The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-12-13
The Presidential Primary

During the domination of the Jacksonian
Democracy when many of our most important
states formed their constitutions the people were
extremely dstrustful of Capitalization of polltl-
cal power The enaoluments that go with public
offices were looked upon as belonging by right to
all the citizens and therefore as many citizens as
possible should have share in the honor and
income of politics. To prevent few men getting
control of the offices every effort was made to
shorten the term, increase the number, to create
sources Of income for office holders, and to shear
the authorities of all the power possible
Out of this condition there gradually evolved
that complex mechanism of politics which is now
the despair of citizenship: party caucuses,
conventions, primaries, and every imaginable va
riety of political machinery. In their efforts to
retain control of politics the people created a
system too complex to manage. Bewildered and
dsnnayed the average citizen withdrew from
participation and left it to others to unravel
what his own wits could not fathom.
This condition naturally called for political
specialists who would make politics a business
and devote themselves to the mastery of sys-
tenn more complex than Russian bureaucracy.
The political specialist came. He took pos
session. He went into politics business. He
did for the citizenship what the citizenship was
no longer able or willing to do for itself. He re-
duced political chaos to some semblance of order
and facilitated the carrying of the nations po-
ltical business. The political boss" became a
fixture made necessary by the peoples own
methods; by tacit consent he permitted to
become the unofficial dictator of public policy
Later came the unexpected and magnificent
development of business large scale which
is of the great wonders of American history.
Railways, mines, corporations, trusts, sprang up
as by magic. This had not been forseen. Laws
had not been made in anticipation of such amaz-
ing enterprises. Legislatures and courts were
unequipped to cope with such unexpected condi-
tions. Consequently the control of these big
business concerns fell unfortunately into the do
main of party politics.
Being dictator in party politics the boss nat
urally became the functionary with whom big
business was obliged to deal Every questona-
bic business deal fell back on him for political
support
Thus was formed that coalition of political
bossism and business which has so troubled us
during the past decade. And thus it came about
that business interests became snarled with DO
litical trickery, and industrial enterprise found
itself handicapped by the very method to which
it had early resorted At the present time. be-
yond all question, legitimate business interests
are sick of such political alliances and heartily
pray for relief.
Into this juncture stepped Woodrow Wilson
with his plan for CELEBRATING business and in
augurating "the freedom To accomplish
this he has started in to lift every handicap from
business development such as the tariff, monop-
oily and unwise legislation.
But since these political alliances and tangled
methods just described are themselves handi-
cap to the iberating of business how shall he
proceed? The answer is plainly simplifying
the political machinery
The more simple political methods are made
the more easy of access is each representative
to the people he represents, the more complete
can be the control of the public over it's own SER
wants. And if the public can be given this con-
trol' II the people themselves gain a larger
entrance into politics, the need of the boss will
be lessened and he will gradually disappear.
One of the most certain buttresses of bossisn
has been the party national convention Bv con.
trolling this they have been able to nominate
candidates distasteful to the majority and in
other ways to control national affairs
The President has chosen this as the first
point of attack on the boss system and believes
it will cut away part of the support from unde,
the political dictators. It won't do away entirely
with them, but it will be step in that direction
Thus it is seen that President Wilson'S recon-
mendatlon in his message was no mere side
issue, but one integral part of his broad program
for bringing in the New Freedom which consist,
so largely in the emancipation of business"
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