The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-02-03
FAIRFIELD
Mems Supper Address by Judge Perry The Direct Primary - Weddings to Come-A Runaway.

IA0IS Wdb QuAIO Ds AcSA 5S oN%AASA ~~Ao
 gentlemen at the Congregational
 church parlors last evening to listen
 to an address by Judge John H. Perry
 Before proceeding with his remarks
 Prof Swan of the Hargrove school
 gave a number of piano recitals which
 were much appreciated and eliclted
 abundant applause. He played the
 Minute Waltz by Chopin. which re-
 quires that 124 measures and l,l2S
 notes shall be executed inside a min
 ute. The next piece was a Military
 Polonaise in A, by Chopin. This was
 followed by a Military March by Schu-
 bert, and the final piece was selec-
 ton from the opera of Martha Rev.
 Dr. Child in introducing Judge Perry
 said all would be glad to learn about
 the direct primary, and any methods
 which would better the civic conol-
 tions of the country.
 The judge. in beginning his address,
 said he would warn the audience at
 the outset that it is no modern won
 der who walks. He spoke of having
 heard Perepa Rosa. and Brignol1 sing
 Martha" and then continued by say
 ing that he had had some practical
 experience in politics; that he began as chairman of the Republican Town committee and as town clerk He
 said there is no State where politics more devious than they are in Con- necticut. That was in the day before tho corrupt practices act was passed. Tn those days, the Republicans used to work to put the weakest Democratic candidate on the ticket, because he was the more easily beaten. The judge said he had had some expert- ence fin the inside working of politics.
 His belief, he added, was founded on experience. He became interested in the direct primary in 1905. He had heard of the direct primary as wise and statesmanlike. He introduced the first direct primary law in Hartford fin 1905. At the end of that session MT. Samuel Fessenden introduced a bill for the corrupt practices act and ported in 1907. The corrupt practice act was finally reported and now the commission is about to report again on the subject of the direct primary. This law first appeared in 1860 in Pennsylvania in Crawford county. a party affair and related to party of- fices. The principal was that every voter shall have as much to say about a nomination as an election. It work ed beautifully there, and the people of that county will never go back to the old system. The system has grad lrally but slowly spread through the ys fly took it up. It is optional with the people in, many States and they are not made to observe the system if they do not wish to. The law became ef- fective in Wisconsin in 1904 and is a Statewide nominating law. Two have the direct primary law. In some it is mandatory, in others permissive. One-half of the population of this country has the direct primary. New England and the Rocky Mountains are the fartherest behind. In some States the people practically nominate Uni ted States Senators, and in Oregon we have just seen a Republican Legisla- ture elect a Democratic Senator at the request of the people.
 Judge Perry then proceeded to tell what the direct primary law does and how 1t works. He told how a candi- dates name may be put upon the Q, blank square for the voter to mark with a. cross, taking his choice of the candidates. In some States there must be a certain per cent. of voters in favor of candidate before his name goes on the ticket. And the candidate must pay certain sum of money to help defray the expenses of the election. but in reality to keep the ticket from being overloaded with The ticket must be kept l within a reasonable limit. And at the | polls the voter must ask for the ticket | of his party, and all the ballots are , mbered, and so are all the voters, | and ticket once voted cannot be | used the second time.
 More of the machinery of the direct i primary was explained and the judge said the only wonder is it has taken | so long to get around to this way of | doing things. You can see that that | is the end of the supremacy of the machine. One of the things it is set to do nowadays is to determine the candidate for the position. If the machine is oiled by outside influences you see what the result is. Go to ,wo or three conventions and see who makes the nomina tions. This is not | representative government only so lar as it has to be representative. The idea of our government $ that one man shall have as much | voice as any other man in the govern nent. Each one of us shall have as much voice as any one else as to whom we shall vote for. The opposition to his proposed law comes from the po- itical managers. They say 1t is cost V. Running for office is not a poor Dan's pastime now. Pass law pro- ibfting the enormous election ex- outrageous expenses TOT
 -