The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-02-26
So Says Mr.. Melendy if Pri-
mary Law Should Be
Adopted
RESULTS IN VARIOUS
OTHER STATES SHOWN
says Primary Does Not Do Away with
Boss Rule Enormous Sums
Spent by Candidates - Convention
System Made Gates Governor.

Spent by Candidates - Convention
System Made Gates Governor.
representative Z. A. Melendv,s
third communication setting forth his
reasons for opposing the proposed di-
rect primary law is published herewith.
Editor of The Reformer:-
one OF the reasons why Vermont
should not adopt the proposed direct
primary law is the experiment of 9th.
er states where the primary has been
tried | submit for your readers some
OF the actual results elsewhere.
PENNSYLVANIA.-A lot has been
SAID about the political machine -
headed by Penrose of Pennsylvania.
pennsylvania had its first primary
IN the fall of 1914, and Pen
rose was nominated for United
states senator by over 100000 votes
ana an enormous expenditure Of
money; he was elected by 100000 ma
Jorlfy, which shows that the primary
does not do away with s.boss' ruIe
LLlNOlS.-Chicago had a candi
GATE for about every office. on the
| democratic state ticket. The Chicago
democratic vote was very large, and it
naturally went to Chicago candidates,
with the result that the entire remain
ing portion of the state of Illinois had
| hardly a representative on the state
ticket. This bears out my theory that
the direct primary would be means
OF celebrating the vote of the small
towns in Vermont
WISCONSIN-The first SENATORIAL
primary in Wisconsin was investigated
by the United States Senate. Senator
Dillingham;, chairman of the elections
committee, appointed subcommittee
which went to Wisconsin to investi
gate. 1t was proved that Senator.
Stephenson, the successful candidate.
| spent over $107 900 TO get nominated
and that his opponents spent over
$500 ,000-state officers $500. OOO-apo
that the total cost of the primary for,
all officers at this election was over
SS00,000, and after the enormous ex
pendlture Of money, only 40 per cent
OF the voters voted. This proves that
the people from the rural towns viii
not come out and vote at primary elee-
tons.
| NEW YORK.-Governor Hngbes
| was nominated in New York. both
times, in 1906 and 1908. bv the con.
/ vention system, and was opposed nv
/ the political machine' so-called
headed by Barnes. The first primary
/ election in New York was in 1912, and
Ievery candidate, favored by Barnes
was nominated. President Shurman of
| cornell university told why he favored
the Convention System. He said:
The convention produced Gov
| ernor Hughes. The primary pro
| duced Governor Cole Blease of
South Carolina -
| MASSACHUSETTS Massaebns-
etts there happened to be consider
able number of candidates for Repub-
mean nomination for attorney general
| OF course, it was beyond the power of
the primary voter to know much about
any people on the primary ballot, ex
cept the candidates for governor and
lieutenant governor. When the voters
got down to the office of attorney gen
eral and were confronted with only a
list Of names, they resorted to an unex-
Ipected course. On the list there hap
pened to be two men of exceptional
qualifications. but unluckily their
names We're pretty far down in the
alphabetical list. There was on the
ballot, however, the name of one cand1-
date for this Office who had the good
fortune to have a surname beginning
with the letter q A - Nobody knew
anything about him or his aualifca
lions, but when the ballots We're count
ed 1t was found that he had been nom
mated by handsome plurality simply
! because his name was first on the LIST
The proposed direct primary law does
/ not provide for any party enrolment.
! If it becomes law, when the prim
aries are held a Republican can vote
! for Democrat or q Democrat for
] Republican. A good illustration of
this is found in the city of Newton.
Mass, last October. The primaries
were to choose Q candidate for MAYOR
/ The Boston Transcript tells the whole
story as follows:
| The Democrats of the citv
having agreed not to make any op-
position to the denomination of
/ the present Mayor, Edwin o.
| Chllds, Democrat, they were all
| left free to rush into the Repub-
mean primaries and nominate him
! there also. Now, any primary is
! supposed to be a means of choice
| between two or more men of the
| party which is holding the prim-
| airy, and in Newton the choice of
the Republicans lay between Ar
| thur W. Blakemore and Abbott B
| Rice. In the primary Tuesday 900
! votes were cast for Mr.. Blaekmore
and ST. for Mr.. Rice Was Mr..
! Blakemore nominated? No. Be-
cause hundred of Democrats
rushed into the Republican prim-
/ aries, entirely deserving their own.
and there cast their votes for Ed
/ win o. Childs, Democrat, and he
was therefore, nominated as the
/ Republican candidate. Although
the normal Democratic vote in
Newton is from 1000 to $500. and
/ 1881 votes were cast for Walsh in
the recent state election. only 319
votes We're cast for Childs in the
Democratic primaries, just about
enough men having been permit
/ ted to go to the Democratic prim-