The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1914-12-17
RICHARDS MAKES
HOT REJOINDER
SAYS RAILROAD GOVERNMENT
Is BETTER THAN LAW DE-
FIANCE BY THE GOVERNOR.

Is BETTER THAN LAW DE-
FIANCE BY THE GOVERNOR.
Huron. S. DR.. o. Richards, state
chairman of the Republican Primary
organization, in commenting upon the
recent party central committee meet
ings at Pierre, said:
My theory in providing. in the
primary law. for legal, representative
party endorsement to appointive Of
fees was hat representative govern
ment constitutes more than one rep
resentative. That our government,
through the official spoiis system, has
drifted away from its original o
ings and become ultra-eXecutiye or
monarchial in interests of the politi-
clans, intsead OF representative III in
tcrest OF the people. In other words,
that representative party government
should hive q restraining influence
upon executive governemnt, instead
OF executive spells Influencing party
government. Unrestrained executive
government is monarchial govern
ment.
iii the supreme court, by its de-
cision declaring that may means
must has hamstrung the primary
law, relative to abolition of the spoils
system in appointive Offices, SO that
tine state central committee, as a rep
r~csentative body, is lot free to en-
dofse and recommend whom they see
ut, the office can not seek the man;
but the man must always seek the
Office.
1.-THE primary law, in Section t14,
makes the state central committee u
misrepresentation body, deliberate
body, and says 1t shall act and give
the party endorsement to anyone it
chooses by open ballot ana majority
rule.
.lf the supreme court, by its de-
%cision,s has Willingly or unwitting ely
locked the freedom of tie party state
central committee, SO It can not rec
commend whom it chooses unless an
application is filed with the secretary
OF state, then it has also made it un-
lawful for the party chairman and ma
%tional committeeman to endorse or
recommend anyone to appointive Of
fee who has not filed a formal APP
plication with the secretary Of state;
because Section 11t provides that
they shall act for the party commit
tee in dc interim to I'LL vacancies.
HIS decision also annuls tha spirit Of
the state constitution, which pro-
vides minority party representation
en- state boards, when the party is
denied free, open, representative ao~
ton to recommend whom it desires 10
represent it upon the Board OF Char
iticS and Corrections.
Isslc Yet UEtried.
ACCORDING to tne supren ne couits
decision, il no one files an applica-
to-. with TIC ;sAe..,tary Of state. j,
is unlawful foc The parry ~organiza-
ton to endorse or recommend any
one! Indeed, the daeiaion CT the su-i
pralne court has Killed tho moral
purpose OF the law TO create d Legal
parry restraint on the Official spoils
system. And its decision is based
on a more technical construction or.
miscoHstruction ct the word may 10
mean must The moral RESPONSE
bility for thwaftsng The will of the
people, in deaance OF state law, Il
apon the shoulders OF those who
will ultimately be neld accountable
by the impartial pen OF The historian,
"it is quito impossible TO try out
fihc paramount issue, within the par-
Il, On it's merits while the majority
in power can feddlesthe Official spoils
against the minority. No primary
law can operan satisfactorily until
Minis matter, Of tho otiieial SPOTS, is
adjusted, 50 that II can not be used
by The executive and his cohorts for
~orgasliziag purposes, in the primaries
and az general election, to influence
The verdict at4the polls and TO per-
petuate the machine power. 1t is an
D.; ~, ~ ,-to 1, + i,,c1.oJn r,tHJtffn .ISo nt.uoy,
ization, with which the supreme court
the governor and the politicians of
the party state central committee are
temporizing.
at is apparent that President Will
son and his postmaster general have
bat very little persona! acquaintance
IN South Dakota, and, located 1900
miles away, do not know whom to
appoint IN this state.
Richards Rule Better
THE question is whether the pro-
visions of the primary law calling for
responsible, open, representative par
ty government, through sthe state
central committee, shall be enforced
to make party recommendations for
appointive offices, aside from post
masters, and whether the people are
to be denied their legal right, under
The party law, to vote to recommend
Lparty candidates for -postmasters in
their respective municipalities, or
whether a secret cliaue OF Two Of
/ three, called the machine, are to be
permitted to corrupt the South Da-
kota electorate with the official
spoils, in defiance of a state law de-
handing responsible, pen, repre-
Tentative party government.
THE vicious methods persued in
The recent election should stir all
honorable thinking men to action
Throughout South Dakota. The gov
ernor and the attorney general,
sworn to enforce and uphold the
state laws, have sat silently by and
neither given moral nor legal sup
port to the party primary law; but
before the bar of a rising public
1-sr;o, 1+o11o,, ,so 49, 1, ,r,o4 1.aor m n r5o