Devils Lake inter-ocean and Devils Lake free press. (Devils Lake, Ramsey County, N.D.) 1905-1909, 1908-12-11

wy VIC, WIZ diS dUOuL 10 Ql6, salute
YOU You can have no spectacular
end, but if we may believe the advo-
Gates of the New Idea your death war
rant has been signed and our meeting
tonight is the Swan Song of the dying
political workers.
An illustration of how the new sys-
tenn works: This Twenty-seventh dis
trict is surely republican. The num-
Der of petitioners necessary to have
name placed on the official primary
ballot is in some states five per cent,
and in others two and a half, of the
party vote. In sure district like this
the minimum number of candidates
would be probably ten. Each one sends
out. his canvassers to secure the sign
ers to his petition. To prevent fraud,
each name has to be verified and the
whole properly verified when filed with
the county clerk or election officers.
The lowest cost Of the canvass, verifi-
cation and filing is fifty cents for each
name. Then comes tremendous
struggle among these ten candidates
and their friends to carry the primary.
Each man has to organize the district
by appointing election district captains
and having them select their workers.
This is another expense. When the
primary vote is announced the man re-
ceiving the plurality is the nominee of
the party. 1t may be he is far from
being the choice Of the majority
Though he has more votes than any
| other of the contestants, on account of
the number of candidates he rarely re-
ceives more than third or a quarter
of the total. When it comes to the
election, as the party organization has
| been disbanded by the process, he
must again organize his district with
| election district captains and workers
. in order to succeed. He has a lively
chance of being beaten because the
nine defeated candidates at least wish
and may work for that result. If he
is elected there Is no district organiza:
ton to celebrate the victory, and he
can only flock by himself and enter:
tain his own workers at the banquet
/ at which the workers Of the. other can
didates would not be guests, and the
event would celebrate the victory OF
the candidate, and would not be, like
ours tonight, an organization jubliatior
for all the candidates and the party.
The New Idea has captured Oregon
1t is the first state where it has ha6
an opportunity to work. Under it there
was primary ballot for United States
senator. There can not be any system
devised to prevent members of one
party voting at the primaries of the
opposition Oregon is republican
state. The democrats, believing i
would help them to defeat Senator
Fulton, who is one of the stronges
and ablest men in the senate, over
whelmed Fulton by voting for his OPP
ponent at the primaries and nominal
ing him. When, under the system. thu
nominee of the republican and thu
nominee of the democratic primarie
came up in the general election tn
sentiment created by the ,fraudulen
democratic assistance to the successful
republican candidate led to reprisal
which gave the democratic nominee
majority. The legislature which is t
elect United States senator is two
thirds republican. The state has give
| an enormous majority for Taft. Unde
the instructions contained in the pr
mary law this republican Legislature
though they know how the result wa
brought about, under the letter of tn
law must send, for six years, to Wasl
lington, democrat to fight the admir-
Iistration for which their state SO owe
whelmingly voted and the policies
(which they all believe. If they fail
send this senator to tight Presider
Taft and his administration for TO,
years and to advocate free trade an
Organism for six on behalf Of republ
can oregon, they violate the pleds
which they made to support the pl
mary Law. This is an illustration I
. the practical working of the New Ide
lAnother case happened in New Jerse
Zone Of the ablest and most promisiu
4 l7of the younger men in public life
lsenator Everett Colby His district
NORMALLY five or six thousand repnb
can. The primary system was ador
Il led Under it there was a fierce co
ltest for the nomination at the ;prima
lies. which the party leaders In Ne
! Jersey tell me cost between atty al
! sixty thousand dollars. Senator Coll
: lreceived the primary nomination. III
n bitterness growing out OF this conte
lied to- his being defeated at the ele
1 ton. This moustrates that under Il
III system. there being no organizat iOn \