The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-03-22
M'KNLEY ON PRIMARIES.

William IS. Mckinley, who is IL
charge of the Taft campaign. very fifty
characteriZes the primary held in North
Dakota as a fair example of a so.callcd
- soap-box primary, - although primaries
so called are usually. supposed to be
without authority Of law. In this case,
the law governed the primary all right,
but there was no party registration, 1t
is difficult to see, however, what party
registration would amount to If the
primary is open to the ballot of any
one who processes himself Republican
in case of a Republican primary. or d
Democrat in case of a Democratic pri"
mary. Tt is not likely in the least that
the managers of any candidacy would
object to a vote merely because it was
not registered as party vote. But a
registration of party membership would
be Objectionable in two ways; first, the
party vote might not come out at the
primary, and the choice could be
packed; and second. unless opportunity
were offered for additions to the party
registration, there would be large num-
bers of genuine party votes shut ont at
the primary. Back Of all that, however,
there would appear to be no reason
why the State should take upon itself
the cost of the management Of party
campaigns, either by way Of party
registration or party primaries. All
| that sort of thing is, in fact, a repres-
sion of individual right; and the ten
dency of it is to force voters to de.
clare party affiliations, which they may
not wish to do. But, at the same time
the right Of qualified voter to vote
at primary should clearly be pre-
| served, otherwise the primary does not
| in fact, DO what it pretends to do. And
on the other hand, if voter registered
as of certain party at the primaries
| changes his opinions between the time
| of the primary and of the general cleo
| ton. and Is to be put under the dis
approval Of the law for so doing, ther
the campaign arguments should also bt
declared unlawful and the purpose OF
| the campaign, to change Democratic
votes to Republican votes or Repub
! lican votes to Democratic votes, should
also be declared unlawful, and those
who undertake to do this should bs
dealt with as offenders. That, how
ever, would change our whole politica
system, would tend to crystalize thu
vote into rigid channels, would forbid
men changing their opinions, and would
in fact, make politics either altogethe
corrupt or altogether decadent.
We do not see, in fact, how pri
maries can be made to work at al
without utterly disrupting the whole
purpose and intent of political cam
paigns. 1t is the object and purpos
of such campaign to win votes from
the other side; but it is the object anc
purpose of primaries to have voter
declare their allegiance to one part,
or the other, and to hold them to tina
party allegiance. Here is a conflic
that is irrepressible, and that canno
be avoided in the application of th
primary principle. The control of tn
law over primaries, of course, is an alb
solute necessity if we are to have prl
maries at all; but without the registra
tion of voters in party divisions, ther
is no way to keep the opposition part.
voters from stepping in and controlling
the primaries, But with the registra
tion Of party voters, there is a frown
ing on opportunity for changes of opin
ion. or of campaign work to have an.
effect; for a voter registered as a Re
publican or as a Democrat is, by tn
very fact of that registration, ,eX
pected to remain firm with his party
both at the primary and at the elec
tlon. 1t is evident that the work o
getting something nearer to the peo
pie, something that will be an accept
able and actual Improvement upon tn
old party caucus and convention sys
| tenn has not vet been invented