Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-06-11


October II, 1903, at the postofiice, OF
lumWa, Iowa, under the Act of Congress
Of March 8. 1879.
THE PRIMARY ELECTION.
The new primary law has been
tried. 1t has been tested by practi-
cal demonstration and, now that it Is
over, there are not many people III
Iowa who will say that it Is salts
factory method by which to make NOM
nations.
In an article regarding last Tues.
days affair the Cedar Rapids Repub,
lican says:
Every objection urged against this
law has been shown to be we'll
founded.
1t will have cost the state between
two hundred and fifty and three hun
dred thousand dollars to conduct this
primary In addition to this, it has
caused candidates for all Offices, big
and little, to spend money as money
was never spent before by candidates
in this commonwealth.
1t was urged against the primary
measures in the beginning that 1T
would absolutely debar the poor man
from being candidate for any office
OF any consequence in which there
was contest. This has been proven
to be fact beyond peradventure. The
candidates, for senator have spent q
moderate fortune each of them, or
somebody has spent it for them, and
the candidates for governor have.
spent a large amount of money. In
the congressional districts where there
has been contest the expenditures
of the candidates run up into thous-
ands and tens of thousands of dollars.
The candidates for the lower Offices
have spent more than the offices are
worth in many instances. The print
ing presses of the state have been
kept busy printing circulars and lith-
ographs. appeals, threats and prom
ises. The amount expended on pri-
waite account will be in excess of that
spent on public account
1t is within the limits Of conserva-
tism to say that in one way and an
other half million dollars has been
spent in this primary contest in the
state of Iowa above What~would have
been spent under the old system.
And what has been gained by all
this? Nothing, absolutely nothing.
The personnel of the several tickets,
national, state, district, county and
township, will be in no wise superior
to the tickets that have to be nomin-
ated In times past. The utmost con-
fusion prevailed among thousands Of
honest voters who, when confronted
with the primary ballot, found them
selves unacquainted with anything
like a majority of the names printed
thereon.
1t is high time that little atten-
ton was given to first principles.
What is representative government?
Representative government is a gov
eminent through and by represents
tives. There never was more per-
feet scheme Of representative govern
ment in the world than that worked
out by the men who framed our con-
siitution This constitution became
the model upon which state consti-
buttons were built. In order to make
representative government complete
and perfect, it was provided to make
a beginning with a small unit and
from that lead UP to the nation at
large.
Let us trace the process whereby a
president is nominated, beginning
with the township. A national con.
vention has been called. The mum,
Der of delegates have been apportion
ed among the several states, according
to fixed rule. The various state
committees call a state convention to
select state delegates. Then the
county committee calls county conven
tons to select delegates to the state
convention, whereupon the township
committeeman call caucuses or pri
maries for the selection of delegates
to the county conventions. The town
ship caucus or primary is held. The
participants in this caucus or. primary
are presumably acquainted with one
another. BY means of this personal
acquaintance they are able to select
from their number their. quota to &c
to the county convention as the repre-
sentatives of every citizen in that
township who is member of the
party under whose auspices the great
national convention is to be held. The
county convention assemblies, made
UP of the delegates from the severa
townships. This convention is rep
resentative of the people of the coun
ty as a whole. They are reasonably
well acquainted with each other They
select delegates to the state conven
ton. Each county in the state goes
through with this process. These
state convention delegates are the di
HETTA : : .;l hundred red