New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-08-03
THE KANSAS FRAUD.

The granting of a writ Of error,
which will require the United states
Supreme Court TO pass on the ISSUES
involved in the Kansas primary ballot
case, leaves the way open to clear
determination of the right Of members
of political party in any state TO
protection against raiders who seek TO
wrest from them privileges and bene-
fits which they properly enjoy under
the state law. In states where the prI-
mary system of nomination has been
fully developed established parties
have acquired many legal advantages.
They possess greater facilities In the
way of making nominations and OF get
ting their nominees placed conSpicu-
ously and in groups on the ballot on
Election Day. In Kansas these rights
go further than they do In most other
states, for q new party organization
trying 10 put state ticket in the field
is severely handicapped both in having
10 secure twenty-five hundred sigma
lures of voters not enrolled in any ex-
listing party and by having its nomi-
nees 60 on the Election Day ballot I'M
grouped and under no emblem.
The question raised in Kansas was
whether candidates for nomination as
electors who had obtained the sigma
lures of Republican voters to petitions
qualifying them to enter the Repub-
lican primary did not practise fraud
on the petitioners by announcing after
the filing Of the petitions that they
would not support the Republican
nominees for President and Vice-Pres-
ident. Some of the signers have COM
planned that their signatures were
given solely on the understanding that
the candidates were Republicans and
would act with the Republican party.
They allege that their names have been
used to promote the nomination as Re
publicans. inasmuch as they have pub
licly announced that they will vote for
the Presidential and Vice Presidential
nominees Of the Progressive party.
The deceived signers complain more
over. that the courts Of Kansas have
failed TO protect them against an i'm
position which may result In the capt
IRE of eight places on the Republican
electoral ticket by followers Of Colonel
Roosevelt and may compel the sup
porters Of the Republican national
ticket to resort to the difficult and ex-
pensive expedient Of nomination by pc
tition. as if the Republican party were
a virgin organization unknown to the
election law.
Justices Van Devanter and Pitney
consider the asserted claims Of dam
age to be worthy of examination by
the full bench Of the Supreme Court.
and 1t is highly desirable that the
power Of the federal courts to give re-
lief in case of failure OH the part Of
state courts to check political brigand-
age of the sort attempted in Kansas
should be fully defined. Morally there
can be no defence Of the attitude Of the
candidates for places on the Repub-
lican electoral ticket who declare In adj
vance that they will not fulfil the OBJ
legation which they ask to be allowed
to assume. They want to use the
facilities Of the Republican party or
ganization in order TO secure election,
but boast that they will betray the Re-
publican nominees as soon as they are
safely elected. At the bar Of decency
there can be no defence for such an
net, whatever may be the technical
legal loopholes through which the
wonld-be burglars hope to escape.