The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1911-06-08
Where the Blame Lies.

ASAO NAAC nNlLIC
Who was 1t that tried to defer
action on and in fact to Kill pri-
mary election legislation? No one
can truthfully say It was the gov
ernor. All know better than that.
Was 1T the fifteen Republican state
senators and one or two Democratic
state senators? Everyone &C
quainted with the course OF the ff-
teen Republicans and the Democrat
or two knows 1t was not they?
Did the great majority OF the Re-
publicans in the House Of Delegates
and five or six Democratic members
try to prevent such legislation?
They did not.
Who then are the guilty ones?
First, the Democratic state machine
is among the guilty, and, next the
machines h!relings and serfs in the
legislature are guilty. There is no
mistaking these two well known and
fully established facts.
Review the action of the Demo-
cratic machine part of the legisla-
ture and you will be more than
ever convinced. The first resolution
in the House to the effect that it
was the sense of the House that it
proceed to the enactment of a pri-
mary election law was defeated by
state Democratic legislators. The
House became afraid OF its own
judiciary committee, whose duty it
was to frame a primary election
bill, and it Immediately pro
vided for a larger and more cum
bersome committee and the Demo-
cratic speaker was careful to put
twice as many ant!-primary election
members on the committee as he
did members favorlng such leglsla-
ito That was another step in dis
regarding the will of the people.
But neither one OF these steps de-
tered the fifteen Republican sena-
tors and one or two Democratic
senators from proceeding along the
line of legIslating primary election
law The work of these senators
progressed to the extent OF causing
more determined effort than ever
on the part of the Democratic
House to take another step to stop
the work of the those state senators
and to put to sleep soundly the
movement for primary election leg
islation. That step was the adop-
ton of the Gilkeson resolution by
the House to raise a committee OF
five members to frame an act on
primary election legislation and re-
port the same to the legislature in
1913. The Democratic House and
the subsidized press of the Demo-
cratic state machine gave as their
reason for the creation OF such
committee that fair and honest
primary election bill could not be
drawn at an extra session. The
Senate refused to concur in any of
the actions of the House mentioned
herein, and the Democratic House
found itself strictly up against the
real thing. With quick somer-
sault the House introduced the
'French-Dice bill with the fatal
referendum clause in it and the
Democratic state machine press i'm
med!ately turned turtle and yelled
vociferously that it was a great hill
and would make a good and wise
law. Here, again, the Democratic
legislature under the lash Of the
state machine confessed It's opposi-
tion to primary legislation, but to
deceive the people, If possible, it
drafted bill and inserted a clause
that would stay the action of the
people on two OF the most important
features and it also embodied
clauses to deprive a large number
OF honest citizens of their votes.
This done, the Democratic House
thought it had the bull by the
horns, but the Senate proceeded to
modify the Democratic bill SO as to
make it honest and operative at
once. No sooner had the House as
certained this fact than It hurrledly
adjourned sine die without the
slightest regard whatever for the
will OF the upper body or the people
OF the state and thus forced the SEN