The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1914-02-05
z, 9,
OUR 4BORTITE PRIMARY Law.

~ 'T-s>s'5o $50 osny 4Oos4S NOudll
on the part of the people for direct
primary law. The demand for such
law came from hungry politicians
and the newspapers. When applied to
small political subdivisions the pri-
mary law works reasonably we'll, but
even in the smallest political sub
division better results could be OBJ
tanned through a representative con-
vention. Will anyone have the hardi-
hood to assert that we have better
congressman, better state legislators,
better judges or better county officers
now than we had under the >conven-
t1on system? There was less danger
of minority rule under the conven-
tion system than under the present
primary system, especially so far as
the state at large is concerned.
Just at present the dement's of
the primary election system are
being widely discussed and many are
the remedies suggested. Every
body realizes that under the old con-
vention system many grievous
wrongs were perpetrated. But the
source of all the trouble was in the
town and precinct caucuses. If the
caucuses for all political parties were
held at the same time at the usual
voting places under the regular
judges of election, a certificate of
election furnished by the judges
of each election precinct to
the duly elected delegates from such
precinct and severe penalties provided
for the presiding officer of any county
convention who failed to recognize
the duly elected delegates, then the
delegates from the precincts would be
truly representatives of the precincts
from which they were chosen. There
could be no bogus contests. In every
instance the certificate of the judges
of election would be prima facie evil
dence that the delegates holding the
same were entitled to seats in the
county convention, and the dele
gates chosen by the county conven-
tions to the district or state conyen.
tions would be- truly representative
of the political parties of the county
they represented. There could be no
contests and the majority of the
duly elected delegates would be
bound to rule at the county, district
and state conventions, OF course,
suitable provision would have to be
made for the calling Of conventions
and the apportioning of delegates,
and severe penalties provided for the
violation of any of the provisions of
the law governing the caucuses and
conventions
A measure such as herein outlined
was prepared by ex-A ttorney General
Childs and the writer and was in
troduced in the house by Hon. Bur-
dett Thayer of Fillmore county at
the 1905 session of the legislature
the bill recognized the primary law
as it then existed and provided for
the election of delegates at the reg
ular primary election to the county
conventions to select delegates to
the state conventions, but there
were several other bills on the same
subject and all of them were rejected
without receiving much considera-
tion.
The present abortive primary
election law, as applied to state
officers, is a dismal failure. The
writer opposed it strenuous]y in the
legislatures of 1911 and 1913, and
predicted that the men who we're
clamoring loudest for the enactment
of such measure would, in a very
few years, be equally insistent in de-
handing it's repeal, and that predic-
tion has been verified. -
SETTLERS ON SWAMP LANDS.-
=. "Few persons in Minnesota know
that the taxpayerS of the, state are