The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1910-10-05
A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT.

more or less alike. You and l have a
right to form political party ii we
wish. If others wish to join us that
is their business. We have a right
to subscribe to any set of principles
for which we wish to declare so long
as they are not reasonable. The
party is not a corporation. 1t does
business under no special authorize.
ton except the general authorization
of free speech, free press, free
ballot and fair count. This being
the case, if you and have the right
to get up little political party of our
own, we do not see why we have noe
the right to manage the affair in our
own way. The primary law says in
effect that unless private association
of individuals adopts certain pre-
scribed methods, unless it holds its
conventions on a certain day, unless
| it dominates it's candidates in GER
tain manner, it shall be denied the
right of a free ballot. We believe the
party management is party affair.
If you and get up our little political
party we believe we have the right
to go about it as we please, govern
ourselves as we wish to be governed
and that it is no more the right of the
state or the nation to interfere than
it is the right of our legislators to de-
eide how the Methodists should man.
age their affairs or the Presbyterians
should manage theirs. II the pri-
mary is adopted it should be by po-
litical parties and not by legislatures.
If the republicans wish to adopt the
primary system we believe they have
that right under the constitution and
that that right carries with it the
right to adopt such regulations as
they see fit. We do not believe the |
republicans have the right to force
the democrats to adopt the primary |
or any other system unless they see
fit. We do not believe the state has
right to interfere with the regula-
ton of any political party which is
nothing more or less than an associa-
ton of individuals having opin-
ions in common. States and the
nation have the undoubted right to
control elections. That is their prov
ince They have right to say that
the state shall not be put to the ex-
pense of printing names upon bal
lot unless it be proven that reason
able number of people have expressed |
their desire to have them printed, but
as to the minute details we believe
it is none of the states business.
This is perhaps new viz, to take
of laws attempting to dictate party |
affairs, nevertheless we believe it is
the right one. We believe the con-
stitution contemplates giving the peo-
pie the widest possible latitude in po-
litical affairs. The constitution in no
wise recognizes the existence of par
ties. We believe that if the repubii-
cans of Denison wished to leave the |
nomination of city officials to COM
mittee of men or to one man alone |
they have the moral and the consti-
tutional right to do so and that no law
should be so framed as to deprive
them of free and equal right to vote
for such nominees. This is not an
argument either for or against the pri-
mary it is simply our statement of
the belief that the state has no con-
stitutional right to interfere with |
party or individual management of po-
litical affairs. Suppose party were
formed based on the opposition to the |
primary system. Would it be COM
patible with our ideas of free govern
ment to force that party to use the
primary? The party and the party
alone has right to say who belongs
to it. Just as the Methodist church |
has the right to say who are it's mem
bers. The party and the party alone
has the right to regulate it's own af
fairs. If the republicans of Iowa
wish to adopt a primary system well
and good. The party can do what it |
pleases. 1t can say who is repub-
lican and who is not, it can prescribe
it's own regulations as to who shall
have voice in it's councils. Any at
tempt to ''legalize" party or the
acts of a party is restrictive of the |
freedom of the ballot guaranteed by |
the constitution. To reiterate we be- |
lieve that any of us have right to
form any sort of a political party and |
to manage our party in our own way |
and that it is the business of the gov
eminent to afford us every opportun-
ity thus to express ourselves at the
polls.
We must say that we have SYM
n,+hv with tho "old o,Iar d" in New