The Yale expositor., 1916-02-10

The Direct Primary for Yale

On Friday, the 18th day of February,
a special election will be held in Yale
for the purpose of ascertaining the
will of the electors on the proposition
of whether or not candidates for all
elective offices in the City of y ale shall
hereafter be nominated by direct vote.
In order that there may be no misun-
derstanding on the part of our citizens
as to the purpose of this election and
the function of the primary we give
this brief explanation
We now have in Michigan direct
primary for the nomination Of Presi-
dent, l.. :. Senators, Members of Con-
gress and all state, legislative, and
county officers, yet the townships and
many cities of the state, the city Of
Yale being among the latter, have been
lax about adopting the primary system
of nomination. 1t would seem TO us
that measure receiving the stamp of
approval for nomination of candidates
for the more important offices within
the gift of the electorate. could be
profta0ly employed in The nomination
of our city officials.
To apply the primary to Yale would
accomplish the following good results:
In the past, under the caucus system,
as everyone knows, if voter wanted
voice in the nomination of party can
didates it was necessary for him to at
tend ward caucus one night, at which
caucus the ward candidates, such as
alderman and constable were nominal
ed, and later, ON another night, attend
city caucus, at which the city Of
ficers such as mayor, clerk, supervisor
and treasurer were nominated. In
view of the fact that the caueuses al
ways came in March generally on the
worst nights in the monthly it took a
patriot, indeed, to stem March gale
for two or three hours at the Feed
Barn or at the places in the wards des-
ignated for holding the ward caucuses
for the purpose of assisting in the
nomination of his party candidates.
In the past, owing to the inclemency
of the weather and the hours at which
the caucuses were held, large num-
Der of our citizens found 1t inconven-
lent to attend, feeling that the sacrifice
was greater than their duty in the
premises. This was especially true of
many of our older citizens whose health
was such that they did not feel "up" to
engaging in the "free-for-all' at city
caucus.
Under the primary system this saeri-
fee on the part of the electors will be
dispensed with, as the primary will be
held on the first of March; the names
of the candidates of the various parties
will be printed on the ballots, being
placed thereon by petition) and any
time during that day the voter, at his
convenience, can go to the polls, cast
his vote and go about his business.
Now as to the expense of the primary.
Under the old system each party held
caucuses in the three wards and city
caucus. The expense of paying rental
in the places in the wards where the
caucuses were held was double the cost
of four inspectors who would conduct
the primary at the council chambers.
The most wholesome benefit, how
ever, to be derived from the direct
primary would be the elimination of
mob rule. How often have we seen
the annual Feed Barn caucus stamped
ed by mob, in many cases containing
goodly percentage of ''tioaters," who
had no legal right to vote, and would
never attempt to vote at an election,
but who had no scruples against drop
ping "ticket in the hat" at the caucus
when no one was looking.
We feel that the adoption of the di-
rect primary by the citizens of Yale is
progressive step that should have
been inaugurated long time ago, and
we heartily urge that all loyal citizens
who have the best interests of the city
at heart, go to the polls on the 18th
and vote "Yes" on this proposition.
The following will appear on the
ballot
"Instructions-Make a cross in the
square to the left of the words Yes or
No on each proposition submitted"
Primary election system for the nom
ination of candidates for all elective
city offices in the City of Yale.
I\1 YES