Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-07-18
REORGANlzIEG PARTY STRUCTURE

fifth precinct club OF the fourth district Is at
least fertile in ideas The plans that the cl;Ib
will place before the county committee tonight
are constructive and based on the fundamentally
sound principle that thereal strength of the par
ty is found i'm the precinct membership, and that
any committee structure above must be respon-
sive to the wishes of the precinct clubs.
A number of radical changes are proposed, for
which experience alone will be the test Of merit.
Several suggestions will at once meet favor as
logical and practical, but the drastic change pro-
posed for the organization Of the territorial COM
mittee needs to be tried thoroughly before any
one can talk of results.
The recommendations provide, in brief, for an
interIockng system of party administration.
The precincts elect the county committee, and
the county committees elect the territorial COM
mittee. The precincts elect the county platform
committee and the county platform committees
elect the territorial platform committee. 1t is a
highly-centralized system that lis proposed and
whether it wins favor with the voters or not is
going to depend very largely on whether the first
unit, the precinct club is popular organization
or the tool of few clever men who will work
together.
If these recommendations should be put into
effect, the county committee will have unusual
powers and can, as the creator of the territorial
committee, exercise unusual control. Conse-
quently, it becomes of the highest Importance so
to elect county commtteemen that they will be
unquestionably the representatives of their pre-
cincts The plan as presented calls for party
primary on the same day as the regular primary,
and this party primary should be emphasized by
the party in order to have representative votes
cast for the committeeman and for the county
platform committee.
A brief survey of the recommendations leads
to the conclusion that the party primary for the
election of county committeeman should be made
by rule and practice, as wide-open as possible
The party rules should provide that voter who
8 wishes to become candidate for the county com
mittee should be able to do so with as little red
tape as can be used. Nomination for the commit
tee should be easy; in fact, it might be wise to
allow any man enrolled and in good standing in
the precinct clubs-his party affiliation thus be
ing vouched fer-to become candidate fol
kcounty committeeman by written declaration to
the club five or ten days prior to the primary
election His name could thereupon be placed
on the special party ballot used in voting for the
county committeeman Anyone of half a dozeI
systems might be used, the point being that thu
county committee, if SO much power is to bt
placed in its hands, should be chosen in pOpu
lar manner.
One of the suggestions of the Fifth precinc
club that ought to be at once adopted is for tn
filling of vacancies on the county committee
The club proposes that vacancies shall be filet
by the precinct club direct instead of by tn
county committee The change is designed t
prevent the possibility of bureaucracy in tn
& committee and to emphasize. the precinct club
the party unit, and is a good one
The recommendation for the county and tel
ritorial platform committee structures are il
line with the basic idea of the county and terri
torial committee and subject largely to the sam
comment There is one distinct advantag
in the new plan, if carried out to its logica
conclusion, and that is, the full opportunity giN
en- for drafting platforms. Under the presen
convention systems, platforms are written |
haste and often in carelessness, and are listene
to by the convention with indifference The ne'
plan will provide for platform committee tina
can get to work several months before the pr
maries and draft platform suggestions, receiv
suggestions from precinct clubs all over the te
ritory and endeavor to make the final platforl
expressive of the best party ideals and aspir;
tons The territorial platform will he write
with due regard for the county platforms
The changes that will be brought before til
county committee tonight are so farreachin
that the Republican party throughout the teri