Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-06-22

Copyright, 1920. by The Washing
ton starr

IL ~
fCopyright, 1920. by The Washing
ton starr
WASHINGTON, June 22:-The
presidential preferential primary
plan for the nomination of candi-
hates of the various parties mas re-
reived a severe setback in the pre-
convention campaigns of Republi-
cans and Democrats and the Re
publican national convention this
year. 1t is due to receive q still
further setback in the coming DEM
nrratic convention in California.
y hat, then. is to be the method of
ne fItureP The old convention
in. representative? Or is it to be
ta popular primary with restric-
tleas and obligations not now con-
t.iacd in the state laws2
1he Republican national conven-
se.eeIed Senator Warren q.
,rd.sg as it's nominee for presi-
crit. Yet Senator Harding had OBJ
t.. ned the preferential vote in Ohio.
q Il Only there after a hard contes
With Gtceral Wood. He was a poor
third in Indiana, and In New Jersey,
where his name had been entered.
he made frantic efforts and had it
withdrawn. Governor Jowden Of
Illinois won the preferential pri-
mary election in Illinois. but in
other states where Wood and john
son were entered, his showing was
miserable. Yet in the national con-
'vention Governor Lowden's total
vote on the seventh ballot vas
311H, which was equalled only by
that of General Wood prior to the
successful drive for Harding.
On the other hand, General
Leonard Wood had gone into the
primaries in many states. as had
Senator Hiram johnson of Califor-
mia. They both made strong show
ings among the people, yet the
leaders in the Republican party
had made up their minds long be
fore the convention opened that
neither Johnson nor Wood should
be nominated. OF what use to go
to the trouble and expense of pri-
mary elections IL the results are to
be disregarded with the complete
ness that was shown at Chicago?
When the Democrats assemble In
convention less than $50 of the
1892 delegates will have been "in-
structed" to support any of the can
didates. In the Republican conven-
ton the majority of the delegates
also were aninstructed. 1t is inev-
table, in such circumstances. that
the very thing which the primaries
were designed to prevent will occur.
A. Mitchell Palmer. the attorney
general, has a total of seventy-six
delegates instructed for him in the
Democratic convention. That is the
largest number instructed for any
of the candidates. Governor Cox of
Ohio is second with seventy-four.
including the delegates from Ohio
and Kentucky, McAdoo has ten,
from Oregon. The rest are scatter
ed among Senator Hitchcock of Ne
braska, Senator owen of Oklahoma,
Governor Edwards of New Jersey,
Senator Simmons of North Carolina,
Senator Glass of Virginia. Palmer
is contesting for the Georgia dele
gates also-his seventy-six votes are
all from Pennsylvania by the way.
And If he should win the Georgia
contest he will go into the conven-
ton with a total of 104 votes.
The situation which confronts the
Democratic hosts, therefore, makes
the presidential preferential pri-
mary appear a joke. AS in the case
Of the Republican nomination, the
Democratic nomination probably
will be settled at a conference of
the leaders, for a deadlock seem
lneNlldDle III the CONVENTION llstll,
in view of the fact that 1t requires
a two-thirds vote under the rule of
the Democratic conventions, to
nominate.
If there is ever to be a presiden-
tial preferential primary system
that will be effective and give the
people a chance to register their
ill, a number of changes must be
lace in the existing law.
In the first place, all the candi-
ates must be made to go into the
rimaries in all the states, or at
asst in an appreciate number of
lem.
In the second place, there must
Their be a limit put upon expendi-
Tres which may be made In these
Urinary elections by the candidates
nd their supporters, pr there must
re a provision for the widest pub
icity of all these campaign expend-
lures. The recent investigation in
to the pre-convention expenditures
Of the candidates showed that huge
sums we're spent by the friends of
some of the candidates, notably