The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1914-04-11
SATURDAY, APRIL II. 1914.
The Primary Law
Is All Right.


position on the part of some of the
brethren of the state press to find
fault with the new primary law. 1t is
natural of course to find fault with
any change that involves duties or
imposes obligations which did not
previously exist, but where the change
contemplates purer elections and bet
ter government, no friend of good gov
eminent should complain.
The following from the Miami Me-
tropoiis is sample of some of the
criticisms of the new primary law;
Apparently then, the republican and
tina socialist parties of Florida are not
to have the privilege of participating
in the general election!
Under one provision of the inter-
esting Bryan primary act, every po-
litical party which cast as much as
five per cent of the votes at the last
general election must go into the June
primary to nominate their candidates.
and these parties have not arranged
to do SO.
BY this provision. when the June
primary votes have been canYassed
every candidate of every party-eX-
ceDting the prohibitionist which is still
below the five per cent limit-will be
known several months ahead of the
general election date. which would be
an excellent arrangement if all po-
litical parties were of equal strength
or if-as has been limited by some who
disapprove of the new primary law
tried and true" democrats want to
carry their votes to some desirable
office seeker in another fold
But is lit reasonable to expect the
republican and socialist parties to
submit to being shut out of the gen
eral election by a law enacted for
the democratic party of Florida? Is
1t reasonable to expect these parties
to pay for the holding of a primary
election when they prefer to nomi-
nate their candidates by the conven-
ton method? Is it a legal election
or just party measure-this June
primary?
The Metropolis in asking these
questions is merely expressing the
the minds of many people in Florida,
both inside and out of the democratic
party. They are questions, too. that
should be settled conclusively before
the primary election is held
In forcing every political party into
the June primary, is 1T perfectly le
ultimate for the democratic state
executive committee to rule that no
negro democrat can vote therein? Will
1t be possible to keep ii a white
mans" primary, if other political
parties are required to name their
candidates in this way?
Judges and court officers" must
also enter the primary, says the state
democratic committee. Does this also
apply to every political party? And
are the orders of the state democratic
committee binding upon all other po
litica1 parties?
The foregoing is so extreme a view
of the case that a few of its incon-
sistences ought to be pointed out
In the first place, the law has not
deprived any party from participating
in the general election. Certain po-
litical parties have deprived them
selves from doing so by not comply
ing with the terms of the primary
law. But that is the fault of the
parties and not of the law.
In the second place, the law was
not enacted for the democratic party
OF Florida" 1t was enacted for all
parties of Florida. 1t was intended
to purify the elections of ALL parties
of Florida If any party fails to take
advantage of the new law. that is the
party's fault-not the laws fault.
In the third place. the state demo-
!, cratic executive committee did not
rule that no negro could vote in the
June primary. 1t ruled that no negroes
could vote IN the uefnOCraIlC primary
And the ruling was a very proper
one. Each political party has the
right to fix the qualifications of its
own members. The democratic party
is a white mans party and conse-
quently the party authority requires
that a white face be one of the qualifi-
cations for participating in the affairs
of that party.
In the fourth place, the ruling that
judges and court officers must be NOM
mated in the primary applies simply
to democratic candidates. The state
democratic committee has no author
ity to bind other parties and has not
attempted to do So
The new primary law probably has
some little imperfections that can be
easily Strengthened out by additional
legislation. On the main points in
volved it is a good law and it ought
20 have the support of all good men
for a fair trial.