The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-11-22
Each County is
Itself RESPONSIBLE.

The responsibility of each individual
county in the matter OF coming into
the senatorial primary seems to now
be generally established and accepted.
on this subject the Miami Metropo-
lis says: =.
The Pensacola Journal makes an
emphatic strike when 1t says that any
county committee in Florida falling to
provide for the senatorial primaries
as decided upon by the state commit
tee will simply forfeit the right of that
county to participate in the selection
of the senator.
This is in brief just what it means
no more, no less. 1t cannot be
foresecn what the effect would be IL
some of the counties held the primary
election and others did not. but 1t Is
certain that most Of the counties will
hold the election ana 1t Is probable
that all of them will.
There is no likelihood. as The Jour.
nal says. that there will be any addi-
tiona entries for the senatorship.
The choice will be made from the can
didates now in the rate, and some
way can be found in every county to
hold the primaries in legal fashion, so
that the voters shall have the oppor.
tunny Of expressing their choice.
The burden now rests upon the
county committees and they must
provide ways and means. 1t IS a pa
triotic duty
The Tampa Times also discusses
the matter to similar effect as fol-
lows:
Il begins to look more and more
certain that the call for state pri.
marics on the 10th and 31st OF Janu-
sry will be responded to by suf!.
cient number of county committees
and voters to give the semblance cer-
tainly. and probably the substance,
OF validity. The only thing absolute
ly necessary to the validity of pri-
mary is that it shall evidently en-
press the will of the voters. It Is
plausibly argued that the voters must
hold this primary themselves. No
body can hold IL for them. And it
follows that an equal and fair oppor-
tunity having been afforded to all the
voters of the state, those who do not
hold IL pass into the class of those
who do not vote when 1t is held. The
state committee seems to be justified
that its duty is ended when it pro-
vides that the voters may exercise the
right of primary under auspices that
establish it's regularity. After the
event IL will doubtless hold that those
who shall have participated and given
expression to their will are entitled to
have that expression recorded and fol
lowed by the legislature.
1t would require very skillful Argyll
ment to overthrow this reasoning. and
IL would seem to be up to the voters
TO hold the primary. The task of the
various county committees Is to pro-
vide the facilities for the casting of
the ballots, the counting and return
ing of the same. There ought to be
enough interest among the friends of
the leading candidates to insure the
presence Of election boards at each
voting place-for out of the issue of
this primary will come the senator to
be elected. Unless the primary shall
he u complete breakdown and failure
there will he a respectable number of
votes east. The man getting the
largest number, the customary major.
ity, will BE- elected by the legislature,
and It seems that henceforth it is a
mere matter of choice with the voters
whether they will participate or stay
out and default Default will be for
themselves only. The men who do
vote will pronounce and their voice
will go. We might as we'll all so in
and have our sayso.
In another column is printed under
The head. "Auent the Primary an
article from The Pensacola Journal on
the subject which seems to put al
rest any doubts as TO the holding OF
the election. Anything worth doins
ut all Is worth doing right.
AS 1t seems 20 be generally under
stood now that every county must
stand on It's own bottom in this mat
ter, IL would be interesting to know
what IL any counties have signified q
disposition to stay out.