The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1909-11-16
BONAPARTE SAYS
LET VOTERS RULE
Would Have Voters Choose fParty
Leaders" FOR Year Following
Election.
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
Cincinnati, O., Nov Speaking on
the subject "The Initiation in the
Choice of Elective Municipal Officers y
Charles J. Bonaparte, former attorney
general, and now president of the Ma
tioaal Municipal League, in his address
before the American Civic Association
today. disclaimed all intent to use
the word initiative in technical
sense or in connection with the refer
endum" or the recall and employed
it in the sense of presentation for
consideration. He said in part:
when any body governed by cleo
tive officers. say, exempli gratis, the
National Municipal League, has to pro-
vide itself with new ruler or new
set of rulers, it is obliged to develop
some organ or devise some mechanism
which looks up man or several men
believed to be fit for the job and
willing to undertake this; the league
provides this agency in the form of a
committee on nominations. What
shall take the place and fulfill the
purpose of committee, on nomina-
tions when a vast municipal corpora
tion, say, one Of our great American
cities. has to choose its ruler by pop
ular vote?
"The simplest and most convenient
way to deal with this problem, that is
to say, the way certainly most convi-
ent for the person asked to solve it,
is to ignore its existence; anil I must
own. so far as can see it is thus
dealt with by many thinkers, takers
and writer's on public questions in our
midst, and almost universally by our
laws. We seem to assume that the
voters can and will, or, at all events,
that, but for some artificial hinder
ances, they could and would, always
and readily name by acclamation the
man of their choice
"This work can. indeed, be done,
either for the party primary or. to
my mind, preferably for the entire
electorate, by a self-constituted com
mittee or association of citizens. Its
value. however, steadily lessons when
we try to make it permanent; the
credit and influence of a committee
Of one hundred or a citizens associa-
Aion' decline rapidly after the exigency
=which led to its formation has passed;
it soon begins to show the vices in
herent in any political close corpora
ton, and, moreover, even in its best
days. it usually finds great difficulty in
providing satisfactory or even reput-
able candidates for minor Offices.
1T has been my purpose rather to
arouse thought and invite discussion
as to the problem l have presented
than to definitely suggest solution.
/ cannot say truthfully that l am al
together certain / have found solu-
ton satisfactory to my own mind; !
think it but right, however, to submit
some rather nebnlous thoughts look
ing towards possible solution. !
would have every voter appearing on
the registration lists to be affiliated
with the political party given a blank
slip when he receives his official bal
lot at a legal election; and required
to write in his own hand on this slip.
while he repares his ballot in the
booth. the name Of a leader for his
party in the city during the next year;
these slips would be put in a separate
ballot box provided for each party,
and publicly counted by the regular
officers of election. The person re-
receiving a plurality of the votes so