Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-28
VIEWS ARE AT VARIANCE
Vote Down Resolution to Get
Citizens Together.
PRIMARY PLAN ILLOGICAL
Final Decision to Submit Question
of Candidates. to Full Member
ship Thursday Night.

Chamber of Commerce who met yester-
day afternoon to discuss what posi-
tlon, If any, the chamber ought To take
with regard to recommending candi-
dates for the commssionerships TO Presf-
dent Taft discussed at a very lively
gait a resolution backed by William F..
shannon that the Chamber Of Com
merce should get into the field and get
clt1zens together to express their choice
-and then turned the resolution down
ana decided that the full membership
or the organization should decide the
question. To that end they decided to
call a meeting of the chamber Thurs
day evening to discuss the advisability
or presenting names of candidates to the
President
Mr.. Shannons resolution was based
on the ground that the President wants
the people of the District of Columbia
to exercise their right of petition. He
also stated that he was Informed thai
the president wanted to hear from the
Chamber of Commerce on the subject
of who are the best two men to fiji the
vacancies caused by the designations of
Commissi ioner Macfarland and Commits
s1oner West. He gave many reasons
why he believed that the scores of
names appearing in newspapers of cam
didates for the positions woul do the
District an injury.
Claim a Sure Thing.
i know men who are going about this
town at this present moment telling
people that they have the ear of the
President and that their appointment is
sure thing. Not a day passes that
some man does not come into my Of
nee to ask me to write a letter of rec
ommendation to the President mention
ing his name. and one of them has even
gone SO rar as to tell me that if l would
write the letter Immediately he would
take it out and mail 1t for me.
Now. We want TO stop that sort of
thing: We want to get the civic bodies
or this city together in convention.-one
aeiegae for say. each fifty Of member
people of the city want, so that we can
go to the President and say, The senti-
ment of the District Of Columbia points
to these men,
the idea. He said that such a convention
would be discourteous to the President
Favor Citizens Convention.
B. F. Saul favored the idea of a citi-
zens' convention, and was Of the opinion
mat there would be no discourtesy In
one. His advice was that if any opinion
were to be expressed at all it ought to
De expressed be4ore the appointment, and
mentioned the appointment of Postmaster
Grandfield as an example of knocking"
after it was too late.
If you are going to do any knocking
get together, do the knocking now. or,
IKE in the recent post office matter when
you knocked on the door to find the
opening filled by DR.. GrandfieId. you will
knock too late. However, Mr.. Saul was
not of the opinion that LABOR ana irater-
EnOuld in
a citizens association and civic organiza-
uons' convention Tor tins purpose, wnlcn
was suggested by MIR. Shannon.
a. LeItWlch Sinclair sad, Go slow"
he Thought that the question was one
that neeoed much study and doubted the
wisdom of the resolution. and further
more sald that the board of directors mad
40 rlgnt to decide the question, view
which was shared by more than one
other present. He made the first sus-
sesrion tnat the Champer or Commerce
At large should take entlre charge of the
question.
Discussion Grows Warm.
The discussion thereafter grew very
warm. The matter was likened to a prl-
mary election. and it was asked where
was the machinery to hold q primary
Citizens associations and civic bodies had
no registry lists. it was said, and men
could vote all day and for all candidates
1t was given as an example that petitions
are often misleading. and an illustration
was given of the man who signed the
petition for his own hanging.
The trend OF the speeches OF many of
the directors was that a convention or
primary OF this sort would end In a
farcical mess to use the expression of
one speaker. 1t was stated as a fact
that the memberships of the organiza-
tions that would attend such a conven-
ton did not by any means represent the
entire population of the city.
Robert n. Harper took a very decided
stand against the proposition as it was
put In the original motion. He was op-
posed TO the District taking up the cues
tion of who should be Commissioners in
this manner at ALL There will be- he
asserted, more knocking after the con-
vention Is over than ever before. There
Will be deadlocks and fights. On every
ballot the low man will be dropped and
Immediately nom mated again. The con-
vention will break up in fight. and there
will be bitter hatreds result from it
and no good will come of 1t. ] say, Keep
our hands Off. y
No Proper Means for Primary.
Scott Bone said that he, too was op-
posed to the idea in that form. and that
the scheme to hold elections similar to
primaries was the only way to feel the
public's pulse-and that ther was no
machinery for proper primary and no
way of checking up voters. There Is a
good thought behind the resolution" he
said, but / cannot see how we are going
to get the entire public sentiment / do
believe. though, that it is entirely proper
and very easy to get the chambers own
opinion as to who should be the Com
mssioners.
At this point Mr.. Weller suggested an
election OF taxpayers, men and suffrag-
cites, so that every one can let himself
or herself be heard"
Harry King favored the Idea that the
chamber could and should bring to the
attention of the President the candidates
whom the members of the organization ia
vored. land we have the perfect right to
ask the President to give US two Com
missioners who will do US the most good. =
Chaplin Brown blocked the entire matter
at every point. He told the members that
the chamber itself should dec de the mat
ter. not the board OF directors, and that
II ought to be unanimous. He told them
that in the limited time at their disposal
they could not get the real sentiment of
the people He said it was an inoppor-
tune time to start a movement of the
kind under discussion. and that the Presi-
dent would be sure to appoint two good
men to the offices. Later Mr. Brown
made an effort to get the board to drop
the matter entirely. and was one Of the
two directors to vote against the resoiu-