Evening times-Republican., 1914-01-17

Des Moines, Jan. 17.-r there 10 any
occasion for Quarreling over how many
delegates come from this state fo
national conventions Of 1916 repre-
senting suppressed citizenship or ad-
| ministration pocket boroughs 1t will
! not be the fault Of Senator A. B. Cum
Minis. He intends to do all that within
| him lies. and to make it his main pro-
gram. to aid President Wilson or any
and all others in securing prior to the
next presidential campaign a nation
wide primary law for nomination OF
candidates Of the various parties.
Not only will the presidential pri-
mary be reality but also there will
be the open gateway for constitutional
amendment II the Iowa progressive
senator has his way about il. He made
| this much plain just before he left for
Washington few days age.
L intend to do all that can to have
this nation adopt the primary system
for making nominations" he said. 81
said at the Grant club tha. I regarded
| the primary system Of making nomna-
tons as the greatest forward step in
our political affairs in our time. 1t is
all that and more, and 1t is really sur
prising how rapidly the i6ea has taken
hold of all the people everywhere in
very recent years. We have been max
ing use of the primary method of
effect.ng nominations for county office,
in the republican party, here in Iowa
, for many years. Now 1t seems that it
is being adopted every where. 1t is a
reform that is here to stay and to be
extended"
Senator Cummins introduced into
the United States senate more than a
year and a half ago his bill for presi
dental primary covering every fea-
ture of it and embracing q comprehen-
sive and workable plan for effecting
the nomination OF candidates by direct
vote Of all the members Of each party.
He could get no action on It in that
congress. A year ago he again intro
duced it into congress and that bill has
been pending in COMMITTEES ever since.
But the b-commi,ee having it in
hand agreed to report il to the main
committee favorably and probably this
has been done already. Just what the
committee on privileges and elections
will DO with it remains to be seem but
1t can no longer be kept in the back
ground. Senator Cummins was quite
confident before ne returned TO Wash
!ngton that the committee would act
favorably On his bill and he fastened
back TO Washington largely to give it
his personal attention.
Senator Cummins is also author of
what is known as the gateway amend
ment' TO the United States constitution.
an amendment intended TO make it
easier to get specific amendments at
tached to that venerable document. 1t
provides. in effect, three ways Of
amending the constitution. one on the
initiative OF congress, another on the
initiative Of states and the other on the
initiative OF individual petitioners.
When the legislatures Of twentyfour
states approve an amendment it must
be submitted to vote Of the people.
When a certain number Of petitioners
in twenty-four states ask an amend
ment il must likewise be submitted.
This 10 practical way Of making use
Of the initiative and referendum to the
constitution.
II am certain that the principle of
the initiative and referendum said
the senator, can be applied to amend
ment OF the constitution much more
rapidly than to passing laws. With this
gateway amendment adopted and the
presidential primary IN force, We will
be better able TO get at the will Of the
people than every before in all the
larger affairs of the nation. There are
details yet to be worked out in the
presidential primary. but the main
principles we ali agree upon. l shall
do my part to get the bills passed and
good law adopted"
1t has been an open secret here that
Ed Meredith is slated by the demo-
cratic machine organization to be the
candidate for governor picked to effect
the defeat OF Clarke next November
Now it so happens that Meredith has
never been one Of the Wade-Reed-
Dunn faction OF the party, and in fact
has been listed along with Claude Por-
ter as one OF those who failed to come
to the scratch when votes were needed
last year to carry a day Cor Dunn. But
the orga nization realizes that ruse Is
necessary and SO the slate has been for
Porter for the senate and Meredith for
governor with Henry Reigelman to be
the chairman Of the committee to
some time ago announced his plans 10
his friends in letters in which he asks
for advice as to proceeding. One Of the
local democratic leaders said yester-
day:
Il wrote Meredith that ! want to see
him in some high office and will be
glad TO support him; but l also wrote
him that 1 feared he would be under
some handicap because If his being
Des Moines man. You see he has been
identified very closely with this big
booster bunch herewith Bolton and
Bostford and Lafe Young, Jr., with
Hubbell and Harbach, the bankers and
real estate men and the corporation
representatives who comprise the
booster clubs. Now they will never con-
sent to having a former president of
the commercial club stand for a prom
ise to repudiate what the state has
done in the way Of purchasing ground
for the ca apitol. The feeling among the
farmers on this capitol business and