The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-01-19
FRIDAY MORNING, JANUARY 10, 1917.
ABOLISHING THE PRIMARY.

ABOLISHING THE PRIMARY.
Every and then newspaper politician, who
in favor of the plan of allowing the people them
selves the right of selecting their candidates. calls at
tention to the failure of the primary law.
They profess great the cost of holding
primary elections and the Inconvenience to the voters
They long for the of the good old days of the
venon system, where few gentlemen selected the dele
gates who in relieved the ordinary citizen of the work
of naming the candidates on both tickets.
There question whatever about the old plan being
much easier to operate and producing final results in
keeping with the wishes of the former and present oppo
ents OF the primary system, which undoubtedly relieved the
people of most of the responsibility of choosing their public
officials.
Had the present legislature been chosen under the old
convention SYSTEM you would have heard little nothing
about the present movement compel the copper mining
companies and the Montana Power company to pay their
prOpOronate share of the expense of maintaining
and county government in Montana.
The Western News of Hamilton, in discussing the same
matter some time ago took occasion to say
of professional champions
repeal of the primary law poessedl the ground
the old
the the deegate-was paid by the interests
nominating candidates remains in the hands of all the where
St
TO exceed W. per precinct by giving printing contracts little at
government the price then why not abolish the
general election well as the primary permit the Rockefeller
the As states to secure the primary
O No
back
and we doubt any ever will Rather the signs of the times point
The reactionares may as well forget it,
The Muscular agrees with its Bitter Root contemporary
that the enemies of the primary law might we'll forget
it, Should Montana legislature attempt to repeal meas
initiated by the people and ratified by them the polls
by threeoone majority, referendum of the action of
the legislature to these people would nuy the
tempt return to the good old days of the convention
by larger majority than that by which the primary law
was written into the Montana statutes.
Undoubtedly the present primary law is somewhat
bersome in that the individual voters be personally
advised as to the merits dement's Of all the candidates
whose names appear the primary ballot but the very
same objection applies to the general election.
great majority OF the voters can have but little know
edge OF the individual candidates the ticket whether
it be at the primary or the regular election,
But the remedy for the admitted evils of the present and
former systems of voting for long list of candidates. about
whom the voter knows little nothing not in the repeal
of the primary law but the adoption Of the short ballot
Good government lies in placing administrative power in
the fewest number possible of elected officials and then
holding them responsible for the right administration
of the power thus delegated.
Instead of eectng long list of obscure state officials
the better plan would be for the people to elect
alone and let him appoint and be personally responsible for
the administration OF the laws by his subordinate ap-
pointees. @eI@ INV
Whenever of them proved dishonest or incompetent
he would have the power of immediate removal from office
Certainly would be in favor of eectjnq along with
the president secretary Of state secretary of war;
rotary OF the navy secretary of the treasury an attorney
general secretary of the INTERIOR postmaster general
secretary of secretary of labor and secretary
of agriculture
The president given the power of appointing and re-
moving these purely administrative officials YET in our
state government we insist eecting the men whose
duties correspond exactly to the duties of the cabinet Off
GERS iq the rational administration.
Thd indi1MbbDvoter does have some conception of the
fitness unftness of the candidate for governor When
he has gone that far down the ballot the average voter has