The Topeka state journal., 1911-08-30
STILL PLAYING ..FREEzE-oUT.'

STILL PLAYING ssETSEEsXE-OGI.''
primary is to be held after all in
the Second Congressional district to
nominate a Republican candidate for
the vacancy in the house oe represen-
tatiyes created by the death of Alex
ander Mitchell. However, the mem
bers of the Republican committee of
that district who flew in the face of
public sentim ent and decency in decid-
ing frst-hand that there was not to be
primary, have had the temerity to
lacquiesce in a way that will prohibit
anything like a free-for-au primary
contest. They have placed a financial
barrier in the way of many candidates
entering the contest. They have re-
scinded their action against a primary
in a roundabout fashion only to play
another game of ''freeze-out' against
prospective candidates for this honor
Think of it. In their majesty of
power the members of this committee
have decreed that candidates who
wish to enter this contest must each
put up an entrance fee of $4,000 to
pay the expenses of the primary.
Could any action be more arbitrarily
outrageous? 1t may be that each man
who had heretofore announced his
candidacy for this nomination is finan-
-cially able to pay an entrance fee of
this size. But that is beside the point.
The candidates for this nomination
under the exigencies of the situation
must needs pay the expenses of the
primary They should not be COM
PEELED to pay a cent more. as they
would have quite extensive primary
campaign expenses to pay, and the
successful one would have his regular
election campaign expenses to meet
Taking these things into consideration,
the entrance fee demanded by the
committee becomes almost prohibitive.
That's what the committee evidently
intended it to be.
Surely the members of the commit
tee do not pretend that if three or
four candidates were willing to part
with any such sum of money for the
mere chance of winning such a nomi- |
nation, the $4,000 or $4,000 that
would come into their possession
would be needed to meet the expenses !
of the primary. Such a pretension
would be ridiculous AS a matter of
fact the primary ought not to cost as
much as $4,000, the entrance assess |
ment of one candidate. A special con-
gressionaI primary that was held in
the First Congressional district in the
late spring of 1907 to nominate can
didate for the vacancy in the house of
representatives created by the eleva-
ton of Charles Curtis to the United
States senate did not cost any such
sum. Practically speaking, Dan An
thony was the only man who an
nounced his candidacy for the nomina-
ton at this special primary And be
cause there was only one candidate
in the field the Republican committee !
of the First Congressional district
placed the entrance fee at $1,000.
The expenses of the primary cost a
few hundred dollars more than that
and the total expense of it was borne
by Mr.. Anthony If there had been a |
half dozen candidates in the field at
that primary. the actual expense of |
the primary would not have been |
much larger than it was, for the same |
election machinery was needed to hold |
the primary for practically a single |
candidate as would have been had |
there been many candidates And a |
gentleman who was member of the
First District Republican committee |
at that time stated To-Day that II there |
had been number of candidates in |
the race the entrance assessment /
would not have been placed at $1,000, |
but the cost of the primary would have |
been figured out, and the entrance
fee would have been a pro rata figure |
as to the number of candidates.
That's the only reputable course
that should have been pursued by the
Republican committee in the Second
district. In resembling their no-pri-
mary plan, they have gone from bad
to worse in putting the entrance fee
for participation in the primary at the
excrbitant sum of $4,000 for each