The San Francisco call., 1909-01-28
Wright-Stanton Election Bill
Comes Up in Senate Conn
mittee Today
Question of Advisory Vote on
United States Senator Is
Bone of Contention
By George A. Van Smith
Especial Dispatch 10 The CALI


MENTO. Jan. 27.--with the question Of
advisory vote on United States senators
and the scope Of the measure generally
as the first and paramount issue. the
proponents of the Wright Stanton direct
primary election bill and the forces
that are opposed either to any direct
primary legislation or to a genuine
redemption of all the pledges made to
the people, will clash tomorrow after
noon when the wright-Stanton bill will
be taken UP for the first time by the
senate committee on elections and
election laws.
The democratic advocates of the Ore
gon system of voting for United States
in the senate by a realization of the
fact that the Oregon system involves
a general election law amendment,
which they will seek Independently of
the Wright Stanton bill, which they
are now ready to support as drawn.
With the element of difficulty out Of
the way the fight in the upper house
resolves itself down to a question of
whether the people shall get what they
thought they were voting for when
they ratified the Wright direct
primary amendment by a majority OF
more than 100000, or whether they
shall be given a few direct primary
crumbs in the shape Of a measure af-
fecting the nomination of local or city
candidates only.
ENEMIES ARE ACTIVE
In the lower house the enemies OF
direct primaries are working away on
their 40 per cent or no nomination
scheme to turn the flank of the direct
primary proponents and give to the
people a system which may be called
direct primary. but which will be in
fact only an aggravation of the dele
gate convention system, which the peo-
pie of California have demanded shall
be abolished.
The fight in the senate committee is
at least manful. 1t is true that it is
being made by men who are opposed
TO direct primaries. be they narrow or
broad in their scope, but who realize
that something in the way of direct
primaries must be given to the peo-
pie and who want to make that some
thing as little as possible
The garroting of the people through
a scheme which shall appear to be di
rect primaries but which through a
provision for throwing nominations
into a convention in the event that
no candidate receives 40 per cent
Of the whole vote could be manipulated
to prevent a majority of the nomina-
tions being made, by direct vote has
few champions in the senate. The fight
in the senate viii be a fight on the
part of the opponents of the direct
primaries as narrow in its scope as pos
sible, and in any event to exclude an
advisory vote on United States sena-
tor-on the part Of the friends of di-
rect primaries to keep the United States
senators, state and congressional Of
ficers within the provisions Of the
law
BITTERLY OPPOSE BILL
Judge H c. Dibble and Jake Shaen
are on the job to see that no bill ex-
actly consonant with the San Francisco
and Alameda county republican plat
forms, as the Wright-Stanton bill un-
questionably is, is enacted. Will Da-
Wis, secretary Of the state central COM
mittee. is also expected to take a hand
In the affair. and naturally enough the
most opposition to a comprehensive
measure comes from San Francisco and
the men who were elected on a plat
form which declared:
I'VE pledge our legislative nominees
TO vote for a direct primary election
law to the end that federal, state and
county nominees for Office may be Sc
lected by the direct vote of the mem
bers Of the respective parties with
which they are affiliated."
The senate committee on elections
contemplates daily meetings, considera-
tion of the bill in detail and a report
at the earliest practicable moment.
The big bone of contention is in sec
tion Of the bill and upon the results
Of the first skirmish tomorrow depends
the character of the fight to be made
by the proponents of the Wright Stan
ton bill. So far as the senate is con-
cerned now, the big question is, shall
the people get all they demand-the
nomination of all elective officers from
United States senator down--or shall
they be asked to accept a picked bone?
Shall the well proved system of di-
rect nominations be placed in the cate
CORY of experimentation and make
shift measure tried on the dog"2
NoN-PARTIsAN SCHEME FAILS
nE yclP LII d PdAtAodI Dt1l udS
made no appreciable effect on the
senate. The democrats of the upper
house. for the most part, recognize the
impracticability of the non-partisan
scheme and are prepared to support the
Wright bill in good faith.
The attempt to stir up the democracy
for fight for the Incorporation of the
Oregon idea into the Wright bill and
thereby kill it has proved abortive
When the big democrats of the senate,
and the democrats in the upper house
are almost without exception big men,
realized that the popular vote for
United States senator provided by the
Oregon law was a general election pro-
vision and not primary provision
they executed an instant right about
face. Senator Caminetti will introduce
tomorrow an independent bill affecting
general election regulations and pro-
viding that the names OF candidates
for the United States senate nominated
by direct vote or in any other manner
shall be placed on the general election
ballot. The bill also provides for the
statements one and two Of the Oregon
law. either of which the legislative
candidate may file with his nomination
papers.
The bill which Senator Caminetti will
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