Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1909-03-17
is OUR SENATE REPRESENTATIVE?
Hon. Il. Randolph Bias
Gives His Views i'm Re-
gard to the Makeup Of
the Body.

EDITOR ADvANcE:-
La these days when one sees The
two branches of our state lesisla
ture pliying at cross purposes and
dead-locked on the proposition oi
passing certain measures Of essen.
tiai Importance to all the people OF
the state, thoughtful men look for
the reason and interested ones seek
the remedy.
am one of these plain, sim pie,
trusttul creatures who believe that q
promise made or pledge given in
politics should be as scrupu ously
kept and redeemed as If made or
given In a business transaction
Believing this | can but regard a
political platform as a covenant of
The party adopting it with ,hos,
who support the party because OF
Its adoption faithfully to execute
the policies proclaimed. To omi,
to do this Is nothing short of a
breach oil faith, meriting the re-.
probation of those -elying on
solemn party promises.
10 a republican holding such
views the motives moving men
elected by the voters of the repub.
lican party, which adopted and
published a platform containing
explicit promises to the people to
disregard those pledges and to
cast their votes apd influence H.
direct opposition to the fulfilling
OF such pledges are hard to discern.
No explanation, reason or excuse
jus.ifies the position and action OF
such a repudiationist or satisfies
the people who reposed trust in
the party, because Of their faith
that the party promise would be-
come party performance.
The republican party is under
contract with the peop'e OF West
Virginia to do certain things and
failure 10 do them, from whatever
reason, invites the loss of the con-
hdence of the people and ultimate
party disaster.
Among the more important of
these contracts are:
/. The submission of an amend
ment 10 the state constitution TO
permit the voters of the state TO
say directly and by their votes
whether or not we shall have state
wide prohibition. No amount of
argument or ingenious special
pleading can avoid the proposition.
The party is under contract to let
the people by their votes decide
this matter, and to fail TO submit
this amendment is a plain breach
of contract. Disregarding the
great moral and economic questions
involved, even forgetting the in
herent right of the people to de.
eide and the majority TO rule, as a
measure of good faith and plain
party expediency we are committed
to it-and must make good or stand
convicted Of a breach of solemn
contract.
ii. The enactment of a state
primary law, which means what its
name implies a plain, direct law,
permitting every voter however
humple, to register directly by his
vote, his choice Of candidates of
his party for each Office to be filed,
from United States senator to
constable. In a democratic form
of government the people should
rule and, even if, perchance, they
may not know what is best for
them, should be permitted to say
who their officers and representa-
tives, from the highest to the low
est, shall be.
1t is no compliance with this con-
tract to pass some measure mis-
named a primary law and under
this misnamer give the people a
gold brick in lieu of the primary