Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1912-03-22

of Maryland bill providing for the
exact kind of legally safe-guarded pres
idential preferential primary which the
President says he favors.
THE collector of customs at Balti-
more, the most active of the Presi-
dents party managers of Maryland ard
the head of the office-holders there,
has been opposing the enactment of the
measure by every means in his power.
every Roosevelt member of the
Maryland Legislature is for the prim-
airy bill and they have been endeavoring
to secure the assistance of Collector
Stone and Governor Goldsborough and
the other supporters of President Taft. "
The statement adds that almost SINH
lar situations exist in Michigan, Ohio
and Illinois, and further says:
Governor Deneen of Illinois has
stated publicly that he will convene the
Legislature in special session to pass
presidential preference primary bill in
case the necessary two-thirds of the
members will agree beforehand to adopt
the measure. The leaders of the presi
dental party in Illinois, including Con-
gresham Mckinley, the director of the
national Taft bureau, to whom the
Presidents secretary referred the re-
quest for help in getting the Massachu
sets primary bill through, are using
every possible effort to prevent the
agreement in question.
IF the Taft leaders in Illinois, who
include the leader of the national cam
paign committee which is conducting
the Presidents canvass for renomina-
ton, will now act in good faith in
accordance with the Presidents speech
approving the bill that has already been
passed in the Massachusetts Legisla-
ture, they can secure a similar bill in
the Legislature of Illinois.
"What has occurred in Oklahoma
indicates the need of presidential pri-
maries and shows how the patronage is
at this moment being used to defeat the
will of the people.
GAS there has been so much recent
expression of fear of the tyranny of
majority, it may be worth while point
ing out that the only tyranny of which
there is any danger at this moment as
regards the presidential nomination is
tyranny by minority, led by the
office-holders and the agents of the big
financiers who do not want a square
deal; and these men who have been
doing everything in their power not
merely to mislead but to misrepresent
and defraud of their rights the people
at large.
'In Oklahoma a convention in one
district was held very early and elected
two delegates for the President.
''Then a primary for the State con-
vention was held, and that identical dis
trict gave two to one vote against the
President
''This was a genuine primary. l do
not know whether its opponents have
called it soap box primary or not.
"In this case the only tyranny ex-
ercised by the majority was to express
their preference, and they were defraud-
ed out of this preference at the pre-
vious convention.
Here in New York the progressive
members of the Legislature and a
committee outside are do
ing everything in their power to secure
a genuine presidential preferential pri-
mary and to overthrow the present pre-
posterous primary bill, which was
passed by the machines of the two
parties last year with the express pur-
pose of preventing the people from
getting control of the management of
either party.
1.-THE supporters of Mr.. Taft have
absolute control of the Legislature, and
if they choose to act on the principle of
the Presidents speech in Massachu-
sets, made after the Massachusetts
primary bill had been enacted into law,
they can secure for this State a CORE
spending bill. l very earnestly hope
that it will be DONE"