United labor bulletin., 1910-01-28

tears shed on that side.
want to tell you, gentlemen, and
have been careful student of the sub
ject, that there are ten cases where the
drink habit is the result of poverty, ill
ness or domestic infelicity, to one where
drunkenness is their cause.
+ r r r -
Smoke La Exploridad the best on the
market.
DIRECT PRIMARIES SUCCESS IN
KANSAS.
| Very Desirable for the Farmers as Well
as Others.
The subject of direct nominations is
receiving good deal of space in the
farm and agricultural papers of the coun-
| try, all of them in favor of reforms in the
primary systems The national and state
oranges are working hard for this re-
| form. which is a pretty good argument
| against the plea that direct nominations
would work to the detriment of the small
| towns and rural communities. In a re-
| cent issue of the Rural New Yorker"
| one of the leading farm papers of the
Empire state, Mr.. Edwin Taylor of Wyan-
dotte Kan, has the following very inter-
| estng letter under the heading, Direct
Nominations in Kansas. Who Have Been
Stung?"
"As a brief statement of the working
of the primary election law in Kansas l
will say that my entire concern in politics
is that of most farmers, viz, a desire to
have good laws in the statute book and
good men in office. In both these partic-
ulars the primary election law is great
help New York may be too far away to
be interested in the story of how we
came to have that law. but it ought to be
interested in the way it works out For
New York, at this distance judging from
what its great dailies say of it, appears to
be under the joint control of its profess
sional politicians and it's political corpo-
rations. the same as Kansas used to be.
For many years they hunted together
here, dividing the spoils of the political
chase; one got the offices, the other got
free hand AT last came revolt that
carried into power reform legislature.
which gave us an anti-pass law, law re-
ducing railroad fares to two cents per
mile. and most important of all, pri-
mary election law. We have had oppor-
tunity to use that recent enactment in
but one campaign. 1t resulted in the
nomination of W. r. Stubbs for governor.
He was subsequently elected. think no
one would claim that Stubbs could have
secured that nomination in a convention
of his party (Republican). 1t also result
ed in the nomination of ]. L. Bristow for
United States senator subsequently
opposed by the machine" and the cor
porations, in a campaign that stirred the
state, and it was the farmers who brought
them safely through. The following
named are against the primary election
law: The underworld: the liquor inter
ests; machine politicians; the political
railroads, street car companies. water
works companies and the like; the politi-
cal banks and insurance companies; and
all the crowd who want to buy or sell
votes. ! repeat that all of these are
against direct nominations, but don't at
all mean that they comprise all the oppo
sition. There are many good men on that
side who fear the growing strength of
democracy, and who dread every exten-
sion of the franchise. The invention of
gunpowder put big men and little men on
an equal in battle-one could pull a trig-
ger as well as another The primary cleo
tion law puts big and little on an equality
poltically-each voter has an equal voice
in the selection of candidates Farmers,
mechanics. business and professional
men, clerks and day laborers, are not Gin
politics. as the phrase goes, and when it
comes to making nominations under the
old system, they are no match for the
professionals of the state house and the
various courthouse and city hall rings"
but they all get square deal alike when
they make their nominations in the Sc
crecy of the voting booth. Under the
new system there is no caucus with it's
tricks and trades to battle the politically
unskilled, no delegates to sell them out,
no buffer of any sort to stand between
them and the expression of their desires
at the polls. There has been mention in
the papers of a committee sent to Kansas
from New York to examine into the work
ing of our primary election law. 1 have
wondered who it is that that committee
represents? If it represents Interests"
that find it convenient or even necessary
to have power lodged in the hands of a
few; or if it represents a political ele-
ment that seeks safety in befogging local
and personal considerations with the
smoke of national issues, then look out
for report that Kansas has been 'stung.'
But don't believe it. The interests and
the machine have been stung, but the
cause of good government in Kansas has
been helped