Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1918-09-25
Blunders of General Primary
William Howard Taft in Philadelphia Ledger.

The general primary has lowered the charac-
ter of men put up as party candidates tor ottlce
1t has destroyed party organization and the re-
sponsibility of parties to the electorate for the
fitness of candidates. The old convention had
many evils which could have been corrected by
legislation to safeguard the method of selecting
delegates 1t was most unwise to abolish 1t.
Since early Anglo-SaXon times successful popu-
lar government has depended on free represen-
tative institutions in cases in which the whole
people were not in mass able to legislate, ap-
point or execute
The convention was mere normal develop
ment of the representative principle in party
government. The great body of the electorate
of a party could not in the nature of things
bring to the selection of candidates the time,
the inquiry and the deliberation needed to pick
OUT men fit for office. Especially was this true
in the case of candidates for Offices requiring
professional qualifications.
The movement against the convention was
extended to an effort to abolish parties in some
states. Parties are essential to popular govern
ment They are indispensable to the organlza-
ton of the will of the people into effective ex-
preston. Men yield as to minor matters to
agree on main policies. They act together in
order to put those policies into execution, and
when they become the majority they do so.
Party organization should not be destroyed The
will of the loyal members OF party should be
allowed to have honest voice. Legislation
opening to nonmembers of party the oppor-
tunity to foist upon it candidates whom its loyal
members do not approve is fraud upon them,
and, therefore, upon the public which is bene-
fitted by honest party action.
We should return to the convention, in which
no one but loyal members of party should have
voice We should surround the selection of
delegates and their conduct with penalizing pro-
visions against corruption in their election and
their action.
The general primary is anti-democratic, in
that it usually entails outrageous expense upon
anyone offering himself successfully for Office.
1t drives good men from candidates.; it excludes
the possibility of the office seeking the man.
The very legal formalities necessary put candi-
date in the attitude of chasing an Office, not of
merely allowing his fellow citizens to call him.
This is demoralizing to politics and deprives the
public of the possibility of securing many men
who would be admirable public servants.
The need for informal preliminary state con-
ventions or caucuSes, recognized in New York
and other states, demonstrates the inadequacy
and plumbers of general primary. The ques-
ton is how long the cowardice of politicians
who are convinced of the utter failure of the
general primary will prevent the restoration Of
the convention with proper safeguards against
abuse
In California they have not only abolished
conventions, but they have gone as far as they
SOuiu WITHOUT eApIeSS lcBlsldtloH 10 dDOHSl par
ties. We have now an illustration of how their
system works.
Rolph the mayor of San Francisco, repub-
lican, became a candidate for governor in both
the republican and democratic primaries. His
opponent in the former was the incumbent, Gov
ernor Stephens. His opponent in the latter was
F. J. Heney. Rolph was beaten by Stephens
but defeated Heney. Under the law Rolph can
not run in the election as a democratic candi-
date because beaten in his own primary, and
Heney can't run at all. This leaves the field
open only to Stephens by reason of his defeat
of Rolph among republicans and by Rolph's
strength with the democrats. Could anything
be found in alice in Wonderland" to beat this?
Oh, Lord, how long?
1.-THE foregoing article is copyrighted and is
published by courtesy of the Philadelphia Public
Ledger