The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-09-26

FeIOLIT !C.Al.
n news AND M07E5

|
Valley city Times Record: For
months before the late primary cleo
ton the writer through his editorial
connection with his paper and The
La Moure Chronicle, strenuousIy and
persistently opposed the reelection of
either Senator McCumber or Con-
gresham Hanna. Every possible eff
fort was made to convince the re-
publicans of the state that their in
terests 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 June 20 had a different opinion
| about the matter. They in
structed the legislature to renew SEN
ator McCumber's certificate of cleo
ton and they gave Congressman Han
ma 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 a 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 factional contest ended alb
solutely, both politically and morally,
when the polls were closed on the
/ 29th of last June? Is there a progress
sive republican in this state sa con-
| temptible that he would ask a republi-
| can member Of the legislature to vio-
| late his solemn obligation to sup
| 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
| sive republican in this state so con-
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
|
| Purcell instead of Mr. McCumiber.
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, Mostly democrats
| cerned, however noisily democrats
heads off"
In short, we may as we'll recognize
the fact first as last that the pri-
mary election is not a contest between
| parties-nothing Of the kind. So far
as fractional 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
| to render judgment it is their own
| fault, and there is nothing for 1t 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
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,
representing widely diverging ideas
as to policies, aims methods-the en-
tire scope OF political economy.
Bismarck Tribune Our good friend
| The Grand Forks Herald (democratic),
continues to argue that the interests
of the state will be best served by the
| election of a democratic governor We
cannot agree with The Herald, and we
feel certain the majority of the people
of the state will fail to agree with that
contention. The Herald would have us
believe that the election OF a demo-
cratic governor is not political mat
ter, but we feel sure that when the
political events of the past four years
| are analysed, it will be seen that it is
| distinctly a political matter. We now
have in the United States senate a
democrat, where the state of North
Dakota is entitled, BIZ virtue of its po-
litical majority, to have republican.
And 1t is not new tangled, reform,
progressive democrat that we have in
the senate, who might be argued to be
almost an insurgent republican. 1t is
an old time, stalwart bourbon demo-
crat. not at all in accord with the
vivid declarations of the democratic
platform conservative, democrat
who takes no stock whatever, we
think, in the protests Of the democrat
ic party against trusts, against cor
porations, against predatory interests
That is the kind of a democrat we
have, and he is a very clever. kindly
gentleman personally. but not at all
up to the democratic handhills for
this campaign Here is one instance,
in which the election of a democratic
executive proved a distinctly political
matter.
The boards that control the various
institutions of the state are either
| democratic or will be If democrat
should be elected again this fall The
members of these boards named by
the democratic administration will be
workers for further democratic con-
troll Of the state. The appointive Of
ficers Of the administration that carry
salary and emoluments are demo-