Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-10-22
LEGISLATION FOR
CLEANER POLITICS
KILLED BY G. 0. P.
Continued from Page One)

lIlublSs. IL UftFs}du 'LiGL muse VIII
a unanimous vote and was killed
in the senate. House bill 8. to reg
ulate the traffic in liquors. and II.
+. %. to regulate distillerS. were
killed in the house. II, h. IA. to
prohibit the drinking Of liquor on
trains, passed the house; SO the
senate passed substitute and
nullificd the action of the house. N
support Joke lSill. ....
The question OF a primary was
not only brought IN in the house
1t was proposed in the senate by
s. b. 10. introduced by Barth, dem
Ocrat, and by s. b. 1874. introduced
by CHAMPION, republican. The lat
ter bill caused no end of fun ON
the democratic side Of the senate.
When it was brought up for final
consideration 1inkle. democrat,
moved that the title be amended
to read: AN act providing for the
permanent establishment OF the
convention boss system to nomi-
nate candidates for public Office
Mabry democrat. moved to call the
bin AN act 30 excuse the republic
can party for its failure to fulfill
one of its prediction pledges"
The bill was not in any sense a
true primary law. but the republic
cans Of the senate voted solidly
for it,
Among the 1915 suggestions for
the improvement of politics was II.
b. 2S1. providing a fine Of from
$500 20 5000 for attempting to
influence employees by threat, in
limitation, promise or beseeching.
1t was proposed by Smith, demo-
crat of Luna, but never got out of
committee. House bill 2S2. by the
same author, provided that corpo-
ratiouS should not contribute to
the campaign funds or. to any per-
son for the benefit of any party or
it's candidates. This suffered
similar fate. II. b. 1893. providing
that Aate and district officers be
nominated a: delegates convention
and that the delegates thereto and
all county officers should be nomi-
mated by direct primary was de-
fealrd although It was exactly the
system which the republican plat
form OF 1920 endorses.
Others Die In Committee.
Other important bills of the 1915
legislature were II. B. 116. to pro-
hibit employers from debating the
politics of employees and S. b. 1870,
relative to the nominations of cam
didates Both were killed in COM
mittee, '.. 20 ...
In 1917 II. b. III. proposing to
secure the purity of election Judges,
was killed by the adoption of an
unfaVOrahle committee report. IT,.
Il. l72, proposing a primary law,
was dealt with in Il similar man
ner.
The adoption of some form of a
primary law was an important
topic in 1919, and certainly no one
could say that the republican ma
joritics in the two houses lacked
material from which to select.
There was II. Il. "a. Speaker Sc
dillo's primary; II. b. 1913. lsidoro
Armiiu's proposal to allow the
matter to be optional with coun-
ties; H. r 1SS. Melhop's primary,
optional with the party, and II. b.
1886, Bort Clancy's suggestion for
n suitable bill. The only one which
got out on the floor was II. b. 1913
and when this was brought before
the house the enacting clause was
stricken out by vote of " to ~.
From the record it would appear
that the republican party, which
has controlled every. Legislature in
statehood, has been against the
passage Of a primary law. law to
define lobbying. law 20 keep cor
poratious ont of politics and to
prevent the dictation by employers
of the politics of employees.