Los Angeles herald., 1909-01-23
NUMBER FOUR

N ROPOSED charter amendment NO.
provides for primary nominating
n elections. If this amendment is
adopted, candidates for municipal Of
fees will be nominated directly, "by
electors, political parties and organiza-
tions of electors without conventions,
mated as primary elections"
We are astonished that any serious
objection to primaries should be voiced
in any newspapers of any political
stripe. One critic says if the direct
primary amendment is carried all nomi-
nations must be made by petition, and
it will shut off many citizens from
voting according to the dictates of
their conscience. There is no contra
verting this statement adds our
friend. This assumption of the impossi-
bility of denying a misstatement with
regard to the effect of the direct
primary makes US believe there is a
printers error in our friends asser-
ton. Doubtless what was written was:
eff amendment No. is carried all
nominations must be made by petition,
and it will shut off many citizens from
voting according to the dictates of
THE MACHINE" With this we agree,
and commend our friend for perspica-
city in discerning the moral effect of
the primary system on the electorate
and on elections. Our neighbor adds,
This is a government in which the
majority shall rule, whether they are
of your way of thinking or of some
other way. That is exactly the way
this government will be carried on, and
no minority can ever for long usurp
the reins of power. Furthermore, this
is a form of government in which every
man should have opportunity to express
his will freely at the polls.''
Through control Of nominations, mi
norities have been known to usurp the
American communities! Why, what on
earth would be the use of the organiza-
tion known as a machine" if it had
not designs on power? If machine rule
is not usurpation, then what is it? For
the purpose of putting an end to
become the rule of predatory wealth
or of a soulless and crafty corpora
tion influencing and practically owning
the machine, the primary system has
been devised. Moreover, it is not an
innovation. 1t is a return to first prin-
ciples-a restoration of Americanism.
The present system of making nomina-
tions came into use because of diff
cuIties attending travel and communi-
cation, which difficulties were increased
by the growth and territorial ex-
pansion of the United States. But
modern facilities for travel and COM
munication have rendered entirely un-
necessary the makeshift known as a
nominating convention, in which the
people. because of physical obstacles
which prevented an accurate express
sion of popular will, chose to consider
themselves represented.
When selfish and predatory interests
began to interfere with good govern
ment in the United States and to ex-
ploit the law-making community for
their own business and personal pur-
poses, in the convention system they
found a most admirable instrument for
their evil designs, and the lesson that
to control the convention is to dictate
the election was one they were not
slow to learn. They hate the reform
known as the primary system, because
they know it will interfere seriously
with their power of controlling nomina-
tions and by consequence candidates
and by consequence officials, and may
cripple 1t forever-which is a consum-
nation most devoutly to be wished.