Arizona republican., 1910-07-07
Il Takes Right Kind of People
 To Make t Work
SAYS EDITOR ROOSEVELT
But It Is His Conclusion That It Is Worth Trying In New York, At Least, In An Experimental Sort of a Way

New York, July G.-Former Presi-
 dent Roosevelt deals with Governor
 Hughes, the New York legislature and
 article in the current number of The ! Outlook
 Mir Roosevelt writes as follows: T
 believe that Governor Hughes has
 wisest and most disinterested people
 as regards most of his measures and
 positions, and I think that this has
 been markedly the case as regards
 primary nominations.
 "I know that many honest and sin
 cere men are on principle opposed to
 Governor Hughes on this point, and | l know also that the proposed re- form will very possibly accomplish 1 less than it's extreme advocates expect And l am well aware, as, of course. all thinking men must be, that the worth
 of any such measure in the last re- sort depends upon the character of the voters and that no patent device will ever secure good government un- til the people themselves devote suf- ficient energy, time and judgment to make the-device work
 Finally. we freely admit that here and there, where the principle of d- rect nominations has been applied in
 too crude shape or wrong headedIy. it has. while abolishing certain evils produced or accentuated othcrs-in certain cases. for instance, putting premium upon lavish expenditure of money.
 But while we freely admit all this. nevertheless, we feel in the first place that on the fundamental issue of di- rect primary nominations the gover- nor IS right, and in the second place that the measure finally came up for action in the state legislature well nigh free from all objections save those of the men who object to it because they are fundamentally op- posed to any change whatever in the desired direction
 he bill provided only for direct popular action in primaries in rela- lively small geographical and political communities. thereby making the ex- pertinent first where there was least liability of serious objection and avoiding or deferring the task of dealing with those big communities where the difficulties and dangers to be oyer come would be the greatest. Those who balieya h, tboir ., ,otf.,,, that they have definitely checked the movement for direct popular prima- ries are. in my judgment. mistaken. In it's essence, this movement is to make government more democratic. more responsive to the needs and wishes of the people as a whole. With our political machinery. it is es sential to have an efficient party. but the machinery ought to be suited to democratic, not oligarchic customs and habits.
 The question whether in self governing republic we shah have self governing parties is larger than the particular bill. We hold that the right of popular self government is incomplete unless it includes the right of voters not merely to choose be- tween candidates when they have been nominated, but also the right to deterimne who these candidates shall be. Under our system of party government, therefore. voters should be guaranteed the right to determine. with an interest in the ranks of their respective organizations, who the can didates of the parties will be. no less than the right to choose between the candidates when the candidates are presented to them
 There is no desire to break down the responsibility of party organiza- ton under duly constituted party leadership. but there is a desire to make this responsibility real and give the members of the party the right to | say whom they desire to eXecuta this leadership. In New York state. no small part of the strength of the movement has come from the popular l conviction that many of the men most prominent in party leadership tend at times to forget that in a democracy the function of political leadership is 1 that they must only nominally lead. but not be driven. Men who com | pose the great bulk of the community wish to govern ourselves. We welcome leadership. but we wish our leaders to 1 understand that they derive their 1 strength from us. and that. although we look to them for guidance, we eX- pect this guidance to be in accord l ance with our interests and our ideals"