Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1908-09-14
DIREJTP TPRIMARYLAW|
May Be DEFiCTiVEBUTIS BETTER
than OLD METHODS.
voters SHOULD See That None But
Friends Of The Direct Primary are
Sent to LEGISLATURE That Will be
Called Upon to Remedy the De-
feCtS.

No one doubts that the direct
primary law of this state is defective
in many respects, and since last
Tuesday the state press has been de-
voting considerable space to its
criticism. No one acquainted with
the struggle in the last legislature to
combat the enactment of any kind
of a primary law is astonshed at
! those defects. The measure pre-
sented by the Direct Primary League
was an ideal primary law, carefully
complied and pronounced consti-
tutional by eminent legal authority,
but the machine politicians in the
legislature mutilated it beyond the
recognition of it's authors, and the
present deformed law is the result.
Still, in all it's deformity, it has
proved superior to the convention
methods that have prevailed in the
Republican party of this state for
same years. The nominations were
made by the people-not in the priv
the case at Tacoma four years ago.
1t has decided the election of
United States senator, leaving the
next session of the legislature free
to perform it's legitimate duties, and
! the people free to select whom they
consider best to represent them with
out so much consideration for party
politics. One of the chief aims of
the voters for legislative candidates
should be to send friends of the di-
rect primary to represent them, to
the end that the defects of the pres
sent law will be remidied-not fur
! ther mutilared.
In Chehalis county, also may be
noted an improvement over the Re-
| publican convention of 1906. All
may not be slited with the result,
the best men may not in all cases
1 have secured nomination, but what
ever mistakes were made were made
| by the voters-not a cOterie of pea
nut Warwicks closeted in a back
roOm-and they can be better toler-
ated. The law has not eliminated
crooked politics, nor will any law
so long as so many "highly respect
able" people tolerate and affiliate
with crooked politicians to further
some personal or local end, but it
does render crooked work more diff
! cult and places the means of its elm
! ination in the hands of the people.
That the people fail to use it is no
| fault of the law. The law will do
the work if the voters will do their
duty.
1t has been urged against the law
| that but 60 per cent. of the voters
in Chehalis county took interest
enough in it to vote, yet the number
participating is about 5000 per cent
greater than those who named the
Republican ticket in this county two
years ago. Still, this is defect. 1t
might be remeded by compulsory
primary law, that would require par
ticipation in the September primaries
as a qualification to vote in Novem-
| ber.
The large expense incurred by can
didates in the first primary is not
| ,,lt 1,A al nj Nf hnv,,
went in just to see how it felt to run
| for office without having to kow
tow to a boss. Others taking a long
chance on a new proposition, not re-
alizing the expense attached, and
still others acquired defeat cheaper
! than on former occasions. Take the
case of Senator Ankeny, he made
four unsuccessful attempts to land
q seat in the United States senate be-
fore he secured election, and the
chances are great that his defeat at
the primaries cost him less money
than any of the other four, to say
nothing of the cost of the former oc-
casions to the state through the
decentralization of the legislatures.
The elections of last Tuesday have
demonstrated some defects that
should be remdied. The second
choice is cumbersome, and encourages
redundant filling, and the non-parti-
sian judiciary ballot should be on a
separate sheet instead of being at
many overlook it. The leading de-
feet, in the opinion of the Herald, is
the separate party ballots for state