Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1910-09-24
A SOUND VIEW OF PARTY Oell'
CATION.


Col. Bloom, like other democratl
:, newspapers in the state, "oulo U
pleased to see the "insurgent
progressive" republicans go over L
the democrats. The reason for thl
is evident the Journal wants to SCI
democracy perpetuated in the stat
and the way opened for many hungr'
democrats to get into office. Conse
ouently, it is the aim OF the Journai u
approve the course of the Grand Forks
Herald idemocratic). and justify IN
surgents or progressives in abandon
ing their party affiliations because
they may have been disappointed II
some of the results of the primary
Nothing could be more destructive o.
party organization than this doctrine
and the earnestness with which the
democrats are urging it ought to De
enough to warn republicans OF what
ever faction against it.
Editor Taylor Of the Valley CITY
Times.Record disposes of Blooms ar
guments in a recent vigorous and
) sound editorial, when he says:
For months before the late primary
election the writer. through his edl'
torial connection with this paper and
the LaMoure Chronicle, strenuously
and peristently opposed the re'elec-
ton of either Senator McCumber or
CONGRESSMAN Hanna. Every possible
effort was made to convince the re-
publicans of the state that their inter-
ests and the general welfare would
| be best subserved by retiring these
men from official life and electing IN
their stead the progressive candidates
who opposed them. But majority OF
the republicans who went to the polls
on the 10Th of June had a different
opinion about the matter. They IN
structed the legislature to renew Sen
ator McCumber's certificate of elec'
ton and they gave Congressman Han
ma a tremendous majority. And yet
the Journal, with incredible effront-
cry, asks the editor of this paper, who
was himself candidate for office in
the primary election as member OF
the same party to which McCumber
and Hanna belong, why he is sup
porting them!
Doesn't the Journal know that so
far as Senator McCumber is con-
cerned the fractional contest ended alb
solutely, both politically and morally,
when the polls were closed on the
18th of last June? Is there progress
sive republican IN this state so con-
temptible that he would ask republi-
can member Of the legislature to vio-
late his solemn obligation to support
the candidate for United States SEN
ator who received the highest vote IN
the primary election? Didn't Marshall
and Gronna. the insurgent candidates,
specifically promise to abide by that
result? We are not supporting" Nc
Cumber. because there is no need to
support him. We fought him as hard
as we could and were licked. The
only way We could fight McCumber
now would be to try to elect demo-
cratic legislative candidates who
would vote for McCumber's neighbor
and opponent, Mr.. Purcell. There are
several good reasons why we would
not attempt anything of that sort, Mr..
Purcell himself being one of them.
Nothing could be gained and much
lost, we believe. by the election of Mr..
Purcell instead of Mr.. McCumber.
The same unassailable logic applies
in the case of Mr.. Hanna. This paper,
in common with many other insurgent
papers. opposed him before the pri-
maries. But he won. and by a ire
mendous plurality That settled the
matter so far as republicans are con-
cerned. however noisily democrats
like Editor Bloom may 'hollar their
heads off"
In short. we may as we'll recognize
the fact first as last that the pri-
mary election is not contest between
parties-nothing of the kind. So far
as factional disputes and differences
of opinion are concerned, the primary
election affords an opportunity for the
mass of voters in the party to say
which faction is right and which is
wrong. If the voters fail or neglect
W IcuucI JuOSulcul H. Is IuclI OWu
fault, and there is nothing for it but
to wait another primary election. The
republican party cannot be reformed
by electing democrats to office, nor
would the general interests of the
country be benefited by their election.
The democratic party stands in quite
as great need of reformation as does
the republican party. What is most
needed is the education of the whole
people in the matter of civic duties;
in arousing in the electorate a genu-
inc interest and personal concern in
the affairs of government.
But it should be steadily borne in
mind that the issues involved in a
primary election are quite distinct
from those involved in a general cleo
ton. In the first instance the differ
ences, if any, are factional; in the
second instance they are fundamental
widely diverging ideas
as to policies, aims, methods-the en-
tire scope of political economy.