Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-03-18
SUCCESSOR TO
TAGGART- HOW?
Continued From Page one9

the public press that the state central
committee should nominate a democratic
candidate for United States senator, be-
cause Thomas Taggart has said he
was not a candidate In letter he wrote
to the secretary of state, ! beg to sub
NIT that the primary election law in
cludes these functions, siz:
Il. To select the committeeman and
delegates essential to party organization.
20. To nominate candidates for GER
tain Offices TO be elected by the people.
20. To instruct delegates to state and
national conventions whose duty 1t is,
under the law, to make exposition of par
ty policies and to nominate party candi-
dates for the offices a. of president; 81
of vice president; 90 of United States
senator; a. of governor.
1.-THE law throughout is arranged ac-
cording to the distinctions which exist
between the two classes of public Of
fees, viz: ~ Those for which nomi-
nations shall be made at the primary
election, and ~ those for which nomi>
nations shall be made at state or ma,
tional conventions, as the case may be,
Of the respective parties, either by in
structed or uninstructed delegates.
when the nomination is for one of
those offices whose candidates shall be
the candidates must file a 'declar ton
of candidacy before his name may be
placed on the primary ticket This pro-
vision of the law does not apply to the
offices of president, vice president, United
States senator and governor.
When the nomination Is to be made
at party convention the primary cleo
tlon shall determine whether the dele
gates shall be instructed to vote for a
particular person or participate in the
convention without instructions. The
primary vote as 20 instructed or unin-
structed delegates is obtained by means
quite different from those which pertain
TO and control the conduct OF candidates
for offices to be nominated by the pri
mary.
PETITION OF VOTERS
GUIDE AT PRIMARIES.
'The vote cast at a primary on the
issue of instructed or uninstructed dele
gates to a state or national convention Is
obtained, not by the filing of a candi-
dates declaration OF candidacy but by
the filing of a petition of voters
The primary election law .prescribes
the statutory form of a declaration of
candidacy and that statutory form is
quite as definite as the description of
form of instrument. This declaration
of candidacy, If filed with the secretary
of state, is limited by Law to the member
of the national house of representatives;
member of the general assembly, jul
dicial office
"A candidate for United States senator
can not lawfully file a declaration of
candidacy with the secretary of state or
with any other person, and If he can not
lawfully file such an instrument he can
not, of course, lawfully withdraw it. All
such proceedings being unauthorized by
law are wholly void.
RIGHT OF WITHDRAWAL
RESTS WITH SIGNERS.
THE primary election law prescribes
the substance of a petition of voters
and its effect to put before the voters at
the primary the issue Of instructed or
uninstructed delegates to the convention
which shall nominate a candidate for
president, vice president. United States
senator or governor. The person named
in such petition OF voters seems to be
without authority to withdraw It. But
inasmuch as his consent appears to he
essential to the filing in the first in
stance, he might repudiate the petition.
on the theory that involuntary servitude
can not be imposed on anybody. The
voters who signed the petition might
themselves withdraw their signatures
and reduce, thereby, the number of
names below that required to make the
petition valid, but no other person can
make these Withdrawals for them. The
law gives them the right to file them and
that right which the law gives them can
not lawfully be denied them by any in
dividual.
while such Withdrawals OF subscrib-
ers' names do not appear to be provided
for in the primary election law. never
theless that law is to be construed with
other laws which allow person 10
withdraw his name from n petition or TO
dismiss bis suit before the same has
been jurisdictionally acted on by the
officer or tribunal before whom the af-
fected proceedings are to be had.
PRIMARY ELECTION
LAW MANDATORY.
The primary election law is manda-
tory to the effect that a United States
senator shall be nominated at state
convention. There are certain state Off
GERS who can not be nominated at a state
convention and If candidate for one of
these offices should, not less than twenty
five (25) days before the date set for
holding the primary withdraw the mo-
tice OF candidacy filed by himself, then
it would be the duty Of the state COM
mittee TO fill the vacancy, if no other
candidate remained before the people
Il may add In conclusion that I am
cordially glad that at the primary we
shall have a chance to instruct our dele
gates to the state convention that they
shall vote for the Hon. Thomas Taggart
for United States senator.
II have the honor to be, your obedient
servant