The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-07-01
DEFENSE OF THE PRIMARY.

We see defense of the preferential
primaries by Lieutenant Governor Rob
ert Luce of Massachusetts. Mr. Luce
declares that if the direct primary is
not better than the old caucus and con.
Yention system, then the fault is with
popular rule itself He holds that the
primary gives the voters chance to
express their will, and if they deliber-
ately decide that they do not wish to
express that will, or do what is wrong,
then the responsibility is with them
both in neglect and in wrong doing.
He urges that the primary has the nd
vantage of inviting every partisan vot~
er to come out and express his choice.
If the voter decides not to do this,
then he can blame only himself If
things 90 against his liking, and if he
sees that evil comes from his neglect,
he Will probably the next time rally to
the primary and cast his vote. Even i'm
the face of the abortive results Of the
recent Presidential primaries, Mr.. Luce
thinks that still they are better than
the convention system with its caucus
chosen delegates, who, he asserts, have
really no means Of arriving at the pop.
ular opinion.
Primarily, however, it is right to say
that the caucns and convention system
never puts In a Republican Convention
delegates who are Democrats, and con-
trariwise it never puts in a Democratic
Convention delegates who are Repub,
hcans. The caucus and convention sys.
tenn has the merit of retaining the con-
troll of the party affairs in the hands
of those who are members of the party.
This is precisely where the primary
voting system fails. Even in Massa-
chusetts, it must have been apparent to
Mr.. Luce that the primary absolutely
defeated the popular will. President
Tart carried the State on the primaries
by good majority over Roosevelt, an
yet the delegates at large are all Roose-
Welt delegates. Here is a misioiDder be-
tween premise and conclusion that can
not be ignored. 1t is also true. as
stated in the Boston and other Massa-
chusetts papers, that large numbers of
Democrats voted at the primaries for
tho Roosevelt delegates. Some of the
papers said they did this "for fun
others because those Democrats wished
to foist the candidacy Of Roosevelt upon
the Republican party, SO that they
could take advantage of the antithird
term cry which would make for his de-
feat at the polls.
And right here is exposed the or
ganic, insuperable weakness of the
primaries. They tend 10 wreck parties,
because there is no means of prevent.
ing opposition party voters from vot-
ing for Republican candidates, or op-
position party voters voting for Dem
ocratlc candidates. In Wisconsin, for
instance, it is freely charged that a
large fragment Of the Democratic party
and practically all Of the Socialists ha-
bitually vote for La Toilette and make
him the Republican candidate for of
fee whenever he wants it, and his par
ticular supporters are made Republi.
way,
There is absolutely no way to pre-
vent this, for a Democrat, even though
challenged at the primary if he offers
to vote for a Republican candidate,
can fairly say that he is supporting
that candidate. If then, at the cleo
tlon, he votes for his own party candi-
date, he can fairly say that the argu.
ments during the campaign changed
his mind: in fact, that is the very OBJ
iect of having campaign speaking, put
ting forth campaign arguments, and in
sisting upon the presentation of party
principles. A voter is quite within his
rights, therefore, in stating that his
mind has been changed during the
progress of the campaign. To under
take TO hold a voter to the ticket for
which ne has voted at the primary is
to abridge his liberty. and to shut off
his opportunity of being instructed or
getting new light during the cam
paign. OF course. it may be all pre-
tense on the part of the Democrat who
may have had no intention whatever OF
supporting the Republican ticket when
he voted for the Republican candidates
at the primaries: but at least it affords
an unassailable excuse for a change of
mind.
It IL necessary to have parties, and |