The farmer and mechanic., 1914-06-23

a record of bond issues and deficits, |
deficits and bond issues, as ours is |
sure 10 De unless reforms are instituted |
tails in a primary test of compe- |
tence, and that taxation reform is of |
the first order of political Importance.
Platform Insures Part; 1t is Up to the
People to Get the Rest
This point l wish to discuss later, |
however. My point here and now is
simply that the Platform committee
accepted nine items from the mass
meeting resolutions, and that except
for Nos. l and of the rejected de-
mands, the committee did not express
hostility to these half dozen rejected
demands, but simply declared that
they should be left to the Legislature
and public opinion.
So, as l see it, it is now simply up
to the people Of North Carolina who
| believe in these things to go ahead and
get them through the Legislature. We
| ought to remember this that a plat
form in North Carolina has represent
ed minimum Of party endeavor
! rather than maximum. We have
had one advance after another in
| child labor legislation, for example,
mentioned in the party platform, SO
! far as l know. And in the Legisla-
ture of 1913 we put through the six
| months school term, compulsory at
tendance, the Torrens System, vital
| statistics, submitted ten amendments
to the State Constitution, and did other
| things almost as big without any one
of them having been even remotely
| mentioned in the platform.
AS l see It therefore, all this talk
| about the Democratic party being
ruled by standpatters and steeled
against the demands for progress, is
in danger Of being overdone. Instead
n a MI a ho o6y Of
progressive measures were checked in
the convention, the truth is that we
won "a genuine victory and have only
to go right on in order to win other
and yet greater ones. If there had
only been a contest to bring the great
rank and file of the party to Raleigh,
or If the convention had not been
held at such a busy time for farmers
(Which was wrongly there is no telling
! how progressive a platform we might
; have had
Certainly in view of what has beer
accomplished, and in view Of what the
State PresS-an accurate reflector o,
public opinion has shown as to The
vigorous and imperious demand for (
; still more progressive platform, there
is no occasion for the charge that Ou1
party is to be dominated by reaction
, , aries.
: We have only to look we'll td oul
educate our people as to the issue
before in order to insure an in
spring record of Democratic achieve
ment in the Legislature Of 1915.
: And with SO much by way of pre-
q face, l wish now to present my OWL
q views, to such as care to follow me
y as to what the issues before us are
: Let us consider then, first Of all, tn
). fundamental essential of democrac
"a modern well-safeguarded, legal
q lied, Statewide primary for all of
fees and for all parties the same day
v In President Wilson's famous phras
:: Back of all reform lies the mean
y Of getting it, and it should not b
forgotten that Immediately after thi
( sentence he announced that the frs
thing needed as means Of popula
expression and action is the direo
primary, the direct choice of thei
officials by the people without the in
IS tervention Of the nominating ma
chine" adding that 1.-The critical mo
d ment in the choosing Of officials
/ that of their nomination more ofte
t. than that of their election Espec
Is ally is this true wherever a State
n safely in control of one party. Th
ct rank and file of the voters have onl
t. the shadow of democracy if they e1et
candidates but do not select them.
n Let us begin at the beginning the
re by asking: What does the direct pr
mary mean? 1t means simply takin
b. away the right to name candidat:
n- from smaller group Of men and pu
L. ting it into the hands of the gre;
rank and file Of the people, givir
H. every citizen a chance to say VIII;
at man will best represent him.
And the next question that aris
he is: Why is there opposition to the d
al rect primary unless it is that SOM
ed body is unwilling for all the peop
to have this right of naping the
n own candidates? And why are th'
unwilling for the people to have tn
lie right unless it is that their own priv
ch leges would be interferred with?
In other words, if there isn't son
he real need for the direct primary. th'
IT. WHY is it that in practically eve
,ot state in the Union powerful political
nd and special interests. by fair mea
,rs and foul, have fought this demal
-es of the people as they have foug
ct hardly anything else in all the poli'
le- cal history or America?
M An Excuse That Won't Hold Water
-tyt There has been but one serious e
ed. cuse given for opposing the prlmaI
so far as | have heard. That excu