The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-06-03
CALLS THE PRIMARY
NOTORIOUS HUMBUG
Mr. Wardner Condemns Use of "Stick-
ers' and Believes Attempt to Nom
mate Hughes a Mistake.

' u itbhI papers httJ up INV ASAC !
against the direct primary system. The F,
direct primary lost ground in popular
esteem between the referendums Of |
1914 and 1916, but enough ballots |
were cast in its favor last March to
make it the law, and Vermont thus
took the rear position in the process
sion of states that have bowed to this
now notorious humbug of American
politics and are paying good money
for tae experience.
Curiously enough the Vermont
newspapers which have continued to
favor the direct primary have not been
particularly expressive since the Yer
mont presidential primary was held on
the sixteenth inst. 1t was something of
a damper, to be sure, that nobody eX
cept President Wilson consented to
have his name upon the primary bal
lot; vet as Democratic voters are not
numerous in Vermont it would seem
that with lone Democrat as tae only
official candidate the primary should
have been conducted at a minimum of
cost and that therefore there might
! have been some rejoicing among those
/ who have asserted that the direct
primary is more economical than
the caucus and convention. But there
| is no jubilation. May l suggest a rea-
/ son
BY tle infatuated advocates Of the
direct primary free use had been made
Of the name of Mr.. Justice Hughes of
| the United States supreme court 1t
was said that while he was governor
/ Of New York he favored the direct
primary. Whether in the past six years
/ he has come to hold it in derision, as
do most thinking people who under
stand it, we do not know. On this as
/ On other political subjects he has
/ maintained impenetrable silence as be
| comes a Judge. In preparation for the
| Vermont presidential primary Jealous
/ admirers of Justice Hughes, knowing
/ that the primary ballots were blanks
/ except for the name Of Woodrow WI
son. procured a supply of ''stickers
/ bearing the name of Charles +. Hughes
/ and circulated them through the state.
How extensively they were distribute
ed the newspapers do not inform us.
but we are told that except for a few
'stichers' bearing tle name of
Theodore Roosevelt no others were
printed. DR.. H. Nelson jackson says
that the state was flooded with
! Hughes ''stickers''
4 complete printed ballot with a
document. A "sticker' pasted over
one of the names on such u ballot
means something. 1t shows that a
voter has taken the trouble to express
a preference for somebody other than
a regularly nominated candidate. But
where a ballot is blank and can only
be made into a vote by the entry Of a
name and where the voter is furnished
with one printed - sticker'' bearing
one printed name the result is almost
a foregoue conclusion. The grubbv hand
which cramps at the prospect of writ
ing, the doubt as to the full name or
correct initials of candidate, the
problems of spelling and Of writing
lcgibly, conspire with a rapidity and
u cogtncy that make tle printed
''sticker' q temptation not to be re
sisted. No wonder that DR.. Nelson
jackson saw the point and protested
against the distribution of the Hughe-
stickers.' Even if he is Progress
sive | take off my hat to him for call
ing attention to the situation as he did
Had there been full supply of Roose
Welt "stickers ana an equal supply
bearing the legend 4" ANY Straight Re
publican it would have been at least
interesting to see how the pitifully
small vote was divided through the
state. As things stand now the STRAW
vote CD shows personal popularity
for Samuel w. Mccall in the town Of
Lyndon, (2) indicates that the editor
of the Bennington Banner or some
other citizen of Bennington favOrs tn,
Hon. Frank E. Howe for the presiden
cy, (3) has made weathercocks out o
- people like Mr.. H. J. NJ. Jones o.
I Montpelier.
| What were the supporters of Mr.
/ Justice Hughes thinking of when tle,
distributed the este kers?' Doubles
they wished him to be ''high man
in the count of the BALLOTS but di,
| they also wish to discredit the frs
] direct primary Vermont has ever held
| Whether they wished it or not that /
| what they have accomplishment al
in the name of Charles f. Hughes,
1t Is rather an anomalous pOsitio
| for me to take to say that a direc
| primary can be discredited. To max
a direct primary ridiculous is lik
| painting the lily. Each is perfectio
in its own peculiar way. Yet I see tina
the Windsor Journal, rather late cor
1 vert to the direct primary (followin
what I suppose is the example of othe
Vermont papers) has now begun
coupon direct primary as if +
show that the official direct primar
of the 10th instant is already in tn
waste paper basket. So be it. Let til
newspapers have the field for tn
"straw ballot" wrongfully wreste
from them by the direct primary. The
have experience derived from contest
for the 'Smudgewood Range or SON
other kind of cooking stove to /
awarded to the "most popular lady
in the ''battle" of coupons or ballot
The fight is often protracted. Frequen
II it lags. Usually it ends sometin
near the date of the purchase of Sc
eral copies of the newspaper by som
body's campaign manager, and we a
+. then told that Mrs. Bridget MeGint
-a the we'll known scrubwoman of Il
. Pavilion cafe. has won the prize.