The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1912-08-07

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OF the Baltimore convention, have
shown In striking fashion how little
the people do rule under our present
conditions We should provide by ma
tional Jaw for presidential pimaries.
We should provide for the election OF
United states senators by popular vote.
We should provide for short ballot
nothing makes II harder for the people
To control their public servants thar
10 force them to vote for so many Off
Gals that they cannot really keep track
Of any one OF them so that each b.,
comes indistlnguishable In the crowd
around him There must be stringent
and efficient corrupt practices acts. APP
plying to the primaries as wei a 8 the
elections; and there should be publicity
Of campaign contributions during the
campaign. We should provide through
out this Union for giving the people Ia
every state the real right TO rule them
selves, and really ard not nominally 10
control their public servants and their
agencies for doing the public business:
an incident CT this being giving the
people the right themselves to do this
public business IL they find IL impos-
slble 10 get what they desire through
N, existing agencies. | do not attempt
10 dogmatiEe as to the machinery by
which this end should be achieved. In
each community ~ must be shaped so
as to correspond not merely with the
needs but with the customs and ways
OF thought Of that community, and no
community has right TO dictate to
any other In this matter. But wherever
representative government has In actual
fact become representative there
the people should secure to themselves
the Initiative. the referendum. and the
recall, doing IL in such fashion as 10
make IL evident that they do not intend
TO use these instrume ntalities wantonlY
or frequently, but to hold them ready
for uae In order TO correct the mlsdeeds
~ fai Of no Mt "a Iaft
IL has become evident that these mis-
deeds and failures cannot be corrected
In ordinary and normal fashion. The
administrative officer should be given
full power, for otherwise he cannot do
Well the peoples work; and the people
should be given full power over him.
I do not mean that we shall abandon
representative government: on the con-
trary, l mean that we shall devise
methods by which our government
shall become really representative. To
nse such measures as the initiative,
referdum and recall Unfortunately
and promiscuously on all kinds of oc-
casions would undoubtedly cause d1sas-
ter: but events have shown that at
present our Institutions are not repre-
sentative-at any rate In many states
and sometimes in the nation-and that
we cannot wisely AFFORD TO let this Goa
dition OF things remain longer uncor-
rected We have permitted the grow
ing up OF a breed OF politicians who.
sometimes for improper political pur-
poses. sometimes as means OF serv-
Ing the great special interests OF privi-
lege which stand behind them, twist
so-called representative institutions
into a means OF thwarting instead OF
expressing the deliberate and well
thought-out Judgment OF the people as
a whole. This cannot be permitted.
In the contest which eliminated six
weeks age In this city I speedily found
that my chance was at minimum In
any state where could not get an eN-
preston OF the people themselves IN
The primaries. I found that IL ] could
appeal TO the rank and file Of the Re-
publican voters, I could generally win,
whereas. II had to appeal to the po-
liticnl caste--which includes the most
noisy defenders OF the old system
generally lost Moreover. found, as
matter OF fact. not az a matter OF
theory. that these politicians habitually
and unhesitatingly resort to every
species OF mean swindlinR and cheating
I'm order TO carry their point. 1t is be-
cause OF the general recognition or this
fact that the words politics and politl-
clans have grown TO have n sinister
meaning throughout this country The
bosses and their agents In the National
Republican convention at Chicago
treated political theft as a legitimate
political weapon. II is instructive to
compare the votes OF the states whore
there were open primaries and the
votes OF states where there were not
In Illinois Pennsylvania, and Ohio we
had direct primaries. and the Taft ma
chine was beaten two to one. Between
and bordering on these states were
Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky. Ia
these states we could not get direct
Irimaries. and the politicians elected
two delegates to our one. In the first
three states the contests were abso-
Iutely omen. absolutely honest. The
rank and file expressed their wishes.
and there was no faint OF fraud ABOUT
what they did In the other three
states the cont Aat was marked by every
species of fraud and violence on the
rr~t or our opponents. and half the
Taft delegates in the Chicago conven
ttou FROM these. states had tainted
titles The entire Wall street press at
this moment Is vigorously engaged IN
denouncing the direct primary system
and UNFOLDING the old convention sys
TEN. Or as they call u. tint old repre-
sentative system" They are so doing
because they know that the bosses and
the mowers Of special privilege have
tenfold the chance under the conven-
lion system that they have when th
rank and fie Of thu people can express
themselves at the primaries TIM
nomination OF Mr. Taft at Chicago was
n fraud upon the rank and file OF tho
RepriiIcan party. u was obtained only
by defrauding the rank and file OF the
party OF their right 10 express their
choice: and such fraudulent action does
not bind a single honest member OF the
party.
Well. what the national committee
and THE fraudulent majority OF the va
ttonal convention ala at Chicago In
TniSrt presfntlng the people has beeu
done again and again In congress, per
hans especially In the senate and In
tho state legislatures Again and again
laws demanded by the people have been
refused to the people because the rep
resentat.ves OF the people misrepre-