Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-04-14


for this law at the general election on
the 8th of November. 1904. The vote
was 590,976 for and 7S,446 against. The
number who did not vote on the pr0po-
sition was 420.036. The majority in ia
vor OF the law was 100000, and the ma
jortty OF rhe yeas over the nays was
512,000. Upon this subject had the
honor to recommend in my biennial
message to the General. Assembly In
January, 1905, the enactment of the law
tor which the people voted. namely, a
direct primary election law with the
Australian ballot. So far as know the
first recommendation included In any
message of any Governor of this State
was the one which had the honor sf
including in my biennial message to the
43d General Assembly. In view of the
fact that some gentlemen Throughout
THE State have posed as the apostles Of
primary reform legislation, Ii Is not
improper for me to say that / have the
honor of being the first Governor Of
Illinois to have recommended a State
wide direct primary law. This is what
/ said January {. 1903:
1t would keep every politician at home and
the colonizer and walking delegate politician
would be ''out OF q job" Ii would leave
every county and township and ward to set
| tie its own affairs. and SO give home rule. 1t
would remove from every contest the ham
pering question OF Its effect upon other con-
| tests at other times. And 1t would compel
L
Of joining the winner at the last moment. As
| to primaries the day Is sure 10 come when
| every man must vote his direct choice. by
ballot, for both delegate and candidate. The
plan is American. Republican and productive
| of honest politics. l sincerely hope to see It
enacted into law at this session In some
| form
| Making Law A Hollow Mockery
| Now the law being as ii is, and the
history of the law being as it has been,
| the next question is, as already indi-
| Gated. are you, the people, going to use
| it right, and are you going to compel
| otoers to use it right? You will not be
mcKing right use of it if you stay
| away from the. polls; and you will not
be making right use of il if you al
low any agency to intervene.
| Il call your attention to the fact that
| the present administration has not ex-
| celled mine in devotion to primary leg
islation and can lay no claim to having
| encouraged II or enforced 1t. On the
| contrary, it has done all in its power
to make the primary system a hollow
mockery, despite pledges to enforce the
| primary election law, without the in
PREVENTION of any agency between the
people and the official. In his message
to the legislature. in January, 1860, the
present Governor said:
Our state needs a compulsory primary Law
- because of the chaotic condition o
our primary system. there has grown up il
/
OF party. for compulsory primary election
law and L believe such q law should be en-
acted embodying atleast these features: Pro
visions requiring each political party to hol,
Its primaries IN every county and township
in the state Oh the same day; that the dal
and hour shall be fixed in the statutes; tina
judges and clerks therefor shall be appointe,
by the judge OF the county court; that tn
names of all candidates for offices shall b.
OF each, thus giving the voter an opportunit,
TO designate his choice. In short. the pri
| maries shall be- held under the safeguard
which surround the regular elections.
What He Failed to Say
did time permit 1t would be interest
ing to point out wherein this statemen
is remarkable for what 1t did not say
For instance, 1t did not say anythin,
: about direct plurality primary law
for which the people had Uverw-helm
ingly voted. 1t only recommended
compulsory primary law and the stat
didn't wake up for about two years t
the knowledge of the fact that Mr.. De
, neen did not promise anything NOR
) than a compulsory law, although fiv
hundred and ninety thousand men ma
| commanded him to do So
81 Andrew Russell's Case
again. it is safe to say that the in
3 had scarcely dried Oh the primary Ia
of 1906, when a man from Morga
Q county. who had received fair plu
rality of all the votes cast ut the gen
eral state wide primary election, o
o the 4th day of August,- 1866, was de
prived of the nomination for stat
j, treasurer by the present administers
ton. 1t is quite true, as will probabl
be asserted, that this man did not hay
4 the majority of the delegates in tn
!. convention of 1896. and 1t is quite tru
Is under the peculiar provisions of I'll
N law existing at that time the del,
n gates could be taken from him on III
10 second ballot 0because instructed Il
: only one balloD. apd the nominatio
10 given to another-tS a man who di
not receive either a plurality of II
delegates or a plurality of the vote
tits quite true that this was the cas-,
q but it is for you to determine, and n,
O me, whether in view of this statemel
= in the announcement of Mr.. Deneen
II the year 1908. when he was seeking
8 ride into office upon platform of civ
n service reform, primary election r.
l. FORM etc.-it is for you to determiI
a whether the primary law was rightfu
/ ly used when the nomination for sta
= | treasurer was taken away from II
Morgan county man and given to NJ
Smulsht. 1t is notorious fact tn
% this occurred after a night conferen
% at the executive mansion, partfcipat,
Is I'm by a host of appointees, who, on Il
IA following day in the state conventio
m took their votes away from the m;
VI from the country who had received Il
,s popular. vote. 1t is not necessary 4
v me to dwell further upon that incider
70 Suffice 1t to say that we owe the pre-
IN | ent direct primary election law to Il
sentiment stirred up over the state
~ THAT incident, more than to any 9th
to one thing.
~ Reform With . Vengeance
" 'Tn the next place, fellow citizens,
he come to the question of Humanity
sh our state institutions, and that brin
en- up the question of civil service refor
IA and the sham article which the prese
" sham reform machine has perpetrate
III Why wasn't sweeping civil servi
nd law passed? Yates civil service la,
to There was in existence (unpasse
| q good sweeping civil service refoI
t ~ measure. 1t was the bill prepared
I'D a Civil Service Commission appoint
i by me. The members of that comm
u sion We're: Edgar A. Bancroft, pre-
or dent of the Civil Service Reform CT
ks OF Chicago: Zina r. Carter, Edward
IN Murphy, William E. Taylor, John
zee Hamlin and William Jayne They pl
iii pared this sweeping bill and sent II
to the General Assembly with a spec
u message recommending its adoption.
ne did not pass. and everybody waited
a better one to happen-Deneen's CT