sen
ator Foraker asked for that sort of cam
paign. and the authority to which h,
addressed his request has acted in com
pliance with it,.
He has received that which he re
quested. and the Republicans of the stat,
will not be led into believing otherwise
Neither will they look on the primary
In principle or in detail, as anything bu
, fair to the candidates and to the voters