The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1913-11-06

By r. o. RICHARDS, Author of the Law

The purpose of the present South
Dakota primary election law, as a par
ty law, is to place open legal organiza-
ton for principles above personal am
bition for office, and to Illustrate the
usual combination of individuals, who
merely desire to control the govern
ment to perpetuate themselves in pow
er without developing equity. This is
done by having two sets Of principles
for party platforms proposed by open
representation within each party be-
fore the primary election, and sub
mitted to the party voters for their
choice, upon the same primary ballot,
with the candidates, and thus nomi-
nate party platform and candidates
at the same time by secret ballot and
majority rule. The purpose of this
is to furnish a free, safe, competitive,
legal i~nitiatory method OF ~organiza-
ton OF the party at each primary cleo
ton to make the party responsible to
the will of the majority Of its members.
This will also preclude the necessity
of organizing new parties, or having
more than two political parties, to for
ward principles for e public policies,
because, under this method, new pub
lie policies may be tried out under the
old party names and thus preserve the
majority rule within the party elector-
ate, as well as the general electorate.
The intention OF the law is that un-
der ordinary circumstances the office
shall seek the man through open In
~itiatory representative committee pro-
posals.
The law only provides for two such
proposals, within each party, one mi
nority and n majority proposal. The
theory of this is that the people, by
representation, will thereby hs We a
voice in the first selection OF the fac.
tional candidate, which under the old
primary law, or under the proposed
Coffey primary law, could only at best
be selected privately by the politicians
In factional mass conferences. The
principle of the present primary law
contemplates two factions within each
party, otherwise there would be no
choice for which to vote.
Lineup OF the candidates on the
primary ballot for a principle is OBJ
viously necessary to carry the party
for a given public policy. Otherwise
progress Is arrested and the primary
election simply becomes an unseen
ing, expensive, personal squabble Of
independent candidates for Office.
Independent candidates, under the
present law, who have no real mess
age to the people and cannot receive
a place on the minority or majority
proposal, will brand themselves as
mere office seekers, as compared with
the candidates proposed by represen-
tation In the minority or the majority
column in a lineup for a principle.
Yet IL the minority or the majority
representation ignores the best man,
or a man with a real message of truth
to forward evolution in state govern
ment, he may properly file in the in
dependent column by petition and can
win; but under ordinary circumstances
1t Is fair to assume that, except for
judicial purposes, the independent col
umn on the primary ballot will be
dead, the same as on the general Cleo
tion ballot. The old primary law in
theory contemplated that every candi-
date should run independent of every
other candidate; but In practice fac.
tons were formed, and the selections
or the factlonal candidates " ere made
by a few politicians, without represent
alton, by holding a secret derby-hat-
primary. These secretly made-up
states were put out under sub-labels,
such as Progressive" and "Stalwart,"
rendering the party in twain into sub
parties. The effect of this was to split
the party into labeled factions between
whom such bitter feeling was ngen-
dered that the party success at the
polls was endangered. In fact the strife
between Progressive and Stalwart was
more bitter than ever existed between
republican and democrat. Another re-
suit was the entire futility Of indie
pendent candidacy. In the three
primary elections held under the old
law, not a single cad1date for state