The Alaska daily empire., 1918-04-27
Purpose of the Law to Give Voters Chance to Express Choice at
 the Primaries.
ZONE VOTE' NOT ENOUGH
Purpose of Law to Defeat l Plan Advocated byWick- ershaimtes to Steal
 the Nomination.

JUNEAU, April 25.-To the Ed tor.-The Dispatch frankly informs us that if Wickersham gets one vote at primary election next Tuesday, that he will be the official candi- date of the Republican party at the general election next fall That de- bends on the manner of interpret ing the law. If the law means that the people have no choice in the matter, if they are compelled to support a man who is not a cit izen for instance or one who has been convicted of a crime, simply because he is the only person who put up fee and declared that he wanted the job, and because a more worthy man has waited for the po- sition to seek him, then perhaps our Republican friends are con- fronted with Hobson's choice.
 This, however, does not appear to be the case. This primary law was devised or should have been de- vised to give the people of party or ganizations an opportunity to ex- press their free choice, to seek out d man for place, rather than be compelled to choose between those who have sought the jobs. That is why the blank line appears on the ballot. The only advantage a can didate for nomination has over the field, those who have not become such candidates, is that he has his name printed on the ballots as the law directs, but this does not give him a mortgage on the ticket. The candidate is not paying for this election. The people of the Terri
 tory are paying for it and they arc entitled to a free and untrammeled
 use of all the machinery connected
 with it. The law directs that no
 name may be printed on the official
 ballot unless candidate for nomina-
 tion has filed his declaration. It
 does not say that the voter may not express his own choice, seek to ob tain a candidate for his party that meets with his own approval. l. does not say that the voters may not choose their own candidate for theii party, but it does say that the vot- CT shall ask for a ballot at the pri- mary of that party with which he expects to affiliate in the general election. Then in what manner can
 the Wickersham voters be stan
 peded? Where should they be stam-
 peded from and to where? The sup
 porters of MT .Sulzer certainly are
 not attempting to stampede tho Wickersham vote into the Demo- cratic primaries. They want them
 to vote where they belong in the Republican primaries. No doubt there is a very large element in the Republican party that does not look with favor on MT. Wickers- hams candidacy for the Republican nomination,--it is their problem to overcome the advantage he has of | being the only candidate of the party whose name will appear on | the official ballot at the primary election. The blank line is there
 and if they vote as they feel there is a strong probability that Wick | ershams one vote will look very | thin when the certificate of results | is received by the various canvass | ing boards.
 Nice little scheme to have one single plugger vote for the entire | Territory! Have one voter declare 1 to the entire Territory: ''I will elect your Delegate to Congress" ;
 but this fine-spun theory will not work out in practice.
 Election laws are made and en- l forced in the interest of the voters not the candidates, flor the bene- | fit of the people, not jobbers and l job hunters.