The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-06-19
residents Made
by the People

This year is political revolution.
The principal agency Of the revolt
ton is the new system of direct prl-
naries, which enables the people to
rlcke their own president without
the intervention of bosses and ma
chimes
This system has had fair trial
In few or the States. In Sc ersl
ether Substantially in New York
the system has been tried. but not
fairly tried. In most of the States
1t has not vet been tried at alt.
Nevertheless. the presid entail pri'
mary is already established as a ma
tionsl institution. II has introduced
Z. new power into politics and tnat
power seems Il, stined to grow and
conquer to the limits of the land. No
body who realizes the moral effect of
V hat has happened can doubt that
tho presidential primary will univer'
saliza itself
This insurgence of the people in
presidential elections, this shoulder
ing out Of the bosses on the field of
I2tianal politics. will in due time
ov,rturn the machine made caucus
emo convention In State and local
politics as we'll and will supplant the
whole bad system Of boss rule.
The inspiring success Of the prcsi-
dental primary is phenomenon 20
he considered wholly apart froC the
success of any particular candidate.
indeed it-iS-t hA-per$-- nature et-tals
new development In our political nte
that IL must in the long run set he
people free f~ofn dominant person
riitles. The people will not be ruiz d
Try great rncn but by great principles
"a nd by actu"l facts.
Professor Franklin II. Giddings. Of
Columbia university, speaking before
the Philadelphia City club. on tfls
.-e-.44SeE- that tt5it4~rite- t+fc movement
fer direct n"T:rations and direct lex
isiation, suggested that the principai
cause Of tho mo, enent is the center
ing Of all nuuern politics, the world
over, on a certain simple practical
question. that question is: Shall the
means of production be owned and
controlled henceforth by a minority
OF the people or by a majority CT
the peopIe' In other words. shall
tic majority in this country continue
to depend upon minority for the
opportunity t. set It's bread. or shafi
the majority return, by one means or
ef.ttf1er. U the economic freedoIil
taat 1t enjoyed before the Civil war
Professor CiGdings proceeded TO
show that the Iise OF this simple ami
6etnite. Issue IL politics tends 20
rake the Methods or politics direct
and practical he said;
II believe that the people II the
| hited States are changing their
form of goxcrp,nent somewhat by IA
Producing such aew measures as tae
iuitia tive the referendum, the recall
aisd the tireft pfimary-in part De
rausez tffrir putftieaf interests ha7ft' be
come largely new, in part because Of
real restiveness under existing con-
citious, but also in part because. 10
an extent never before seen In our
history the people are now thinking
about things whereas. during a great
part of our > litical history they have
thought. not about things, but only
about candidates.
Professor Giddings said that what
ever good or evil might come of the
new politics it must be recognized
as being essentially return to the
firm probabilities Of the New Eng
land town meeting OF the matter
of-fact character of that historic in
stitution. he said
Specific things. particular things,
20 be done or not done. to be dis
ctissed first and voted on afterward
ny the people as a whole--these
made up the business OF the town
meeting. 1t educated men. almost
from childhood, because every school
boy turned up at town meeting as
q ma tier of course, and saw what
was going on. He heard men debate
not merely about candidates. good
or bad bui about the SPECIFIC things
of public interest"
Mr. Roosevelt and MIR Clark have
been lifted upon the shoulders of the
people in the present campaign The
neople would haze had nn-chance-
to lift them up and set them forward
if IL had not been for the presidential
urinary Without this new means of
direct popular action the people
would have been belied by the bosses
and crushed BY the ma chipery OF
caucus and convention.
Yet the excellence OF the new
modes of direct political action does
not depend upon the excellence of
these csndidates-or of any other in
div iduals.
The significance of what is hap
pening Is nothing less than this: That
the nation is escaping, with fresh
moral elation and II mighty rush of
energy from the jungles and morasses
Of political abstraction and perpleNttN
70 the clear and solid ground Of self