The Washington times., 1908-01-06


II way the veteran who grinned and
/ the novice who Whistled. The former
recalled the sObriqUeJ Fabian applied
/ 10 Foraker and pTOphesied that the
! senior Senator would run away from his
/ challenge when the time % trial came.
! And that IS what ne has done. When
/ Foraker challenged Taft TO q primary
! the senior Senator evidently believed
/ that no such test was possible, in it's
tTue sense There Is, on the Ohio
statutes, a primary law which was put
/ through the Legislature by such prac-
/ Ccal politicians as Foraker ana Dick TO
sUN the voice OF reform crying for real
/ primary nominations. The law permits
! any county party committee 10 hold
I local priPlar,ts when IL sees TT or, in
/ other words when local TefoTmers and
agitators become troublesome with their
! criticism Of "gang-ridden conventions
\ But the law does not so much farther
/ than TO authorize "a primary"
Committee Auanges Details.
The county committee IS permitted TO
! arrange all the details, and il IS en-
! powered TO make a knowledge OF Egypt
/ oiogy q qualification to vote II It sees
| TT
I The primary law amounts 10 this, that
/ when the county committee wishes 20
/ perpetratc this farce it viii be at the
! expense Of the taxpayers and the state
/ election authorities, acting under the
! direction OF the county committee, VIII
enforce its mandates. Foraker did not
! reveal his plan for primary either IN
/ hlS challenge of last spring or IN re
| cent letter which he wrote 20 the STATE
4 central committee. He asked for a
! primary selection OF State convention
! delegates under the statutes me
I term primary" is broad. and. as indi-
I Gated, the statute permits anything TO
/ which the county committee agrees.
Foraker's Hand Shown.
when the question OF method began
| 20 be discussed the Foraker men showed
their hand They wanted the primary
/ uni, in the large counties 10 be the
ward and township. but the county
/ elsewhere. They wanted the names Of
candidates Tor state convention delegate
printed without distinguishing marks TO
indicate their Presidential choice. The
I first demand was a frank confession
that a vote at large by the Republicans
of the big counties would go against
( Foraker, 50 they wanted chance 10
4 split these big delegations with the few
men they might pull through IN paruc-
| uIar wards or townships
/ or course, the theory Of State pT4-
mary IS that OF a State election, IN
/ which q majority Of all the votes cast
decides. The making Of a ward or
] NlASlAAD III tiAe a1i scr COUNTIES A--C ia 4
mary unit simply meant a return 10 a
/ ward caucus politics under primary
alias. The same argument applied 20 me
/ confusing Of names on the delegate
| tickets, TO the end that popular Re
publicans might pull through ~ spite
/ of Foraker sympathles. But the pro-
I fessiondl politicians were hoist with
their OW- petard. The TAFT leaders
! took adv, ltage OF the gaps in the safe
= primary law TO provide for a real test
! OF -Tr rurf n
J State central committee. OF course,
under this primary law the local county
! committees are the judges Of how 4
/ local primary Is to be conducted or
! wheth her il 3 TO be conducted al all
! Each Of these local committees must
/ repeat the requirements OF the State
/ central committee in a separate call OF
| its own TO make the local primary legal.
the method OF selecting state conven-
J committee has the sole authority 10 fix
( he method OF selecting state cOnyen-
/ ton delegates
County Committees Right.
Any local county committee can say
that the State central committee has
no authority TO prescribe primary rules,
I but the state convention can refuse 10
seat any delegation not selected under
the call. Il IS certain that there will
b. a delegation. selected under the call
at the State convention from every
, county in Ohio. OF course the Sena-
to-s can hold boiling county conven-
lions, or even q boiling State conven-
ton, but j. IS not easy TO discover any
! legal excuse, either under the statutes
o. party la'g. 10 justify such action.
The procedure OF the Taft leaders has
been beautifully regular. The terms Of
this primary cell which Foraker chal-
! senges so bitterly, rrOvfdeS first
f aTa
can nominate a delegate for the
state convention by petition. ANY Re-
publican VINO has ten friends can have
his name printed on the ticket. But it
. also provides that where twenty times
/ the number OF delegates authorized
from any county wish 10 put up a sl4te
! ticket IN behalf OF any Republican Pres
1 idenual candidate, they can do this by
petition. and the ticket shall go on the
ballot headed by the name of this
Presidential candidate. provided lis
/ written consent is filed with the petit
ton. The latter requirement is an OBJ
viOus precaution against fake tickets.
designed to split candidates strength.
Petition Requirement DispIeasing.
Senator Foraker quarrels with the Pc
titiOn requirement OF twenty times the
number of county delegates as unjust.
and he declares that this would require
1900 petitioners in Hamilton county.
The rest OF MS statement is hinged on
those 400 petitioners. AS a matter of
fact, Hamilton county is entitled TO
ninety-six delegates, and d straight
ticket petition would, therefore, REQUIRE
$50 signatures, to be exact But if
Senator Foraker does not believe he has
/ 900 friends in Hamilton county, he and
nine other Republicans can, by petition
put as Tlany names on the ticket as
they please. Foraker selected the
county with the largest representation
iE the State convention for his illustTa-
ton ana then got his figures wrong BIZ
2.0S0. IN a majority OF the counties
/ there are less than twenty delegates.
which means a requirement of less than
sixty petitioners for the placing of Taft.
I or Foraker. or Roosevelt or Hughes;
tickets, on the ballot The promptitude
with which Foraker picked flaws in the
primary plan adopted was simply ac-
cepted BY the Taft people as final and
nothing to do with the State conven-
ton contest. and was only looking for
an excuse TO avoid it.
Influence Four Delegates.
This Ohio primary will influence the
selection 81 but four national conven-
ton delegates, the four chosen at large.
Forty-twO delegates are to be selected
from the congressional districts, and
with their selection the State central