The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1912-05-19
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THE PRIMARIES
SUIT THE PEOPLE
Ocala Star.
Ocala Star.



going up from the convention loving
politicians. They say it costs the can
didates too much to run, the ticket is
too long and it is killing work on the
inspectors to count the votes, and the
people do not turn out to vote. II All
these allegations were unquanneuiy
true, they would be little in compari-
son with the evils of conventions, but
they are all greatly exaggerated.
The Star never thought the rights
OF the candidates amounted to much In
comparison with the rights of the peo-
pie, but it cannot see that the former
are so dreadfully aggrieved. Certain
X is that this campaign has not lacked
for good men. We have had before us
and among us Trammell, Gibbons. Mil
ter and Watson, Sparkman and Phil
liLs, L'Engle Beacham, Martin and
Toomer, beside our bunch of county
candidates. All managed to raise the
wherewithal to pay their assessments
and expenses, and all are fair to mid
ding men, and some are very good
men indeed. We doubt that you can
find better men, morally or intellect
ually, in the nation than some or
those who have faced the people of
Florida in this campaign. And it is
nothing against any one of them that
he has been able to pay his way.
All other things being equal, a mod
erately we'll to do man will make a
better public servant than a papuer.
a man who has reached a candidates.
age without having achieved decent
amount of business success is not. as
a rule, a good man to entrust with the
peoples affairs. All that can be said
against a poor man in the primary
can be said with greater force in the
convention. Men are nominated in
conventions more by influences than
by principles, and with rare exceptions
the impecunious individuals put in Of
flee by the mare tools
In Marion county nothing like a
rich man stood for an Office. But all
were able to stand their moderate ex-
penses. The writer has seen county
conventions in this and other states
nominate tickets. He never saw one
pick out as good a set of men as have
been chosen in the recent primary.
! And he has seen conventions of both
parties nominate men who wouldn't
dare go into a primary in this
county.
Under the primary plan, the ex-
penses are nearly all legitimate. The
| money is mostly spent for advertis-
| ing expenses and travelling expenses.
Between the primary and the secret
| ballot, the two greatest pools of
| political corruption - bribery and
| dIunkenness-have had their water
| marks greatly lowered, and some day
! soon they may be entirely drained.
| Elections will not be entirely clean
until they can be conducted without
| any expense. But a candidate had
| better be spending his money on adj
| vertising, railway tickets and hotel
| bills than by delegates.
The Star admits that all the people
/ do not vote In the primaries and the
| long tickets make counting the votes
! inconvenient. But IL can't agree with
| the pro- convention paper that howled
! lest week because il took thirty-siX
| hours in some precincts to count the
| votes, and complained this week be-
| cause half the voters didn't 60 to the
| polls. Counting the ballots can be ex-
| pedited by multiplying the boxes al
| the polling places-there are two boxes
| in Ocala, but there could be four or
! even six. AS for the number of voters
who came to the polls, we can't please
| the conventionaries as long as there
| are too many to be corralled in one
| small room. At least $4,000 votes
were cast, and we are tolerably sure
| that is more than so per cent of the
| registered vote Of the state. We have
| known all parties in the state OF Flor
| ida TO cast less than $4,000 votes in a
! general election.
The primary system isn't perfect,
| but ii can be improved The con-
vention system IS rotten; # can only
| be buried. AS far as Florida is con-
cerned, 1t is buried, and the reac-
! tionaries are wasting their time trying
to dig up the corpse.