New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1916-04-19
Subscription Rates $l.5o Per Year
Wednesday April IL, 1916.
Pr1maryLGw
A DelusIOn.

Since the Reviews recent articles on
the fallacy and absolute impracticability
of the workings of the presidential
primary law, many of the leading weekly
papers of the state have taken up the
criticism and have added to the argu-
ment of why the law should be relegated
to the scrap heap as one of those pieces
of freak legislation which so often creep
into our statute books. A few of the
papers, mainly those whose editors are
afraid that to expose the law would
retard their political prestige, still play
up the rule of the people" humbug.
They seem to think that people can be
fooled into sense of security of power
by offering them the presidential pre-
ference primary pap and following it up
with other primaries equally vague and
equally nonsensical. The primary laws
can have but the effect of reducing eff
cheney in public Office as it is possible
Tor any man, who can make himself
good fellow to gain nomination and
election, but whether he is competent to
carry out the duties of his office is a
different question.
One of the papers which comes out
squarely against the primary system is
the st. James Independent. Editor
Halslett was nominated and elected to
the legislature two years ago under the
primary system and ought to know what
ne IS talking about. He carried his fight
to the people two years ago and con-
WINGED them of his ability to represent
his district in the legislature, yet his
success does not hinder him from
espousing the old convention system.
In the issue of last weeks Independent
Editor Haislett says:
1--WE have now seen the primary law
worked out in many of it's phases and
applied to various Offices and we are still
seeking something commemorate about
1t without success. At the risk of being
called fossilized sheet, charged with
being behind the times and favoring a
step. backwards the Independent is
ready to declare itself as favoring the old
convention system of nominating can
dldates for office, rather than the primary
election law. No changes or amendments
which have come to Our attention appear
to give promise of the desired results I'M
der the primary system. True, in the
Old convention days, caucuses and con-
ventlon committees were backed
frequently a ring was formed and the
conventions were ruled by small coterie
OF professional politicians, but who was
to blame? The men who sat idly bv
and Permitted the thing to go on without
raising their voices in objection to the
proceedings. The right of every dele
gate TO a convention to express his pre-
ference, his choice of candidates, his
choice OF committeeman, etc., was never
challenged, but his inactivity may have
resulted in his not being heard. Com
pared with the primary system, where
men for stated price may file as can
didates; where such men, and they alone,
can be voted for by the alleged sovereign !
people at the polls, the old convention
system, (now relegated to the political
scrap heap by progressive wave that
spells disaster) stands out in bold relief, !
affording the people by far more justice,
more simple management, more economi-
cal arrangement and the greater possibili-
ty of securing men especially fitted for
the Offices to be filled. The Independent
is ready to return to the old convention
system in the interest Of true economy
and better results"