Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1912-11-01

ucSOIOy UIlo Opcu AlCC primary oyoVCul
of declaring principles and nominal
ing candidates. 1t will restore the
rule of the middleman In politics by
means of a
CONVENTION SYSTEM
and an exclusive monopoly right on
the ballot. Its author Is not a phil
anthropist. He is attempting by the
lavish expenditure Of thousands of
dollars to deceive the voters of the
state as to the real purpose of this
proposed law so that he may man1pu-
late the politics of the state. Mr..
Richards is act spending all this
money for love of humanity. He has
invented a scheme to put party con-
troll into the hands of a few buccane-
ers, and he expects to be the bench
ciary of the scheme personally a a
candidate for United States Senator.
Think of a mar spending a fortune to
secure a senatorship by means of a
cunning device artfully concealed and
CLOSED oyer by other plausible pro-
NIoloIS ali q plOPOoCu 10" w No NOpCu
upon by the people. To deceive peo-
pie as to its real purpose all the tricks
Of a quack doctor are resorted to.
The toilets of hotels and railway sta
lions are decorated with printed
praise OF this infamous proposal, a
fitting campaign of quack advertise
ments of specific remedies for vene-
real Diseases. Ingeniously deceptive
statements as to its character appear
as paid advertisements in these news
papers and every trick is being re-
sorted in an attempt to induce a
majority Of the voters Of this state to
saddle on the public an expense of
from $50, 600 to $4,000 each election
year and to take from the people the
right to freely propose principles and
nominate party candidates for politi-
cal office.
La Toilette does not favor such a
law as this because the present South
Dakota primary is copied from the
Wisconsin law and is one Of the best
primary laws in existence.
Roosevelt does not favor it because
he is against boss rule and favors the
open free primary without permit
ting 'hand-picked" delegates,,to over
ride the rank and file in selecting
candidates for Office.
No progressive who knows what
this proposed law really intends will
support it.
Mr.. Richards may think that he
can fool the farmer and laborer by
his smooth tIlk and tlattery into vot-
ing for this law, but they will not be
duped because they are too intelli-
gent not to discover:
That.
l. it will cost the voters and tax
payers Of the state from $50, 600 to
S75, 600 every election year, more than
the present law costs them.
That.
2. it takes away from the voter his
right to freely nominate and vote for
party candidates at a primary and
provides for 456 county and state con-
ventions held at the public expense
and puts the power Of making pa rty
almost exclusively into
the hands of a few men with no check
upon them.
That
3. it creates a regular Tammany
Hall to lob out all the appOintive
offices.
That
4 it allows party committeeman to
recommend themselves for appoint
ment and permits delegates to o
inmate themselves for offices, and
leaves the voters without a voice in
their proceedings.
That
5. it pts to deprive the
majority of all the people Of their
right to remove public officers and to
make them the tools of party control.
That
6. 1t attempts to repeal the law
which confines the expenditure OF
money in political campaigns to GER
tain legitimate purposes, and it will
postpone indefinitely the time when
candidates are required to file state
ments showing how much they have
paid out in the conduct Of a cam
paign; and the purposes for which
they have spent money in securing
election to office.
That
I. the voter who supports this law
is selling his political birthright for a
mess of pottage, because he is de-
legtaing to others a power he should
keep for himself.
That
8. it is unwise to exchange the
present law with which the voter is
familiar for a new and untried scheme
full Of the most dangerous tricks and
advantages designed for the use of
the few against the many, with
which he is not familiar, because the
proposed law is too long and too in
volved for him to take the time
necessary to a full understanding OF
it.
That