The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-10-05
PRIMARY NOW LIKE TARIFF BECOMES SECTIONAL MATTER Much Opposition to System in the Northern States
 Where It Is Being
 Given Trial

Washington. October 4.-(Specialo
 dorsement of the northern and western assertions that the primary system is
 failure, except in the south. and fails to accomplish the ends for which it was
 York. which recently held its initial state wide primary election. As was previously the case was Massachusetts, New ter
 sey and Maryalnd. less than half the
 vote turned out in any of the political parties. and the "organizations'' were in control in all cases.
 Instead of being an instrument of de- fense or offense against the "organiza- tion." 1t now is argued. the primary
 plays directly into the hands of the
 bosses. But this, it may be explained, is directly attributable to the apathy of the voters as a whole. They decline to go to the polls for the primaries. and will not take the time or the trouble to
 vote in those elections. On the other
 hand, the Organization always drums up it's forces and marches them in full
 strength to the polls. So, of approxi- mately 40 per cent of the respective party
 totals cast in the recent primaries in the four states citied, it may be said that 75 per cent were reorganization" ballots,
 Whether the primary is ''the poor mans opportunity" as is claimed, or Is avail
 able only for the man of wealth, is still
 ar open question. Probably the prepon-
 derance of opinion is to the effect that
 a poor man cannot bear the expenses of
 primary campaign. entailing as 1t
 often does. large amount of travel to say nothing of advertising, "litera- ture,'' postage and pay and expenses of orators" and 10000 and one incl dentals.
 But to judge from the records of the clerk of the House of Representatives the primary is not as expensive to can didates for nomination as Is asserted. By law every candidate for a congress sional nomination is obliged to filed with the clerk of the House or the secretary of the Senate an account of contribu- tions received for his campaign and of the moneys paid out One report must
 be filed at least 10 days before pri-
 mary election and another within 10 days after the election. On an average of two candidate tes for each democratic and republican nomination, this would make a total of TAO reports to be filed in the House alone, and as the penalty for omission is severe. most of the candi- ds tes 'come across
 From these recOruS the primary eN- penses must be light. Contributions re- ceived. none expenses. none" so run
 probably a majority of the reports. Others almost as modest disclose expenditures
 ranging from s5 to s25. with an occa- sional century sandwiched in, but with mighty few running high into three fig ures and only one or two requiring four digts in the dollars column. Of course, no aspirant would stretch the truth, or unwittingly forget any contribution or outlay, so these reports must be accept ed as true beyond peradventure of cavil.
 Brt-some suspicious folks, knowing con-
 ditions in certain districts. wag their | heads and wonder
 Another argument against primaries in the north and the west is their fre- qency. Life is just one darn primary l after another fin many states and cities, i ir the complaint of some of the sys- tem's opponents, and in this view they l appear to be correct.
 l So, as has been said, the primary, like 1 the tariff, is now considered a sectional question. and from the growing senti-
 ment in other parts of the country it
 soon may be found in operation in the 1 south alone.