Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1913-11-06
IN Analysis Of the
New South Da-
kota Primary
Election
Law
BY r. O. Richards
By r. O. Richards

nh. purpose Of the present South
kokota primary election law. as a par
/, law, is to place open legal organtza-
Eon for principles above personal am
3rion for office. and to Illustrate the
1.usl combination of individuals. who
lsrely desire to control the govern
Tsnt TO perpetuate themselves in pow
/, without developing equity. Is,
5ons by having two sets of principles
H. party platforms proposed by open
representation within each party
I.fo.e the primary election, and sub
Aitted to the party voters for their
Ihoice, upon the same primary ballot
k,th the candidates, and thu nomi-s
late q party platform and candidates.
N the same time by secret ballot and
laiority rule. The purpose of this
to furnish a free, safe. competitive,
ksal initiatory method of ~organiza-|
Hon Of the party at each primary cleo
Hon to make the party responsive to
5se will OF the majority Of its members.
fhls will also preclude the necessity
III organizing new parties, or having
hore than two political parties, to
Forward principles for new public
folioies. because under this method,
Kew public policies may be tried out
hinder the old party names and thus
PRESERVE the majority rule within the
Aarty electorate. as well as the gem
Aral electorate.
The intention OF the law Is tina un- !
her ordinary circumstances the office
hall seek the man through open in
itiatory representative committee pro-
t~osals.
The law only provides for two such
PROPOSALS, within each party, one mi
hority and one majority proposal.
the theory Of this is that the people,
BY representation, will thereby have
voice in the first selection of the
taotIonal candidate, which under the
BID primary law, or under the pros
Roaed Cofey primary law. could only
t best be selected privately by the
politicians in factional mass %confer-
}nces. The principle of the present
Urinary law co~ntemplates two fac
lions within each party, otherwise
f&re would be no choice for which to
Lineup OF the candidates on the
primary ballot for a principle Is OBJ
kiOGsly necessary to carry the party
Tor a given public policy. Otherwise
progress is arrested and the primary
flection simply becomes an unseen
Ing, expensive, personal %squabble Of
tndependent candidates for office.
Independent candidates., under the
present NV, who have no real mess
lge to the people and cannot receive
b place on the minority or majority
proposal. will brand themselves as
rs kOera pftra seekers a nrnp "a rod with
khe candidates proposed by represent
tation in the minority or the majority
folunn in a lineup for a principle.
Yet if the minority or the majority
representation ignores the best man.,
pr a man with a real message of truth
30 forward evolution. in state govern
hent, he may properly file in the in
dependent column by petition and can
win; but under ordinary circumstances
ft is fair to assume that, except for
judicial purposes, the Independent col
hmn on the primary Lallot will be
bead, the same as on the general cleo
tNon ballot. The old primary law in
Theory contemplated that every can
fidatc should run independent of ev-
hry other candidate: but in practice
factions were formed, and the selec-
Fions of the factional candidates were
made by a few politicians. without re-
presentation, by holding a secret
tderby- hat-primary. These secretly
lmnde-up states were put out under
Sub-labels. such as Progressive" and
TStalwart," rendering the party in
Twain into s~ub-parties. The effect of
fthis was to spIk the party into labeled
FACTIONS between whom such bitter
feeling was ~engendered that the party
success at the polls was endangered.
pn fact the strife between Progressive
and Stalwart was more bitter than
SEVER existed between Republican and
Democrat, Another result was the
~3sntire utility of independent candi-
ddacy. In the three primary elections
4held under the old law, not a single
candidate for state office was nomin-
jated whose candidacy had not been APP
proved by the non-representative,
self-constituted machine of one or the
other of these factions.
3 The results of the old primary law
were SO unsatisfactory both to the in
dependent candidate, as well as to the
public, as to not be insisted upon any
further by the thinking people as a
practical nominating method. Under
the present primary law. there will
De no fixed sactional labels within the
party; because as the minority be-
comes the majority its name and po-
sition on the primary ballot is auto
matical1y transferred. from one fac
ton to the other. as one defeats the
other, thereby creating a safe. legal
progressive nominating system.
In considering the present primary
law, 1T must be borne in mind that the
primary election is but a party cleo
uon. or an organization election,
where each political party does busi-
ness for itself to prepare its own plat
form and candidates for the fall cleo
ton. The primary election Is there
fore purely several separate party
elections held on the same date, at the
same time and place. and it is intend
ed that the voters In one party should
have no voice In the primary of any
other party Considered broadly
along these lines. the law will not be
found complicated or incomprehens-
ibls, but can be easily understood by
any person who will take the trouble
10 read it.
The arst step under the law is the
enrollment or the voters to- establish
their party a%ffliation, as provided in
Article :. Each elector sfrnpIy signs