Devils Lake inter-ocean and Devils Lake free press. (Devils Lake, Ramsey County, N.D.) 1905-1909, 1908-12-18
Against Initiative and
- nm: PENNA 1DsN
Referendum and Nomination

ny ssssaeuly
candidates, and their literature and
Autographs must be prepared, printed
and circulated. They tell me. that even
for members of the legislature and
county officers, these preliminary ex-.
penses are far in excess of any salaries
OF fees which can be hoped for. Unit
ed States Senators have told me where
they had no opposition, and therefore
there was no contest or interest, that
1t took about two years of their salary
for the necessary expenses of the pri.
mary election. One gentleman said
that in the heated contest which he
had against large field, his petition,
his appeals through the press, his lit
erature, his public meetings and his
carriages for the linfrm voters, cost
him in one city twelve thousand dob
lars said, ''How much for the whole
state?" WELL" he said, Eat the same
rate it would have been two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars" But he
did not say how much it was. The
work which is now taken care of by
party organizations must be performed
lby each candidate. He mist create
his organization in every election dis
trict in his county or senatorial or con-
gle ssional district or in the whole
state. There are in the state of New
York four thousand nine hundred and
eighty election districts. The confess
sion of all these gentlemen to me are
that the necessary and legitimate =ex-
pense Of the primary contest make
! candidacy impossible. except for men
of large means. The successful can
J didate faces three large and inevitable
expenses petition, his, primary
vote and then the general election.
The cost of manning, the, polls and
other expenses III each election dis
trict III the, state is conservatively es-
>timated at thirty dollars, or for five
thousand districts, one hundred and
! fifty thousand dollars. This money is
raised now by the state, county, as
sembly district, town and county COM
mittees and associations and the can
didates and their friends. For the
nomination by the primary there can
be no party organization because If
there is fair chance of election there
are many candidates. Therefore each
candidate must create his individual
organization. everywhere to- man the
polls, canvass the voters, present his
claims and persuade them to, go. to
! the polls in his behalf. It is easy to
see that a militant, experienced and de-
termined man with the money to
i, create the most perfect organization is
certain to succeed. ;S s% 4: 8=42
| ID We have been: legislating against
corrupt practices in every, possible way
! to prevent the e3pendi ture of money in
elections, but il lam correctly inform,
ed this primary process necessitates
J legitimate expenditures by the candi-
dates never canned Of before. 7ss ~
d These repres el1tatives also say that
J; this primary process en- rm ously helps
| the minority party: IL there is no hope
iIeoof election, it is difficult to- find a man
I in the minority party who will assume
| the expense of the petition and other
soutlays for the primary; SO that while
| there are man cont stants with the
mai ority party, the minority has only
\ one candid date When the election
comes, the bitter contest among the
majority candidates, who have all
fbeen lighting and a busing each other
{ In the press and before the people
i leads to the conce ion 4of the de
/ feated and their friends against this
| man who succeeds at the primary
| which ten results III d strong repub
jllcan or Demecrati district going the
i other way at election. :ss} 81.
3sf "A liz SuCGSSSAul z
hundred years Of re- resent atiye gov
s5iiernment has demon the wisdom
4 of the fathers OF our republic \
Railroads and other operations
and labor unions, are governed by thu
i repre- tive system. and 80 Ia poll
ties, through various gradual Lions q
conventions Of selected delegates AMI
Ipf legislators. We express the popuIa,
i viii. e It'll III wrongly expressed gu
Il frequent Elections and universaI sui
Il Il frage provide a perfect RENE
Vornen'g fine hand 4enbroide Tered hos
d iery Tor Xmas lifts at3 the New Yorl
1 Store. /. . !. u.
Y