The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-03-02
MORE CR|MPS PUT
IN PRIMARY BILL
RYRD-FEATHERsToN MEAsUR Il
GIVEN ANOTHER SOLAR
pLExUs ny SENATE.
HART
No IHoNCLAD LAW DESIRED, Hb
DECLARES WHEN MINORI-
Ty OPPOSES AMEND
HARTE

Convinced after an amendment was
added changing entirely the purpose
.f the Byrd Feathcrston primary ht1
t!iey could not save The measure. a
ttin0rity sat PASSIVE !estefo',s tn the
%ennte while other a"f1e1dnents wore
added. Now ana then they objected
to changes that killed the intent Of
the hill, but for The most part they
did lot vote. Consioei alton Of the
measure was not finished before adj
%tournmeut and q vote was not taken.
The first amendment bTooght u
sharp fight. SO hoI eiessly, however,
Was the minority ouActasaed tina 1t
gave up afterwards. Every m
OF the Senat who objected to me
amendments Will vote against the bill.
MIR. Hart. L member of the Commit
tee ON Privileges and Elections which
added the amendments. admitted the
committee aid not think the measure
wise as passed by the House. and mat
1t was changed because OF this.
The bill YVES first taken up Tues
day when an amendment was adopted
allowing party committees to name
primary dates. The original bill set
Il specific time. pI oviaing that all
prinarle--baA .td Throughout the State
al the same time, and that election
JuNStS He E}Aue PRIMARY Juu&es.
COMMITTEES to Name Judges. :"
-The-fstst-tt,
terday puts the naming of primary
sutges in the hands of party commit
we. Mr.. eatherston, joint patron
If the bill, objected. He declared the
hlll was worse thai useless If Inc
5~,nienoInent was adopted. lie offered
q substitute Amendment providing
that when em~ocratic and Repuoli-
can primaries are held together ie.
ular election JUDGES must serve as
primary judges.
\ second provision was that when
primaries were not held together
primary judges shall be named by
laltH committees. but condl med by
electoral ioarus.
My anaenan+ent." said Mr.. Feather
ston. viii have the eff CT Of living
. pohce power and authority to pIim-
airy judges. which is not The case in
the committee amendment. 1t makes
the primary more Oh cia1 than under
the committee amendment, which de-
atrcys tfre whole force of the bill.
If my amendment Is substituted
for the mittee amendment YOU
VII at least lie iassing a real legal
Yea primary law. It puts iudg 3
Nnsre they win ave the responAibii-
itles and immunit}es of election judges
even II they are not regular election
JUDGES as IN the original bill.
When Democrats II RepahIic.. IN
primaries are he'd tose.her there is
ne reason the regular electio,. JUDGES
hhouid not serve. and when hey are
Il.id separately party committees NAV
name JunSes, Even then they shoaAi
Le confirmed by the electoral board"
Tells Why Amendments We're Added
MI Hart declared Mr.. Gather
ston's amendment was brinsng
about the very thing the ommIttee
tried to avoid. This Is the feature"
ne said. we tried Il rid the bill of
in theirs place. We do not want
the same primary for Democrat and
E'pupilcans This Amendment Mr.
feathe1.ston proposes is not har-
monious with other parts OF the bin.
we Hied to get away from pima
ries held together, ana struck out
every clause Of the bin where onr
one prosided."
HAS Lost Interest i'm Bin.
nave lost interest in the bill
since the first amendment was add
ed. MIR. Walker declared. "4f the
Acnate adopts all Of the
n ents you have no better Law
IMAM you now have. 1t is worse than
none.
WIN oppose any h1it or any
amendment said Mr., Hart. TO take
out Of the hands OF parties thrir
W party prima. les"
Mr., Catron. Republican. though,
each party should have It's own pri-
mary. He. was oppostd to. any hili
that would take out of the hands OF
parties party control.
ms amendment l have added"
SAID Mr.. Featheraton, lis similar 70
the bill as originally drafted in some
respects. but 1t makes no provision
Tor holding Democratic and Repuo-
mean primaries together. It simply
mikes the appointment of primary
Judges more authorilai4ve."-
t MT. itison. a member of the Priv
heges and Elections Committee. de-
ciared primary judges We're given
enough authority ME the commit-
Tee amendment. He said the mere
tact that the primary was legaI,zed
would give police power to Judges.
Want Control i'm Party Hands.
Mr' Kart objected strongly to the
Feathorston amendment. IF Won ar.
going to adopt this" he said. ..ynu
had better 60 back and kill the
soHHilttee amendments you adopted
iuesoay' The very object of all the
committee amendments was to keen
$500 Ha@ff sPnFiE eGUtFHIF IF
you were to pass this biif as drawn
or ADOPT the teatherston amand-
nent, o would not have a single
county or city Democratic commit-
Tee IN the State in FIVE years.
Would you destroy the Democratic
anu republican organization OF ,ths
state ne committed has not given
the ironclad primary law some peonla
want. we have fixed it so if a man
s"indles in a primary he will be pan.
isned. That Is all | want. IL am WILL
ing to trust the Democratic party Ia
run lis own primaries.
says Primaries are Now Straight y
= have not continued Mr.. Hart.
heard a breath OF suspicion in years
AGAINST any primaries except In one
quarter of the State. We have made
the election laws applicable to the
primary. Ii you adopt this Featherston
amendment go back and kill the one
you adopted Tuesday.
Seeing no hope Of defeating the
string of comittee amendments. those
who favored the original measure