Evening star., 1913-11-29
NORRIS FAvORS VOTE
DIRECT FOR PRESIDENT
Also Urges That Presidential
Nominations Be Made by
Primaries.
Nebraska Senator Believes the Time
Has Come When People Favor
These Reforms.

While announcing himself as heartily II
favor Of a reorganization Of the repub.
lican party, Senator Norris Of Nebraska,
progressive republican, in a statement to-
day advocated a general reorganization
of al political parties by law. Senator
Norris asks that. q national presidential
primary law be enacted, and that the
presidential electoral college be abolish
ed and Presidents be elected by q direct
vote of the people. In his statement
Senator Norris said:
I'VE ought to have. and in order to
get relief from present unsatisfactory con-
ditions we must have a national presi-
Dental primary law. There is no reason
why candidates for President should
and thus the Importance of national con-
ventions at least minimized IL not entirely
done away with.
Expects Passage of Bill.
L have been advocating this for sew
eral years, and more than a year ago.
while such a bill was pending in the
House of Representatives. I wrote to the
national party leaders, including, with
others. President Wilson, then Governor Of
New Jersey. asking them to bring about
a cooperation between the men of all
parties in the House and in the Senate for
the purpose of passing such law while
the evils of the present system were so
apparent. i believe that the sentiment of
the country is rapidly crystallizing in
favor of such a step. and that we will get
such law before the next presidential
campaign
In addition to a presidential primary
We ought to amend the Constitution so
Dental electoral college. thus giving the
people not only an opportunity to nomi-
nate candidates for President at pri-
mary. but to elect them by direct vote.
hand and both of them will be necessary
in order to get full relief.
Race Free to All.
1T ought to be possible under our law
for man to become a candidate for
President independent of all political par
ties. but under our present system of vot-
ing for electors. instead of directly, for
presidential candidates this is practical
impossibility, and any machine or COM
binatiOn of bosses that can control nomi-
nations for President will be able to con-
trol elections.
Il know one Of the objections to
presidential primary law is that 1t will
interfere with the PRONUNCIATION OF
party platforms. and heretofore all bills
that have been introduced on that SUBJ
ject have made some provision for the
adoption Of such platforms. Under the
primary system, when a candidate for
any office is running for nomination
he makes his own platform. and to a
very great extent he is either nomi-
mated or deefatd by and on account Of
the principles he has thus promulgated.
II do not see any reason why this
should not apply to elections as well as
primaries and why every candidate after
he is nominated should not set forth In
such detail as he saw fit his ideas on
the governmental questions then before
the people for solution. This would en-
able every candidate to stand upon the
platform of his own choosing, and we
would never have the illogical condition
Of q candidate believing in one thing and
a platform announcing another.