Arizona republican., 1919-11-08
No liberal man would impute a
charge of unsteadiness to another
for having changed his opinion.
Cicero.
The Direct Primary


whenever the democrats Of Arizona meet and
search among the debris and the chaff for some
grain of harmony they invariably discover again that
the direct primary is the cause of all their No
doubt it has contributed in part the disagreement
within the party. but the causes which had
given Arizona a direct primary, shall herein
after show. would have forced division of the
party, II the old convention system had been main
tanned and would have brought the division earlier.
The majority in the constitutional convention
must have been of the disastrous effect which
the direct primary must have upon the dominant
party. That is something that any reasonable and
reasoning man may perceive without illustration.
Il something that should have obtruded itself upon
the Imagination when it first suggested And In
the majority had the overthrow of the
strong republican majority in oregon as a warning.
But the radicals in the convention thought of
something else. The people had lately by over
whelming majortes elected delegates TO the con-
yention democrats who were committed to the most
radical experiments in government. They had been
rcyamped by an oregon socialist from ancient popu-
list doctrines and the Arizona voters had devoured
them and said unmistakably that they were pleas
ing to the taste.
There was an old line element in the democratic
party opposed to these things The republican party
and especially the party leaders generally OPP
posed to them but the result of the election dis
closed that the people favored the widest theories
that had been proposed and seemed to want more.
To the radical leaders, the republican party in
Arizona seemed negligible II the radicals could
control the democratic party that sufficient for
them and as now the people with them they
preferred to before the people rather than
their chances in party conventions where the old
time democratic leaders out of their experience and
superior finesse might be able minorities
into majorities.
It did not occur to them that the people might
change their minds; that sanity might sometime be
restored to the electorate and that they would turn
back on the way socialism and what we have
since learned to call boshevsm.
The radical leaders moreover were looking to the
immediate and not the distant future They wanted
10 control the offices when the state was new Once
established they willing trust the future to
take of itself Nor did they take into account
that there might sometime be a coalition of con-
servative democrats and republicans
They have lived though to see the constitution
no longer regarded as sacred to the people grow
weary OF so-caled popular government; to see the
wave which spread all the west and well into
the middle west receQe ana leave nehnd IL q mucky
miasmatc and i'll smelling which has been is
being reclaimed rapidly as possible
Perhaps majority of the democratic leaders in
Arizona admit the failure of the direct primary as an
Snelligent expression of the people They as
result of it lower grade Of officaldom. More Of
public officers chosen by sort of accident.
The more of a demagogue candidate is the greater
the chance Of his nomination. The leaders would
like TO rid themselves the whole business but many
Of them afraid Instead of repeating the direct pri
mary law, they would evade it. They proposing to
prefer" candidates in party council and avoid
multiplicity OF candidates But they do IT, The
opreferredp candidate win have drawn against him
Inc fire Of every peoples candidate and if he should
be nominated he will inherit so great anmosity as
10 make his election extremely doubtful