Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-01-02
PRIMARY REFORM
rtiele Intended to Make Peo
ole Think,

4 rtiele Intended to Make Peo-
| pie Think.
! rticle on the subject Of pri-
b kction reform Is being printed
ID 3nber Of South Carolina pa
y ader Of these lines, II he Is
one e thousands who have helped
TO % Re many Of our primary cleo :
tions write a better set of regula-
tions a we now have.
fbe reat problem has been not
wnst do. but to get anything done
We We depended on party COW
yenho Time after time the con-
vento has sidetracked proposed re-
forms II you have ever been to a
state vention you know why. tits
an IN Idly crowd Of men who rush
throue q lot Of business in a few
hours they get to a consideration
of the 5port Of the committee on
rules e In the programme; some
times Is near midnight. There is no
time deliberate and rather than
adopt 3snges they do not understand
the co 1rention does nothing.
Ever should the session be extend
ed to NO days, and the second given
to the fules. there could be no thor
ough tonsideration. Delegates twice
as numerous as the whole legislature,
unorganized, split into warning fac
tions, many Of the individuals, candi-
dates for an impending primary can
not be expected to give the calm. fair.
non partisan attention and decision
without which there could be no sat-
tenn.
We are not guessing at possibilitiAG>
or even stating possibilities, bu4 facing
facts established In our conventions.
Something Stronger Needed.
But suppose for moment that we
could eliminate factionalism for once
and hold the convention in sessfon
long enough for careful deliberation.
we would then get only party rules
and not state laws. We protect our
nORS ny ldWS 6iidlA VIC lIucl luO
right Of our suffrage to party rule?
When our people go to the ballot
there Is set In motion one Of the
mightiest forces that ever move them.
Deep convictions are stirred, strong
prejudices are aroused, passions loos-
ed. Along with the many moved by
high motives march the determined
band Of avaricious seekers for person
al advantage, and those lusting for
power. Here IL anywhere In the life
of our people the strong arm Of the
law Is needed to protect US from the
forces Of evil in the exercise Of the
most sacred and fundamental act Of
citizenship.
At the hands Of the legislature we
can get redress. It can build bull
wark to protect our ballot, bulwark
buttressed by the law and backed by
all the forces Of our government. =
Others Have Them.
Even in states where the primary
nomination Is not equivalent to N
election they control every detail OF
their primary elections by laws. How
much more necessary are legal safe
guards with US where the primary Is
everything.
Our legislature has felt the necessi-
~ VI pfluldIy pTOIcCliii6 cIdtuIoos ouo
has enacted some. But they are scat
tering, and apply only here and there,
leaving such wide spaces unprotected
that they amount to little or nothing.
BY passing them we have admitted
the principles Of statutory regulation,
but by stopping with only beginning
accomplished our effort has been fu-
tile. ~
4 Now 10 the Time to Act.
It only remains for you, the readers
Of this article and this rest Of the raplas
and file Of our party, to say to our
representative, Give US a simple.
plain, strong law to protect our pri-
msry without taking away the ballot
from any honest Democrat" Now Is
t&S6fE1E to act ALI the Legislators
work out a!G i5lIla lIGi !sis sS-dsy
session. But II Is up to you to insist
that they act. Interested men may try
to have them postponed again as they
have In the past. You must look az
ter your rights or they win be lost by