Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-07-09
WHAT OUR NEIGHBORS SAY.
The Preferential Primary Plan and mn
Extrn Session of the Leris,oture
From the Rutland Herald

| ~ ipiil tiit rutland Hcrald)
Elsewhere the Herald publishes in full
the plan of the unofficial or Informal
primary submitted on Thursday to the
meeting of State republicans and bv Thorn
recommended to the State committee
Ihls Is done both as a matter of news
and republican duty, although it is with
slight hope that the voters will give tho
plan the careful and conscientious study
it deserves
| Ihis scheme for 'soap box primary
has been carefully worked ont bv the
sub-committce so carefully that. with
n few changes. it would serve as an ox-
cellent groundwork for a direct urinary
law. The scrupulous fashion in which
Messrs Howe. Barber ana Darling have
done their work must he commended. but
inc failure of the republicans present at
the meeting to appreciate the magnitude
of the labor it entails is simply astound-
| ing
Far from being limited as was freely
stated in the meeting to few hundreds
OF dollars. the plan will probably entail
an expense Of thousands if it Is carried
to successful conclusion, to say moth
ing of the unrcmitting and exactlng
work which Is will demand of the county
and town committees
Putting in a brief form the work with
which the state committee seems about
to charge itself, one must note the fo,.
lowing:-
l Printing of filing blanks and certi-
ficates of nomination:
Collecting and checking Of same and
printing of ballots with cards of inestruc-
tons circulars, etc. Candidates must
also he pledged to abide by result.
Personal supervision by county men,
Der of every town committee in making
arrangements for posting notices. secur-
ing of polling places and holding of pri-
maries;
Getting vote out to primaries, check
Ing voters, listing same. counting ballots.
tabulnting and certifying and In most
cas"s collecting returns. delegates must
be pledged to vote for candidates getting
highest vote)
Arranging for state convention. get
ting out decent attendance and certifying
to secretary Of State;
In addition to this, the congressional
district committees and the county COM
mittocs must make ARRANGEMENTS for
getting their tickets on the State ballot or
provide ballots of their own. following
up the progress of the primary exactly
as the state committee must follow UP
the state ticket
Then after all Is ACCOMPLISHED and n,
the hands of the secretary Of State. these
same committees must proceed to get
their candidates elected, The latter in
itself may prove a full ,non's iob 10 cav
nothing of the preliminarios. and. with
all du" respect to the present State COM
mittee, the task seems beyond it's proha-
BILE financial or executive power to accom-
plish.
There seems to the Herald no reasona-
Bile warrant for this heavy expenditure
OF labor and money, and the failure of
the plan would not only be n serious re-
publican misfortune but a black mark
for the primary which it does not deserve.
The Herald Is steadfastly opposed TO
an extra session of the Legislature but
must recognize that of the two evils an
absolutely limited session under a signed
guarantee to adjourn when a direct pri-
mary law had been enacted, might be the
less
II this We're decided on, the committee
primary plan ought to be carefully re-
vised into a workable statute. published
for at least two weeks in all the State
papers and then submitted to n self-limi-
ted session (Which need not exceed "A
hours for enactment.
a plan like this might very readily |
appeal to Governor Fletcher and the |
members of the present Legislature.