Omaha daily bee., 1910-12-18
Primary Law Changes.

feature Of the primary, indicted on us
by the last democratic legislature, will
be repealed and a return made to the
closed primary, much as it previously
prevailed, is also taken for granted,
our experience with the open primary
being such as to disgust one and all
with its vicious shortcomings. Other
changes will apparently depend on
whether the purpose of the legislature
shall be to enlarge or to limit the APP
plicatiou of the direct nomination
principle.
One OF our United States senators,
chosen to enact federal laws, has given
out at Washington a statement, in
tended to instruct the state law
makers in their duties, advocating ex-
tension Of the primary to include dele
gates to national conventions, men,
bers of national committees and
preferential expression on president
and vice president. The senator is
evidently imbued with the idea that
Nebraska should emulate oregon still
further by Incorporating into our pri-
mary law the features recently en-
grated on the Oregon primary law
with reference to this subject, al
though he evidently has not read the
Oregon primary law or given the ques-
ton any serious study in its practical
details.
SO far as the election of the national
committeeman for the respective polit-
ical parties is concerned there is no
controlling reason for or against the
submission of candidates to statewide
primary elections. OF the present re-
publican national committee one mem
Der, representing South Dakota, was
so chosen, and in the last republican
national convention delegates from
Wisconsin, and possibly from one or
two other states, were chosen by direct
primary vote. Whether this method
Of selection has any superior qualities
over the older method of selection by
representative conventions has not yet
been demonstrated. theoretically
there is no more reason or less reason
why the national committeeman
should be chosen by direct primary
than should the state chairman be so
chosen, the congressional chairman
and the members of state, congress
sional, county and local committees
In fact, II the representative principle
is to be abandoned and the direct Sc
lection principle adopted for party
councils, the same reason would re-
quire the election by direct primary
of every member of the party organi-
zation from precinct committeeman to
state chairman, and even national
chairman.
Passing by that subject, the pro-
posed preferential vote within the
state on president and vice president
must be ineffective and futile unless
all other states cooperate by the
adoption of the same plan. For one
or two or three states to take a straw
vote on presidential aud vice presiden-
tial candidates fled by petition, with
or without their consent, would
have about as much effect as
would a similar proceeding for the
nomination of governor II three or
four counties in Nebraska had a direct
primary and all the rest of the state
retained delegate conventions. The
Oregon plan has still other unworka-
BILE features, which, however, could be
obviated. But the sum and substance
of It is that every fourth year the peo-
pie are required to hold two state
wide primary elections at public ex-
pense, one for choosing delegates to
national conventions and the other for
nominating candidates for state and
local offices, the one in the early spring
and the other in midsummer. All
this was figured over when Nebraska &
original statewide primary law was
framed and adopted, and the national
convention delegates were expressly
exempted from its provisions to avoid
the unnecessary expense and the seri.
Gus complications involved.
Here in Nebraska our direct pri.
mary has been so severely tested that
many people formerly its ardent advo.
Gates have become lukewarm about it
Some OF them have been convinced
that for the nomination of state ON,
GERS and preference as between candi,
dates who can be we'll known only In
their own localities and must there.
fore be almost unknown to the large
body OF voters, it has not proved g
signal success. No one seems to OBJ.
ject to the direct primary il restricted
to party membership for the choice OF
local candidates and selection of con
vention delegates, and possibly pre-
cinot committeeman. No one want,
to give up the law-regulated primary
conducted by regular election oficer,
for all political parties on the sam,
day and at the same place. The re
vival OF convention nominations fol-