The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-02-17
State Representatives Re-
fuse to Follow Step Sen
ate Has Taken.
SENATE REPEAL BILL
WILL HAVE HARD TIME
Representative Eliel of Bea-
verhead Leads Latest
Reactionary Move.

Helena. Feb. 16.~-Thc house of rem
| resentativcs this afternoon by a vote
of 40 to 80 killed the bill introduced
by Representative Eliei of Reaver-
! head county for the repeal or the pri-
| mary act. lnasmuch rs Mr.. Elieis
| hill provided for the submission OF
| this measure to the people at the next
! general election 1t is thought that
much hard work lies before the senate
| reactionaries If they are to get past
the house the bill introduced by Nc
| Cone which gives no consideration to
the fact that the people placed the
law on the statute books.
EGei Defends It.
Representative Eliel defended his
bill on tho ground that 1t put the
matter of repeating the law up to the
people of the state and that ir the
measure should be amended so as to
overcome the objections which have
been raised against the system the
effect of these amendments could be
seen at the primary election and II
they made the bin Il workable affair.
the people would undoubtedly keep
tho measure in effect by their vote at
the November election.
| Mr.. Eliel argued much along the
same line as did Senator Edwards the
afternoon before. He stated that the
primary system was cumbersome, cx-
pcnsivc, that 1t did not give the people
,,l,
than did the convention system and
that he had not observed that it placed
better men in office.
Murray, Cascade. said that he had
campaigned for the primary as he
thought 1t to be a poor mans law"
but that after having been through
two battles under 1t. he had decided
that it was more expensive, than the
other system and that it did not give
the poor man any more chance than
did the convention system. lie stated
that he would vote for the absolute
repeal Of the bill without putting 1t up
to the people. but that Mr. Elel,s
measure was absolutely fair
Oppose Bill.
Representatives Holt. Cascade, and
White. Fergus. were the principal op-
poncnts of the measure. Mr.. White
went back to the early days and said
that he had had plenty of experience
with the convention form of govern
mcnt and it's system Of hand picked
delegates Personally, he did not care
for any more of it and he felt sure
of the sentiment OF the farming COM
munities THE farmer does not want
= this law taken from the statute books"
said Mr.. White. Il know a whole lot
of crooked work that has gone on in
! this state and want to say that rn-
' der the convention form Of govern
. mcnt Montana was Il stencil POLITICALLY
in the nostrils of the northwest and I
;, don't want to see that day come back.
| don't want to see this bill taken
= from the people,
Answering Representative Murray's
argument with regard to the fact that
the cities were as well represented as
ever under the primary system Mr..
White replied that this could not be
u laid at the door OF tho primary, but
= was due to the fact that the primary
election came at Il time when the
farmer could not get away to vote
n He said that he had the solution of
& this problem and had introduced a bill
" which permitted the people to vote by
g mail but that the bill had not even
@ come out of the committee to which II
10 had been referred.
II Representative Holt asked Mr.. Ellie
le several questions with regard TO his
" Dill and then moved that the enactinp
,s clause be stricken from the measure
le Murray moved as Il substitute thai
,e the bill be favorably reported, TIL,
III substitute lost by vote Of 80 to Il
ii ana III" chair announced that the en-.
ID acting clause had been stricken.