Omaha daily bee., 1908-03-03
AFoTHER o1sr on HINDsIeUT.


II has been clear for some time that the
direct primary law Is open to criticism for
its failure to provide for the direct election
Of party committeeman. The system as It
stands means that while the people control
nominations, the same old ringsters may
by little effort retain control OF the party
machinery. The reason claimed for allow
ing the candidates to appoint the party
committees is that candidates have a right
10 committee personally favorable TO
themselves. That argument shrivels under
proof that the method Of appointment is
not conducive TO party or public benefit
Lincoln Journal.
The trouble with most critics is that
they are always ready with complaints,
but nowhere to be found when they
might help to prevent the evils they
complain of. and that their hindsight
is better than their foresight. There
is no question but that the most re-
sponsive party organization is that
which is built up from the bottom di-
rectly on the full membership of the
party. Yet all that can be demanded
Of the organization is that It really
represent the wishes Of the party.
For the original direct primary bill
presented by Representative Dodge TO
the legislature of 1905 the editor of
The Bee drew the section governing
party organization providing for this
very thing. II provided that the vot-
ers in the various precincts should
choose their precinct committeeman,
who should constitute the county COM
mittees, and that the county commit
tee should choose the members of the
various state and district committees
to which they might be entitled. But
that bill fell by the wayside, with no
help from the present direct primary
boomers.
When the primary bill came up in
the legislature OF 1907 the editor of
The Bee once more pressed this plan
of party organization, but found that
the scheme of appointment by nomi-
nees was substituted in committee in
the senate. With others he entered
remonstrance and went so far even as
to urge friends of the direct primary
In the house to nonconcur in this sec
ton in order to get reconstructed in
conference committee. At the last
moment fear of failure of the whole
bill was made the excuse for swallow
ing it as 1t was and sending 1t to the
governor without change. Had the
latter-day primary election reformers
paid little attention to the bill in the
making the cause of their present OBJ
jections would have been removed.
But while the appointment Of COM
mitteemen by nominees could, doubt
less, be improved upon, it is by no
means so bad as the fault-flnders
would make believe. 1t is practically
continuation of the convention sys-
tenn because the nominees always con-
trolled the conventions that nominate
them and. in fact, made up the COM
mittees In substantially the same way
that they do now. With the candi-
dates nominated by direct vote, the
choice Of committeeman by the candi-
dates is Just one remove from choice
by primary and the people who control
the nominations will also ordinarily
control the party machinery. The di-
rect primary is not intended to give
one faction in q party an advantage
over another faction, but to insure ma
jority rule. A majority rule, free
from fraud and trickery. cannot fail
to be Conducive to party and public
benefit"