The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-02-04
Wright Refuses to Allow Elec-
tion Committee to Butcher
Direct Primary Measure
Showdown Precipitated and
Herrin Plan to Force Fake"
Law on People Disclosed
By George A. Van Smith
ISpecial Disnntch 10 The Cnll

10 destroy the policy or the wright
Stanton direct primary election bill,
Senator Leroy Wright announced this
afternoon at the close of session of
the packed senate committee on cleo
tions that he would take the Wright
Stanton bill to the floor of the senate
in the form in which it was intro
duced and give the entire senate an
opportunity to go on record before all
the people on the question of gem
uine direct primaries VS.. alleged direct
primaries.
Besides precipitating the showdown
which Will take the direct primary
bill to the floor of the senate, the
committee meeting resulted in smoking
out Hare and Kennedy, democratic SEN
ators from San Francisco, and fully
disclosed the Herrin plan to force upon
the people of California a law the pro-
visions of which have been tried and
repudiated in other states.
Hare was forced not only to repudi-
ate the democratic platform, but to
break his personal promise to stand
for an advisory vote for United States
senator, and Kennedy went the dis
lance, declaring opposition to the
whole direct primary idea in order to
save the program contemplated when
the elections committee was packed
against the people.
FIGHT NOW IN OPEN
The fight for a decent primary law
is in the open now. Backing and fill
ing on the part of members of the sem
ate committee will no longer obtain.
They have all gone on record on the
questions Of policy which mean on the
one hand direct primaries as promised
to and demanded by the people-on the
other a makeshift scheme to be denom-
mated direct primaries, but which, in
fact, will be anything else. and in eff
feet an aggravation of the evils of the
delegate convention system from which
the people have demanded relief
Two-thirds of the senate committee
Will attempt to give the people some
thing the people do not want One
third of the committee will endeavor to
secure the enactment of a genuine di-
rect primary law. There may be and
probably will be further meetings of
the senate committee, but the situation
will not be changed; the issue will be
decided for or against the people on
the floor of the senate.
Senator Wolfe said repeatedly that he
was in favor of a direct primary law
and that he wished to be so quoted, and
he Is hereby so reported as having thus
remarked with such vigor and fire.
quency that Senator Wright offered UP
a feryent Lord, deliver US from our
friendsp
The first showdown was reached
quickly, when Senator Wright re-
newee his motion for an advisory vote
on United States senator Leavitt
promptly announced that he was IS
much opposed to an advisory vote pro-
vision as he was to the optional
signed pledges, carried by the Wright
Stanton bill.
Incidentally Leavitt declared that he
did not care what the people of other
states did, the people of California
should have no voice in the selection of
partisan candidates for United States
senator.
Wolfe uncovered a horrid fear when
he said that the proposition to give
the people an advisory vote in the
matter of candidate for the United
States senate was "a bludgeon in the
hands of somebody (somebody refer
ring to the newspapers) to beat your
head off if you did not do as the peo-
pie voted
Chairman Estudillo left the chair to
support Wrights proposition, but de-
clared that he greatly preferred the
original form and the unequivocal if
optional pledges Stetson took the
same ground Wright paved the way
for the vote by declaring: 81 realize
that a majority of this committee is
against any expression on the part
or the people touching United States
senators. We have been willing to
make concessions that would remove
the fears of alleged unconstitutional
lty. We are not willing to sacrifice
the principle. / now serve notice that
II this amendment is voted down. il
will precipitate fight on the floor of
the senate for this bill in it's original
form, and / am morally certain that 1t
Will pass there"
WRIGHTS GUESS TRUE
Wrights guess was literally borne
out. Hare, Kennedy, Hartman. Wolfe.
Savage and Leavitt voted against any
reference to United States senator's;
Estudillo, Stetson and Wright voted for
the advisory vote compromise which
Savage sayagely remarked was lust as
strong as were the optional pledges.
Leavitt wanted to know If there were
any other proposed changes in policy,
and Wolfe was found on the spot with
trif1ing change which IL enacted into
law would insure perpetuation Of the
delegate convention system Over in
the assembly they had been talking
about throwing nominations into con-
ventions if no candidate received at
least 40 per cent of the whole vote
Wolfe wanted clear majority or no
nomination. Regardless of the fact
that the incumbent governor holds his
office by virtue of a plurality 20 per
cent less than majority of the vote
polled in 1906; that he and his predeces-
sors We're nominated by delegates
elected by less than 10 per cent of the
republicans of this state; that even the
Jud La Mor-Alex Mckenzie machine in
North Dakota did not dare ask more
than a 80 per cent vote to nominate.
and that Illinois, after trying a direct
primary convention hybrid, turned
away from it in disgust for the system
proposed by the Wright bill, Wolfe de-
manded clear majority or no nomina-
ton. Wolfe did not xnow these facts
touching the systems employed in other
states. He said SO, turning it neatly.
II don't know what other states have
done and don't care
UNNECESSARY
Wright insisted that the committee
was not forced to theorize. That ii had |
the experience of other states to work
on and that it was the committees |
duty to profit by that experience Stet-
son wanted to compromise on IS per
cent, which was beaten by a. vote of |
to I, and then the committee swung /
back into its normal lineup on VOTES |
clear majority proposition. Hare Ken