Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1908-04-16
TROUBLE AHEAD FOR REPUBLICAN
BOSSES.
HOquiam and East End Line Up
Against Aberdeen. Primary Law
IOnfuSeS Old Time Slate Makers.
A NOnteSanO Attorney Wants TO
Name Superior Judge.

The waters of republican county
politics have been somewhat muddy
since the meeting of the county CEN
trail committee in this city last Sat-
urday, and all indications point to a
delightful scrap for place and power
in that party between now and the |
November elections
There seems to be a sure enough |
frame up against the domination of |
Benn, Archer & Co., that bodies dis |
aster to the erstwhile bosses. Ho-
quiam, COsmopolis, Montesano, Elma |
and Oakville appear to be lined up !
|solidly against the Aberdeen states
men. This coalition cropped out at
the committee meeting, when the
Aberdeen contingent wished to ignore
the primary law in the selection of
delegates to the county convention,
Montesano and Elma into line, and
those towns will elect delegates at
a primary election, while Aberdeen
will call a mass caucus for the pur-
pose-and we all know what an Alb
erdeen mass political caucus means.
That this lineup is real is evil
denced by the following, extract
from political article in the Ho-
quiam Washingtonian:
| "a short time since, the gentlemen
with political perspicuity picked
neys and divers other officials with
the nOnchalance of a French gour-
mand selecting a chew d'Ourve,
but what they will be able to do this
time will depend upon what the Ho-
quiam organization and the eastern
end of the county agree upon"
While the present contest only af-
fects the delegates to the county,
state and national conventions, all
kinds of deals for county positions are
said to be involved, Notwithstanding
the fact that the bosses are somewhat
in the air when questioned as to how
they mean to deliver the goods, in
view of the primary law, which takes
the naming of the ticket from them
and returns it to the people, who lost
it through carelessness, or had it
stolen from them. A forlorn hope
they have in the supreme court. That
tribunal has the cOnstitutiOnality of
the primary law now before it and
may decide it to be invalid. But,
even if it should, Gov. Mead has an
nounced his intention, in the event
of such a decision, to call a special
session of the legislature for the eX-
press purpose of passing a law that
will hold. In that case the present
emasculated act might be succeeded
by one that would come nearer the
wishes of the people, and really put
the bosses out of business.
Although the law distinctly pro-
vides for a non-partisian judiciary, it
appears that the position of superior
Judge is already being made an arti-
Gle of barter and trade. All are in
terested in capable, unbiased judge,
and the Chehalis county bar-with
one possible eXceptiOn-is with the
people in the matter of a strict ad-
herence to the law in his selection.
Lest the Herald be suspected of eX-
ercising it's imagination for political
effect in this, we print the following
from the Bulletin, in speaking of the
internal contest in republican ranks:
"One of the questions entering into
the strife is the matter of superior
Judge. Mr.. Abel and his friends in
sist on promise of support for Judge
Irwin before they will play ball in
E. B. Benn's back yard. and Benn
says he will make no such promise.
So, there you have it,"
Oh, yes. there you have it. A fail
ure of Abel and Benn to adjust diff
ferences in which the public has no
interest, is likely to affect the posi-
tion of superior judge. Such state
ment is sufficient to cause blush
; upon the cheek Of every true friend
of popular government. 1t is no Won
der republicans are asking, what has
Attorney Abel to do with the repub-
. lican party? He never voted re-
: publican ticket In his life. Yet he
controlled several nominations in the
convention Of that party two years
, ago, and afterward sat in the demo-
cratic convention as a delegate from
Montesano. It would perhaps be un-
fair to the present Judge to print the