Los Angeles herald., 1910-09-18
A STANDPATTER'S CON-
FESSION

~ OANGiNEoHN1AN I1If-NiNA bAAANAe-
MAN BOUTELL has by his
~ devotion to the things for which
Mr. Aldrich and Mr.. Cannon stand
written himself down as a standpatter
of the most extreme character.
BY a majority of nearly one thousand
votes Mr.. Boutelrs constituents at the
primary election recently held in 1lli-
nois invited him to stay at home for
the next two years, and nominated for
his place in congress a candidate who
proclaims himself q Progressive Re-
publican"
Mr.. BouteH has announced that he
purposes to run independently, and this
is what he says about the primary
election at which he was defeated and
about the people who have heretofore
as his constituents selected him to rep
resent them for several terms in con-
gress. but who did not continue to do
so because they could not stand Mr.
Boutell's devotion to 'the interests"
and his neglect of the real interests
of his constituents. According to the
Associated Press, Mr.. BoutelI says:
IT will run independently and beat
my rivals on the simple principles of
responsible, representative government
I PLACE NO RELIANCE IN DIRECT
PRIMARIES. In my district fewer than
one-third of the Republican voters
went to the polls. PURE DEMOCRACY
ALWAYS HAS BEEN A FAILURE.
THE INITIATIVE AND REFEREN-
DUN DIRECT VOTES FOR SEN
ATORS-THESE ARE VAGARIES.
The idea of one hundred million people
trying to legislate on subjects THEY
INDIVIDUALLY DO NOT UNDER
STAND"
That utterance from Mr.. Boutell ex-
presses about as clearly as it is pos
sible for human language to do it the
attitude of the Republican standpatter,
the champion of the interests, the man
who votes to take something from
every citizen in the form of a tariff
tax to swell private fortunes already
overgrown. They say in effect that the
people "individualy do not under
stand" government, and therefore are
not to be trusted to select their rep
resentatives in the state and national
legislatures. That they may not select
their representatives we must deny
them the direct primary and keep in
effect the old convention system
through and by which a few bosses
name the candidates to be voted for
by the people as their official repre-
sentatives in running the government.
Mr.. Barnes, the boss of the disrepu-
table Republican machine in New
York, whose corrupt alliance with big
business has brought all sorts of dis
credit and disgrace upon the Repub-
lican party in that state, expresses
himself about as does Mr.. Boutell in
giving his reasons for fighting Gov
ernor Hughes direct primary bill
It is we'll that some OF these men
who are afraid to risk the people shall
once in a while tell the truth, so that
we may know exactly their attitude
toward the voters whom they would
have keep them in office as their rep
resentatives.
We venture that if Mr.. Boutell car
ries out his expressed determination to
run independently for congress he Will
find that the people of his district,
whose intelligence he announces he
cannot trust to decide upon govern
mental matters in which they are most
vitality interested, will at least show in
telligence enough to again vote as they
did in the primaries, and that is, to-
refuse to again trust as their repre-
sentative a man who has so shame
fully betrayed his trust as did Mr..
Boutell and his fellow standpatters in
the last two congresses.