New-York tribune., 1909-02-22
THE GoYERYoR.s PLAN.


II would be as fair 10 describe the plan or
primary reform outlined by Governor Hughes IN
Brooklyn as an effort TO improve the convention
system as to call it a direct nominations system
Under it the parties would elect their delegates
to conventions nominating committees. tneT
would be called under the Hughes plan-one
year in advance. These conventions or noml- /
mating committees would assemble and make
nominations as at present, but the tickets thus
named would not become the party tickets until
they had been submitted TO the enrolied
voters Of the parties in a primary election dhe
one essential difference between the Hughes plan
and the existing plan is that the action Of the
party convention. or nominating committee.
would be subject TO the check of q direct vote
The convention would report back TO the party
at large for its approval instead Of having hhal
authority If the party at large should not Ike
the ticket offered it by its convention, or noml-
mating committee" it could substitute other
names upon it. For this purpose other candl-
dates might be put up b. petition against the
regular ticket suggested by the nominating COM
nttee.
That as 1t seems 10 us. is In effect the sig
nifcance of the Governors most important rec
ommendation 1t departs from the direct noml-
nation system pure and simple, under which
nominations are supposed to proceed directly
from the mass Of the voters and there is no
legal recognition Of any machinery for bringing
them about. 1t also departs about equally from
the convention system. because the work Of the
nominating committee the substitute proposed
for the convention, is TO be subject to the ap-
provaI of the party voters at large. 1t IS evi-
IDENTIFY q compromise between the two, in which
an attempt is made 10 incorporate the best and
obviate the worst features Of each. IT is easy
to imagine that it may turn out, as the Governor
hopes it will, an improvement on both. 1t is
also easy TO imagine that it will in practice
prove a disappointment. 1t win be an expert
ment. for no system exactly like it is in use
anywhere. But, then. the adoption Of the direct
nomination system pure and simple under the
conditions that prevail in this state was bound
10 be an experiment Furthermore, IL 1t falls,
il can be. as the Governor points out, easily
turned into the direct system as it exists else
where simply by striking out the nominating
committees and thus that method may have IT'S
trial.
If the object of primary reform is to secure
the nomination OF officials with a larger sense
Of responsibility 10 the people than is found in
the products Of the convention system unadul-
terated direct nominations give more promise OF
accomplishing it than does the method proposed
bv Governor Hughes. For it will seem probable.
until the contrary is proved by experience, that
the nominating committees will be subject 10
the same influences and the same control as nom
mating conventions are HOW Iuen iue QuCSllpif
whether the bosss influence in politics will be
reduced or not by the Governors plan will de-
pend on whether or not the popular primary
vote will exercise real and effective check upon
the work Of the nominating committees. This,
in turn will depend upon whether or not the
public interest in primaries is aroused whether
or not they develop real contests for nomina-
tions as the direct primaries in the West have
done and whether or not there is consequently
a large and intelligent participation Of the party
voters in them. If the new primaries with ma
chinery for making regular" nominations should
turn out TO be mere formalities at which the
slate of the nominating committees was regularly
approved, then the same persons who are likely
TO dominate nominating committees would also
be in real control Of the primary voters who rati-
fed their work and we should have got nowhere.
On the other hand. if the public interest in pri-
maries should be awakened by the opportunities
of the proposed system its results would prob
ably be admirable. Only a test will determine,
and the prospects Of success and the need of re-
form are great enough TO make test distinctly
worth while.