The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1914-09-18

trust them with the management G
the state government to the en-
that they may enact pure pr
mary election law. The democrati
party has been trying for severa
years 10 improve upon the primar,
election law, and 1t is conceded b.
all fair-mlnded people that the Law
is so stringent that crookedness il
the count is an impossibility, ant
that the part of the election law tina
needs fixing Is the part that will pre-
vent members of one party voting
the ticket of another party at the
| primary election. The democratic
platform puts the party on record
| favoring a change in this particular
and also adding the preferential fea
| ture to the primary law. The repub
lican party has gone on record as
| fayoring midnight, star chamber
nominations endorsed in defiance of
any primary election law by the
followers of the old carpet-baggers
who controlled the state before state
hood. They had the opportunity of
nominating their ticket according to
law, but they chose to select John
Fields and the other republican nom
inees in absolute defiance of every
election law of this state. Should
those who premeditatedly and per
sistently defy the law be placed in
they sincere in demanding a pure
law when they have sought to annul
the best and purest features of our
election law?
The Oklahoma City Times, as well
as some other partisan republican
papers in the state, are charging that
there was illegal voting during the
primary election. and that the dem.
ocratic party was corrupt in its cleo
ton machinery.
The only big steals that have been
pulled off in Oklahoma was prior to
statehood, and these republican edit.
ors well remember when democrats
were counted out of office by the
various republican election boards.
Having practiced dishonesty and cor
ruption themselves, it is but natu-
raj that they should suspect every
body else, and the fact of the case
is there was some dishonest voting
during the past primary election. |
There was no illegal counting, and |
the Illegal votes We're only those
cast by republicans and socialists, |
who forced themselves into the dem
ocratic primary for the purpose of |
helping elect some weak candidate
whom they thought it possible to
defeat in the general election. Itl
would seem Just a little bit incon-
sistent on the part of this partisan
press to blame the democratic party
for the violation of the election law
hat they, themselves, had caused
In the state convention held at
oklahoma City, on Tuesday, Sep
ember s, in accepting the perma-
lent craftsmanship of the conven-
ion, Judge j. b. A. Robertson, the
'losest opponent of Honorable X. i.
Williams, as nominee for governor,
made a strong plea in behalf of
Judge Williams and the democratic
icket. lie said that no man in the
tate was better fitted to lead the
democratic forces of Ok
ahoma than Judge Williams. and
hat a vote for any other candidate I
would be reputation of the ma.
ional administration; that the only
method Oklahoma democrats had
f showing their approval of the ,
plendid work of President Wilson
nd the national congress was to
phold Judge Williams and the dem T.
cratic ticket in the election this fall. =.
lie urged his supporters in the pri-
lary election to give Judge Will
ans in the general election the
anne loyal support they had given
} him (Robertson) in the primary
lection Democratic Press Bureau. I