The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1908-02-27

nominated for his present office
under the old convention system.
One Of three things then must be
true, either he made the necessary
concessions to the corporations or
fools sometimes win; or he was
talking through his hat.
He gave illustrations of how
state conventions may be manipu-
lated, and how many times the
wishes of the delegates were disre-
garded in the framing of resolu-
tions. His description in this was
true to life, but how is it to be
remedied !? His inference was that
the remedy exists In the new pfi-
mary law, but it does not. Con-
ventions are to be held just the
same and resolutions drawn just
the same as before. The same op-
portunity and perhaps a greater
incentive to plug the resolutions
exists now than under the old sys-
tenn. Under the old system the
resolutions we're adopted before
candidates were nominated. The
candidate then knew before he was
nominated what principles he was
expected to stand for. Under the
present system the candidates are
nominated by direct vote before the
convention is held, and later a con-
vention is held to declare the prin-
ciples. The candidates are nomi
mated by the popular vote of the
entire state, but the delegates are
elected by counties. Thus it will
be seen that where two factions in
a party exist the one may nomi-
nate the officers and the other con-
troll the convention which makes
the platform. There would then
be every incentive to embarass the
candidates with obnoxious resolu-
tions, and it can be done now as
we'll as formerly.
The governor took much credit
to his administration for TIE p...-
sage of the primary law which he
claims places the power directly in
the hands of the people. If it
does this it is good thing, but it
is yet untried, and too young to be
judged. One feature at least is oh
noxious 1t provides that in the
selection Of delegates to a national
convention, if it is determined in
any county that there is no issue
of sufficient Importance to warrant
the holding of primaries that dele
gates may be appointed by the cen
tral committee. And who is au-
thorized to determine whether such
an issue exists? Why the central
committee itself, the very body
which is to gain this privilege by
such a decision. This is doing
away with machine politics with a
vengeance.
The governor referred to the re-
fusal of the legislature of 1905 to
recognize the petition presented,
asking that primary election law
be submitted to the voters. The
petition he said had over s 9,OOC
names, was declared by the attor-
ney general to be correct in form.
He charged the defeat to the friends
of Sen. Kittredge because they
feared he could not be reelected
under the primary, and he brought
cheers from the democrats by stat.
ing that it was question of decid
ing between the senator and the
| constitution and the constition hac
to go. There isn't the fret particle
of evidence to show that Sen. Kit
tredge ever did or said thing tt
influence the vote on this petition
Quite number of the Legislators
received letters from Sen. Gamble
urging its defeat, and MIR. Wagner
Of Alexandria, the man who has
been nominated through the rec
ommendation of Sen. Gamble fol
Ir,, 10 -4l