New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-09
Change in Primary
Law Is Agitated
By Women Voters
Convention System, With
Delegates Elected Direct.
ly by the Voters, Is
Urged by Mrs. Livermorc

To amend or not to amend the OK
;sting primary law of this state is the
question now agitatng the minds of
many Republican women who arc
keenly interested in the states well
fare.
Mrs. Arthur l.. Livermore, of Yonk-
ers, who is member of the State
Committee and heads the Republican
women of this state, believes that it
should be amended.
"The political party is the clearing
house for everything, said Mrs. Liver
more. Every organization has its
machinery for conducting affairs, and
the Republican party is the clearing
house for all affairs in which Repub-
licans have share.
The present methcd of selecting
state officers should ne changed. At
the present time the state conventions
ton taken at them is termed unofii-
cal. Only official nominations may be
n ade in the primaries.
"Nationally the great political par
ties nominate candidates by means Of
a party convention to which delegates
are elected. The ideal way of electing
state officers in New York State would
be for the enrolled voters to elect
delegates and send them to a state
This convention should I proceed
without committee on Credentials
and there would be no chance of dis
qualifying voters, as under the old
system. Delegates to the convention
selected at the primaries could only
be disqualified by court of law,
which, of course, would prevent the
domination of convention by the So
called political boss.
90
of state candidates by delegates elect
ed by the people would be many. In
this way, man whose record was not
thoroughly inspected and known could
not be selected.
"The party convention affords county
delegates an opportunity to thorough
ly inspect every candidates qualifca-
tons for party Endorsement. Women
could have a place in all this. We
could sit as full voting members in the
convention and have a voice in the
would be far more effective than un-
der the present direct primary sys-
TEN, when both men and women ballot
hastily on a group of names, the
possessors Of whom they have man.
times never heard Of.
1.-THE direct primary is the ideal
method Of electing officers of small
communities, when candidates are
known personally TO the voters and
conditions existing are known"
Mrs: George II. Childs, president Of
the Womens Democratic Club of New
York City, favors combination Of the
direct primary and the convention.
My objection to the direct primary
is that it places the nomination of
party candidates in the hands OF a
few political bosses" she said There
is no way, as the law stands at present,
to place the blame for nomination Of
candidates who are not up to the mark.
"On the other hand, if a man has
made good record and has been indie
pendent in his opinions, which gcner-
ally means that he has not obcyed every
wish Of the bosses, ne will not be re-
nominated.
by amending the law, it will be
made necessary for a political party to
announce its nominees fifteen days be-
fore the primaries. A candidate not
nominated will thus have the oppor-
tunity Of running on an independent
ticket"