The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19??, 1908-05-08
South Dakota Politics.


crs. Twenty.four counties dispensed
with 1t in March to save trouble and
expense. Many citizens believe it has
multiplied the opportunities for manip.
ulation and ring rule.
Under the old plan the candidate
for state office went into the eau
cuses and the county conventions in
the contest for delegates to the state
| convention. The people had several
opportunities to accept or reject him,
| The Caucuses were usually well at
| tended and every precinct sent dele
gates to the county conventions. Rep
resentation to the state convention had
been increased until 1900 or more
| delegates assembled to nominate n
state ticket
Those who dislike the primary sys-
TEN say II is a farce and fraud so
| far as the selection of state candidates
| is concerned. Any man is, of course,
at perfect liberty to announce his can
didacy and circulate his petition. In
theory this is all very nice but in
or nothing to it. No man unless he is
a sort of a freak politician, goes after
state Office until he has first sounded
! the local and state leaders and has as
sured himself of some support.
The net results of the primary to
date show that the people have less to
say about the choice Of candidates than
they had under the old caucus and con.
vention system. The progressive ticket
is composed largely of first-termers
But the other candidates, Glass for con
gress, Wesley for governor, Policy for
secretary of state, and Robinson for
railway commissioner, were put upon
the ticket by a coterie of politicians
in conference at Huron. The rank and
file of the dear people had nothing at
all to do with making these selections
1t was felt necessary to place the nom
ination for secretary in the Black Hills
Did the people make the choice? Not
by any means. Lieutenant Governor
Shober was sent to the Hills as an
emissary of the leaders to induce
Grimshaw, Policy or someone else tC
take the Black Hills niche on the
ticket
So, too, the candidates on the stall
wart ticket have been named not by
the people but by the leaders, by mer
who devote some time and means tc
politics. Under the new system some
one must do this work. The peoples
will ut hn Il
maries when they are permitted tC
choose between two machine-madt
tickets. In exchange for this priv
ilege they have surrendered the caucus
the county convention and the state
convention. Many South Dakotans viii
tell you that the primary hasn't made
good, and never will.
1t has been many years since the
democracy Of the state felt so hopeful
This year it is out to elect a governor
and it hopes to muster enough legisla
tive votes at Pierre, with the help o
a few uncompromising republican fac
tionalists who may refuse to bt
whipped into line for Kittredge o.
Crawford, as the case may be to choos,
the next senator. The democracy see!
an opening and it will have tickets IL
practically every county in the state.
South Dakota twice elected Andrew
E. Lee a democrat to the Office OF gov
ernor. 1t was a big turn-about fo
the state, which had been overwhelm
ingly republican. Unlike Governo
Johnson of Minnesota, Lee escaped {
boom for the presidency and upon re
firing from Office went back to his mer
camille and farming interests. AL
the men who voted for him twice be
fore are still in the state. The demo
Gratis expect to hold a goodly part o
the strength he had before and, in ad
dition, win the votes of others who ar,
idisgusted with the row within the re
publican party. Hundreds of voters
say that there will be no peace in tn,
republican ranks until the party ha
been licked good and hard. Lee, the,
assert, Is just the man to do the job
i. Adversely will bring the republican
party to it's senses and pave the wa,
after the necessary discipline for an
, other eight or ten years lease o
power.
There is just chance therefore tina
the next governor will not be eithe
| Browne or Wesley or the next senate
: either Kittredge or Crawford TIL
democrats are playing a shrewd gam
e and they have some good cards. The
can run Lee for governor and if by
+ trick Of fortune they should contrC
they can elect him to the United State
/ senate. If they prefer to keep him a
!. governor they can send Pettigrew c
Chauncey Wood or one of the johnson
!. to the senate.
+ The June primary will therefore NJ
bring peace and rest to the republica
|. factions. The nominations will hay
been made, but there still remains
J. canvass for election, Hardest of al
the wounds of the factionalists must |
S closed and some sort of peace patche