The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-10-11
SUGGESTS A MEANS
OF HOLDING PRIMARY

Editor Pensacola Journal.
AS citizen and voter Of Florida,
we are interested in the query as to
now the successor to Hon. J. P. Talia-
ferro, or our late lamented N. B. Brow
ard. is to be recommended to the
legislature. Up to the present time
four candidates for that nomination
have said they would make the con-
test and it is likely there will be more.
A conservative estimate as to the
amount of money necessary to hold a
primary, places the figures at about
sl2,0O0.00. This divided equally among
the already announced candidates will
cause an expenditure of 100000 each
to begin with. 1t is known over Flor
ida that the chief obstacle to the direct
primary is the great amount of cash
that must be expended to place your
name before the electors-thus shut
ting out many good men of moderate
means who are as to all other
requisites qualified. If such state of
facts had existed in South Carolina
and Kentucky in the middle of the past
century Calhoun and Clay would not
be known today outside of the states
they represented. How many other
noted statesmen could you name who
would now be unknown to fame had it
taken thousands to place their names
before the people?
Every voter of our state ought to be
willing to serve as an Inspector or
clerk without pay. 1t used to be that
way. The old Confederate soldier
served for four and five long years for
his state for less than nothing and
furnished his horse. if he were so for
tunate as to be in the cavalry. left his
family to starve almost-that is
patriotism, yet we find that men have
to be hired to do little work that is
everybody's business. This position
must be filled at the next legislature.
There has not been a time since the
war that we should select with more
care than we must now. The state
executive committee meets in Jackson
vile at least three times during an
election year and they pay their fares.
hotel bills and expenses without one
cent from candidates. Some of them
go several hundred miles and lose
from two to three days. Yet, there
are county executive committees that
vote themselves 81 per day and mile
age, and the inspectors also are given
81 per day and the man who goes to
carry the ballot box fhe would go any
also Any voter who has an interest
in the future of Florida ought to have
patriotism enough to serve in these
positions without pay, and especially
IN an instance like the one that CON
fronts us at present. IN nine cases
out OF ten the ones who do perform
this service would do so equally we'll
without pay, If he would not he should
ne consigned to place where he
would not have any duty Of the people
TO perform. Substitutes are and can
always be supplied at elections-no
one is ever compelled TO serve and
therefore he should not expect pay. If
the writer were allowed to make or
choose the method of presenting the
next man to the legislature, he would
ask that the state executive committee
call primary election and request
the county executive committees to ap-
point the same inspectors that served
IN me last primary stating that they
would be expected to serve without
pay and also stating that if there
should be any one who did not care
10 serve to notify the chairman Of the
county committee and the chairman
could be clothed with authority to ap-
point another and if he failed to do so,
tney could be supplied as they usually
are on election day. this would give
the present candidates non-partisan in
spectors. The only correct and ap-
proved way to recommend candidate
70 the legislature Is by a direct pri-
mary It Is still fresh in the memory
or US, recollections of the Chipley-Call
hsht, where over Jealous friends