The Topeka state journal., 1914-02-04
POLITICAL GOSSIP.
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States senate. members Of either
branch Of the state legislature and
county chairmen. compose the per-
sonnel of the party council. Thus the
candidates for office are in absolute
control and can force through the
council almost any platform plank
desired. The voters before entering
the primaries are given no hint as to
the measures that may be incorpor-
ated in their party platform and they
are forced to declare their political
faith and trust blindly to the party
council to write a satisfactory plat
form.
Since the primary election law was
enacted. there has been q general
tendency to permit the candidates to
dictate the platform pledges. Even
in 1910 the old gag rule In politics
was adopted by such reform Repub-
ley, jackson. Bristow and Capper
when this organization forced
through the party council the plat
form declaring for the initiative and
referendum and recall. The plat
form was offered on the floor of the
council by william Allen White and
was neither subject to amendment
nor debate, although there was di-
vision among the members OF the
council and the Republicans of the
state as 10 lhe appioV"A oA s0e
planks.
In 1912, the state committee poll
showed a clean cut majority against
the reelection of J. N. Dolley as state
chairman. But Stubbs and Capper
wanted Dolley at the head of the
mony'' the state committee elected
Dolley and watched him desert to the
Bull Moose cause. Again there was
opposition to the I. and r. and re-
call, but the leaders on the state tick
ct demanded these planks and they
were incorporated in the platform
without being checked up to the vot-
ers in the primaries for approval or
disapproval.
Fear a Party Row.
It was with these things in mind
that Charles F. Scott recently de-
manded a state convention to draft a
tentative platform. He wants the I.
and r. and recall settled before the
primaries. If it is adopted or re-
jected, candidates for Office must
stand on the platform when they
seek nomination and voters will en-
| ter the primaries with their eyes open
and knowing that the party council
cannot go behind the pre-primary de-
cision, Is the argument OF the lola
editor. Of course a Republican pre-
primary convention to write a plat
| form may precipitate another party
row. But Scott's argument is to the
effect that the factional differences
can be settled more easily before the
primaries than in the nine weeks fol-
| lowing the meeting of the party coun-
Gil and Just preceding the November
| election
REGARDLESS of the action taken by
| Kansas Republicans this year, it is
quite certain that an effort will be
mad to change the law at the next
session of the legislature. Even the
men opposing the holding of a con~en-
| ticn at tins time admit that the law
should be repaired and will advocate an
amendment when the law makers come
to Topeka next winter.
| The Cost of Consistency.
| Referring to the efforts of probable
state candidates to block the holding of
a Republican convention, the Fort
| Scott Tribune published an editorial
which tells of the situation facing party
leaders in the state at this time. I'm
der the heading, Cost of Consistency
| the Tribune said:
! Messrs. Capper, Akers and other Pro-
si,ee on the Reppbiican H ticket in Kansas have have
| organized fight on the pre-prtmary
state convention plan because it appears
would adopt platform that would pre-
c.,de their candidacy. In this fight they
Who regard harmony paramount to plat
form at this time:
platform before the nominations are made
Clearly propose to defeat the purposes OF
the primary law. which provides
specific way for making party platform.
Suppose a pre-primary state convention
should adopt platform, could it be held
cord with it, In view of the fact that un-
der the law 1t would become the duty of
those candidates themselves to make q
platform after their nomination?
It looks now Is though there Is q strong
Of sos IT % old
| 'regulars' being thrown out of the thir.