New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1909-10-13
M'CARREN A FAILURE
HE ADMITS 1T HIMSELF.
Brooklyn Senator Once Tried To BE
Politician, but Stopped.

Senator p II. McCarren, leader of the Brooklyn
Democrats. spoke upon direct primaries before
the Mems Club of All Souls Unlversalist Church,
Ditmas and ocean avenues. Brooklyn. last night
The meeting was attended by many OF the leading
citizens of the section. Republicans well as
Democrats Joseph Tilden, president OF the club
told the members that in securing Mr.. McCarren
as their speaker he thought that the club had
about reoched its climax. The Senator was intro
duced by Edward G. Martin. chairman of the
meeting and said:
want to say that agree with Mr.. Tilden that
ms ms rs Is not political meeting l at one time
suaded myself as saw the manv pernlexities that
would be likely to be attendant upon the pursuit
Our fOrefathers, coming to this country com
PGaratiyeiy few years ago. left the impress of the
the the old countries upon the pioneer towns. and
Declaration of independence. the people cast about
Tor proper form Of government. Two ideas pre-
cratic. or representative. the latter being accepted
it ever since have supported the idea All
resentative system is likely to prevail.
the early days nominations were made by the Eng
fish system but this gradually gave way TO the
years the direct nomination system has been
under discussion in all parts Of the country The
Illustrations Of the working of the system have
been given in other states The birthplace may
be said to be Oregon. The experience Of the
favor or disfavor the system.
The Senator took as his first illustration Boston
where a popular Mayor recently stood for re-
nomination. He was renominated with a normal
Democratic majority. At the election an obscure
Republican beat him. This refutes in the belief
of the Senator, the statement of the advocates
that the system which brings out untrammelled
expression Of opinion is bound TO be good for the
parties because there could be for com
plant after elections by the defeated Here party
man was deserted he said where his party had
normally respectable majority Reading edi-
froD
showed that there little voting the primaries
in Baltimore and in Indiana and Virginia. The
speaker continued:
Some OF the leading men declare that the direct
system encourages the handshakers. the men
with money the ambitious the demagOgues. They
claim also that citizens become negligent-espe-
cially in the busy centres The glib Self eekers
are nkeiy to get more v3tes than the retiring
tanned in the Western States according to intelli-
gent opinion. The Cincinnati Commerce -Trb-
bersome method and a boomerang upon the Demo
believe that in the process of evolution the
l DO not believe any man or party would steal
the people TO ratify a stolen nomination.
m b oE 0ng Gt me mG5t things that
Delegates, honestly elected, sent from Brook
numbered ninety-odd They were elected from from
IheiF seats and men We're put in their places to
elected the nomination of Hearst was fraudulent.
the polls SiTp's ''eo 10 '1''iy ms "0"nHA''0" at
The primary laws have changed conditions from
where the bosses selected the delegates and threw
out opposing votes to an almost perfect system.
Now the citizen is about we'll safeguarded a
at the polls On Election Day. / trying TO get
a bill through the Legislature that will refer con-
and not to convention committee Under the
present system the leader who acts against the
wishes OF his followers be readily outvoted at
the primaries and unseated.
You all know whom the Democrats nominated
for Mayor. / don't think that any other candi-
date would have been nominated even with direct
nominate tons. GaynOr would have beaten any one
else. Gaynor forced the convention by
popular sentiment. 1t had to take him. The
convention bowed TO the will of the people and
nominated man who would have been nominated
by the direct system.
There is another side. Is there any man here who
knows anything about Republican politics who be-
lieves that Steers would have been nominated by
the direct system? No. Why? He nomina ted
at the dictatOn of two men-Outerbridge and
Mitchell. The first case is an argument for the
present system. The second, an argument for
direct primaries. Still, / contend that the one
thing for men to do is 10 take lively in
terest in politics the possibilities of their daily
lives permit.
There is reason to believe that the people
ton acts against public sentiment. Unless the
convention with the voters, it cannot get it's
candidates elected. The Hinman-Creen bill, sup
ported by the Governor, supposes all nominations
TO be determined before the delegates to the
conventions selected This IS as frequently
untrue as true. The only fair law is the Massa-
chusetts law which makes all candidates equal
none appearing with the backing of a political
party.