Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-06-27
Clark Answers Davies.
Somerville, Mass, JUNE

cannot afford to open its columns to two
men for a personal quarrel. That being
the case. do not expect to ask your in
diligence for more than one reply to Mr.
Howard Davies, who makes me the OBJ
ject of such intense personal vitupera-
ton in letter to you. It takes two to
make a quarrel, anyway. and | will
strive not to quarrel, in what l write
AS exercised against me, Mr.. Davies
vituperative powers seem nearly equal 10
those of the Lewiston Journal in the
matter of virulency, and somewhat SUI
perior to the Lewiston Journals in the
matter of coherency.
The territory reached by The Kennebec
Journal contains far more of my friends
and acquaintance than It does of the
friends and acquaintance Of the gentle
man from Yarmouth. ! wish to ask
those who know me to maintain kindly
attitude toward Mr.. Davies. From an
acquaintance of seven years standing,
| am able to assure them that Mr.. Da-
vies is a gentleman, and should not be
judged by the manner which he hap
pens to exhibit on this particular occa-
sion. 1t is to be regretted that his zeal
should have led him into the use Of such
language-language that is customarily
foreign TO him.
Now Mr.. Editor, you innocently helped
me into the range Of this unexpected at
tack. You remarked in your paper that
in the Democratic primary election, Mr..
Curtis, the Portland candidate for Gov
ernor, came cut of his nome city with
500 more votes to spare than Newbert
received in the whole of Kennebec
county"
That remark is the truth, and 1 used it
as a text for the comment that, before
Maine had primary elections, l told the
people that primary elections would work
that way, that they would mean turning
over the Governorship and the United
States senatorships to men far whom the
Portland cliques will get out the votes
al the primary. l am still at a loss to
understand. why Portland did not seize
upon that advantage in the primary
elections of 1912, but we find Portland
winning. just as l predicted, on the first
occasion that Portland comes to the
front
While the remark, on which l based my
little comment that Il told you so, is
the truth and nothing but the truth, Mr..
he unearths some different figures to set
'fornenst' those, and then proceeds to
pillory me as being a liar and a fool. I
submit that such action is unworthy
gentleman of the standing of my ac-
cuser.
l am surprised to find a man of the
wide intelligence of Mr. Davies quoting
the Oregon case decision as an instance
of the United States Supreme Court
saying that the primary election lis pop
ular government" That has been said
before, and it is difncult to treat the
statement as subject for anything ex-
cept laughter. But the people who will
read this are more interested in the facts
than in my mirth and l will try TO give
them the facts.
The expression popular government
is often used as applying in general to
the governmental institutions which
started in England at the time the
barons wrested concessions from King
John. We thus generalize when we say
that our government is a popular gov
eminent That is the sense in which
that or a similar expression is used in
that famous Supreme Court decision
Not having the decision before me at this
moment l am unable to state the exact
phraseology, and am not certain as to
whether the decision uses those precise
words, but it does use the idea.
The question of whether the primary is
or is not popular government has
never been before the United States Su-
preme Court, and IL is doubtful if a way
could be devised to bring it before that
Court. The Oregon case involved the
question whether the primary is "Repub-
lican government The Court refused
TO annul the Oregon primary law, on the
ground that the Constitution puts upon
Congress and not upon the Court the
duty of guaranteeing to each state a
Republican form of government" Be-
cause the Court refused to annul a law
over which it had no jurisdiction. it has
been repeatedly argued that the Court
decided that the law was all right AS
a lawyer, Mr.. Davies must understand
t Inc diIterence between an ailusion to
popular government" in the midst of a
rescrlpt, and decree upon Republican
government at the end of rescrpt. .
But, Mr.. Editor, all this is going afield
mary election in Maine, not in Oregon, is
popular government as compared with
the former Maine convention system
Mr.. Davies produces some figures in the
nope to SHOW that it is popular govern
tie.
The World Almanac states that Plais-
ted, the Democratic candidate for re-
election as Governor, received g., 74S votes
at the September election in 1912 This
year, the Democrats hope that the Pro-
gressives will enable them to carry the
State. Such hope ought to have brought
out great attendance. at the polls on
primary election day. The returns show
that Curtis received 1870 of the 1912
Democratic vote Newbert 12G6, McIn-
tire &c, and Keegan Sc, a total
of A9o. Certainly a poll of only
4lfo of the partys vote at the last
election, especially with such hope
and such a contest, does not indicate that
the primary is as popular as might be
desired. Furthermore, of the Democrats
who did vote as the primary, a large
majority preferred some candidate other
than Mr. Curtis Mr. Curtis is nomi-
mated by minority and the hope of the
Democrats is that this minority nominat-
ed candidate may. by virtue of the plu-
ra1ty law, become elected Governor by
a minority.
Under the old convention system. the
nomination. at least was by a majority
OF the party's representatives.
wonder in how many of the 16 coun-
ties did Mr.. Curtis have a majority vote
at the Democratic primary.
We hear talk about rule by the ma
Jority, but we have established a sys-
tenn of rule by minority and are, by
4lA