The morning journal-courier., 1908-02-07
DIRECT PRIMARY
 IS DISCUSSED
(Continued from First Page.)

for the protest against the boss rule back of Mr Chatfeld
 The question finally comes down to; Are the people fit to govern them selves? If they are not, rather than live under political boss I would take my chances with God and a linn ited monarchy. hoping that even there God would be in control
 MT. Kenealy was the next speaker and said: T haven't discovered any such conditions in Connecticut as Col onel Osborn has alluded to. The peo- pie of the state have never been de- prived of the right of nomination and election If such conditions exists I do not know about it. The question of direct primary is purely an aca- demic question; a theoretical one; not practical.
 The caucus registration law is not wicked thing while the direct prim- ary bill would permit any number of members of another party to get into the opposing convention and put up weak man to be defeated It is the |. fault of the people who do not attend the caucuses if the right men are not put up. The party leaders have to put | up winning ticket, ticket of good men, or they will be defeated and go oLs of power.
 That the present system is not bad can be seen from the fact that we have had under it Governor Woodruff, Governor Chamberlain, Governor Me Lean Of course, once in a while we get a plaster, but the best regulated men need plasters
 There is not the slightest chance of the direct primary ever being adopted as the small towns would not stand to lose the little power they have left"
 Senator Judson said in part reply ] ing to MT Kenealv on the matter of l caucus registrations "Of all the dam l nations of the devil the caucus regis tration is the worst Now you may t exercise the privileges of a voter if six
 months in advance you give the name l of the party you decide to vote with.
 You would not dare abolish the use 1 of the sacred ballot, hnt this is almost as bad as open voting Going on he
 said:
 Pc "sonally l regard the question of the direct primary as of paramount
 importance-so much so that I think
 that most of our so-called state issues
 might profitably be subordinated to
 the question of the direct primary.
 It is well to bear in mind at the out
 set that the controlling elements of
 the dominant party in this state are
 unauestionahly opposed to the suhst-
 tuition of a direct primary law for the
 caucus and convention system of the
 present
 By the controlling elements l do not
 refer to the party leaders alone-I mean
 both those members of the party whc
 arc sometimes affectionately referred
 to by those on the inner circle as the
 rank and file, and also those members who are reverentlv looked up to ae
 leaders. by divine right by those or : the outside
 The so-ealled party bosses. whose
 genius for good or i'll, according tc your point of view, presides at youi party caucuses and conventions. gen. erally typfy distinct quality of citi. zenship II is quality that takes note of political conditions with z ? practiced and calculating eye. ther weighs and measures their values witf exclusive reference to personal az grandizement or partisan advantage 1 The standards of political conduc : give rise to impressions such as wer, , suggested by Max O'Rell, who return ; ed to his home from visit here ant
 said he discovered two parties in th, 3 United states. Inquired or as to thei . cardinal points of difference. he sai, ; their difference was Fundamental Q one was in and wanted to stay in s the other was out and wanted to ge . in.
 a am in favor of restoring to the cit
 izens of Connecticut. that inalienabl 9 right of freedom in the exercise of th I suffrage. in choosing their public ser : wants, of which they have been insld [ iously deprived
 l The fact cannot be ignored that fo |. two decades in this state our eover c nors. with rare exceptions. have heel Q selected two years in advance of th Y nominating convention, not by the con g census of public opinion, but by pro r fessional politicians, who. fat with tn s spells of office and entrenehed in DOW , er. were able to dictate the nomination n These bargains have been further ce il mented by the insidious fostering of a
 evil practice to the effect that mem
 bers of the General assembly shall h = entitled to be delegates from theI
 towns to the next State convention
 and thus the political plans forme A while tho Assembly is in session auto | matically bear their noisome fruit a ; the party convention that follows. 1 The direct primary law would d d away with this pcrnicious practice. an H postpone elections of candidates unt q public opinion should become clarifie 3 upon the important subjects as to wh 4 shall be instructed to serve the peopl 8 Is their chief executive or to. repre- S sent them at the seat of the Nations !. government.
 With the direct primary law gone al
 the self-constituted political bosse ! with their plunder and pelf. gone tn a automatic party convention: and wit j lt will be ushered in the bright day
 renaissance or real political equality.
 While il is true that our inability f,
 day to vote for candidates of our pei
 sonal choice is largely due to the ir
 difference of the masses at that cru T eial period when delegates to conver 4 tions are chosen and to their habitu; & acquiescence in the mandates of th