The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1910-06-24
AN APPEAL TO DELEGATES,
Judge y. w. Gibson Urges Declare
,ioa I'm Favor Of Direct Primaries.

/ after organization viii DO the aaoP
tion Of d platform which will declare
In favor Of those policies the party
believes should finally become laws
what the party stands for IN Inc way
IL the solution OF problems which eoh'
Germ the people OF this state. Ine
adoption Is the most important w"tA
OF the convention, 10 matters hot 30
much who are nominated rs candidates
for governor OF lieutenant. governor, as
ID does what the party stands sof, ana
which Il, as a whole, honestly repre-
srnis,
The personal ambitions Of no man
should stand In the way Of n deelara,,
ton in favor Of the right solution OF
public questions. There Is no excuse
for the existence Of political party,
unless that party stands Tor progress
in the affairs Of governments and men;
The republican party has ever stood
DOR progress and the right solution
Of all problcms, aud IL must NJ stand
in the coming campaign. The failures
~ the last session Of the legislature
have left sting which can only DC
cured by sincere desire and an non,
Get purpose 20 enact such laws as VIII
remedy existing evils.
rnc selection Of candidates for pno'
lie Office by the caucus and convention
system il one Of the most serious evils
in the body polite with which we have
10 contend. because through II We are
prevented from enjoying a government
Of and by the people, and are com,
PEELED 90 submit 10 government OF
and by the political manipulation.
You delegates who have been elect.
ed 10 represent the republicans OF
your town or city in the state
convention know how many OF the
voters Of our party actually attended
the caucus and had a real voice in the
selection Of YOU as delegates. You
know how many had 10 do with the
framng.up Of the situation, and the
naming Of the delegates. In the, coun'
" Of Windhan, after spirited cam
paign by three candidates, after weeks
Of work and personal solicitation on
the part Of the candidates by letters
and by personal interviews and work
Of travelling representatives., less than
rs per cent Of the votes of our party
attended and can be truly said 10 have
had any voice at all in the selection OF
the candidate for governor. Yet the
candidates YOU nominate, you who have
been named as delegates by less than
one.sixih of the members of our party.
will be elected in September, and II
therefore follows that at Me most less
than one-sixth of the voters OF one
political party actually name our state
officials. An elitorial writer has claim
ed that the Indiana primary election
law is failure because only 30 per
cent of the voters attended the last
primary election. II is a failure when |
only 80 per cent attend. what will that
writer say as TO the merits of sys- |
tenn upon which less than 10 per cent
attend. Was there ever "A time in the |
memory of the present generation when /
anywhere near 30 per cent of the |
voters attended the eaucuses in this
state!
In nearly every town in this county |
the delegates were actually named by |
less than half n dozen men; the dele
gates of the two largest towns of the
representing a voting strength
of about 5000 republicans We're ac-
tually named by less than n dozen men,
whose selection was ratified at eaueuses
bv only II per cent of the voting
strength of the party in those towns,
and this. after strenuous work on the
part of the candidates. In fact, in
a voting strength of over 5000, not
over 80 men had to do with the act
nal naming of the delegates and the
he county. What is true of Windham
county. | venture TO say. is true of all
he counties of the state. Do you call
hat rule of the peoplc'
What is the reason for this mat
tendance at the caucus, and the dan
,erous apathy on the part of the yotersi
L is because the ordinary voter has
seen im-fammed so many times in
caucus manipulation. because he has ,
ome to understand that he who has no
ime to give to politics, is no match in
he game with the one who makes that
lis business He is shackled by ex-
sting conditions created for that pur-
,ose Is it not time to strike those
hackles from him and place them ON s
he other fellow-the poltician2 {
The convention in which we will sit {
epresents the voice of less than TO-,
90 of the republican voters. of this
tate at the most, and in fact, less \
han 1000 voters when we consider :
hose who actually manipulated the
aucuses. The representatives of the
Ell thousand at the most, or the one
thousand actually, will sit in the con- !
ention and name the executive officers '
or the 100000 people of the state. |
Take an illustration of the actual +
-orking out of the caucus system: in
ne county of Chittenden there was d
ontest over a senator ship. Two of j
he candidates resided in the city of q
arlington and set of delegates all b
ivorable to one candidate were elect s
L. Burlington is also the home of =
lndidates for Judge of probate and
,ate's attorney. No attention what
yer. was paid to them in the caucus. :
he vote of the delegates in the county
invention as to the judge of probate N
I'D the states attorney will be simply 4
lpressive of their own choice with
1T regard to what the people of the =,
ty of Burlington actually want, and "
e action of the convention as to tile "
will be taken without re- Is
nd to what the people of the city of
arlington actually want, and the ac- =;
On of the convention as to the SEN "
orship will be taken without regard b
the actual wishes Of the republicans
tside of the city of Burlington. W
Again. the. caucuses recently held az
the fact that the man who H
s no money to perfect an organiza- {
IN and to push his campaign, and r,
lploy men in all parts of the state ir
advance his interests, doesn t stand A
even show for the governorship
tn the man who has. Therefore the w
ucus system tends to a rule of the oe
W. and to the domination of the man e. e.
wealth. and to the Encouragement -
the able and deserving citizen who =
es not have the money to perfect an D'
and to advance his per- an
nal ambition. 10y
say this without any desire to char
terize the passing campaign, or the A.
1duct of any candidate, but simply Br
call your attention to the fact as We
veloped by the campaign. =
What will be substituted for the
ssent system9 Let the republican
tie convention adopt plan in its -
tform in favor of the nomination of
ldidates for public office by the th.