Arizona republican., 1914-08-29
Tho California Primaries

ThoSe repuDllcanS as well as those democrats
who derived much comfort from the California
registration figures are doubtless wondering now
with the light of the primaries thrown upon those
figures, what they mean, whether they mean
anything. 1t the first registration in California
since the organization of the progressive party and
though the progressives years ago were elected
by the most overwhelming majorites, the repub-
lican registration this year almost great
that of both the progressves and the democrats
Reactonary republicans in the figures the early
decline the progressive movement Democrats
also welcomed that view Of it, for they had feared
since 1912 that the progressive party the
with which they would have to deal. What the
registration figures indicated in California, repub-
licans and democrats believed, hoped, was hap
pening throughout the nation.
Then came the primaries. All the republican
candidates for the republican nominations for lieu
tenant governor attorney general, controller treas
and general have been defeated within
their party by progressive candidates who are
the regular republican nominees as we'll as
progressive nominees. They accused by the re-
dictionaries of having stolen the republican nomi-
nations. At any rate they stole them according
to law openly and with the full knowledge of the
reactionaries that the theft" being attempted.
They stole" them by the simple process of securing
more of the republican registered vote than the
publican candidates could
Eshelman the progressive candidate for lieuten-
ant governor is a progressive and pretends to be
nothing else He is cordially hated by the reac-
tionaries as is Governor Johnson himself, or Frank
Heney any of the other progressive leaders. But,
without pretending to be republican. Eshelman,
being permitted by the law, entered not only the
progressive but also the republican primaries and
won without opposition in the former and nandliy
in the latter So with the progressves, Webb,
Chambers, Richardson and Kingsbury We may
easily believe that if Governor Johnson had elected
to enter the republican primaries, ne might have
defeated Fredericks, who secured the republican
nomination AS it was, Fredericks in his own bai-
wick of Los Angeles county, where he is exceed
ingly popular with the strength of the republican
machine behind him, has less than a thousand more
than the progressive vote for Johnson who had no
contest on his hands. 1t is significant fact that
only 80 per cent of the registered republican vote
was at the primaries
The primary returns show this: that the re-
publican plurates were for progressives when
ever the latter presented themselves, not only for
nominations for the state offices but in some of the
congressional In this light the registration
figures seem to this, The Republican stated
some weeks ago that it believed they meant:
large plurality of the citizens of California are for
progressive candidates and principles. AS they had
never before had occasion to abandon the repub-
lican name many of them did not elect to do so in
this case knowing that their registration repub-
licans left them freedom action under the Cali
fornia laws to support progressive candidates for
nominations as well progressive candidates at the
general election
The California primaries have produced this
extraordinary situation: Notwithstanding the boosted
republican registration the republicans have not
been able nominate republicans for five Of the
principal offices, but will be represented at the
election by five progressves who make no pretense
of republicanism
further evidence of the prevalence of progress
sve sentiment in California appears in the fact that
some of the progressive candidates in not only
the republican but also in the democratic primaries,
so that their names will appear all three of the
tickets
We do not entertain the slightest doubt that the
progressive victory California November will
be sweeping