Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-01-20
ASSEMBLY HIT
BY BEVERIDGE
FOR DALLYING
Real Work Delayed to Fight
Primary, Is Assertion at
Huntington.
HONORED WITH BANQUET

protest against the proposed repeal of
the primary.
He will address a joint meeting Of
business mems organizations and
women's clubs Of Huntington, tonight,
after g banquet IN his honor. His sub
ject will be, The Vital Necessity for
Understanding the Constitution Of the
United States"
In his remarks before the League Of
Women Voters, Mr.. Beveridge said,
among other things:
The Legislature has on its hands the
heaviest and most difficult economic
legislation in our history; why, then,
does it waste priceless time in the at
tempt to destroy q great and historic
measure for popular rights-an action
for which the people do not ask?
This ought to be, and yet may be, a
great business session; all the people are
expecting and demanding that it shall
be; yet the real work is postponed while
time is taken in efforts to abolish the
primary, even against the earnest pro-
tests Of the people.
Does any man or woman who will
stump the State next campaign want TO
DEFEND the destruction Of the nOmina ting
primary and the restoration of the nom
mating cOnyention7
Is any member of the Legislature
anxious to do so?
PRIMARY ISSUE IN
NEXT CAMPAIGN.
Every one who votes to kill the pri-
mary and revive the convention viii have
to do so-that, of course, cannot be
avoided.
For the peoples primary. if DESTROYED
or nutlated, Will be a burning issue at
the next election, perhaps the decisive
lssue-notnlng can prevent that The
women viii see to that even If the men
are too Indifferent or negligent to do so
The most encouraging event since tae
women won their political liberty is theil
prompt, intelligent and fearless mObili-
eaton In defense of their imperiled civil
nights All over Indiana women are raj
lying TO the colOrS with system, spirit
and determinatiOn-and they cannot be
corrupted. Those who planned this coup
may have counted on the lethargy Of the
men, but they surely ignored or thought
too lightly Of the women.
No wonder the women are up in arms.
since their civic freedom is about TO be
taken from them. For no honest and
thoughtful persons who has studied the
subject denies that women. as a class,
will be practically disfranchised if the
primary is buried and the convention ex-
humed.
PRIMARY PRINCIPLE
: Is NOT RETAINED.
Since even certain members of the Leg
tslature are reported in the newspapers
to have suddenly discovered that the pro
posed scheme to restore the convention
allows all to vote at primaries for con-
vention delegates" and thus preserves
the primary principle, 1t becomes neces-
sary again to state the facts.
1. The nominating primary per
mits all party members TO go to the polls
and vote for party candidates directly.
primaries are widely and conspicuously
published for a long time; everybody
knows when and where they are held
and the names Of the candidates; and
the heavy ard growing majority OF party
2. The convention ion delegates" pri-
mary permits party members to vote
only for delegates" TO some convention,
mated indirectly. Such primaries" are
given scant publicity; few know when
and where they are to be held; nobody,
except the professional politician. has
any idea what the delegates" will do
when they get to the convention; every
body knows that such primaries" are
fixed up in advance; and, of consequence,
no one goes 70 such cut-and-dried affairs
except politicians and personal friends
whom they induce to accompany them to
''put across their slate
Even before women won the ballot, less
than per cent Of the men went to these
sham conventiOn-delegate primaries -
and those who have schemed and are now
trying to put their scheme through know
that even fewer women will do so.
4 ATTENDANCE AT
p POLLS GROWING.
On the contrary, nearly co per cent
OF the mon. went to the direct nominating
primaries-the number was stea Oily
growing when women were enfranchised /:
and 1t is certain that this large per
eentage viii be greatly and constantly
increased, now that women ca nvOte
1t all comes down to this: Do the
rank and file Of party voters want to
nominate their party candidates or do
they want professional party manipu-
latOrs to name the candidates for whom
the party voters must cast their ballots
on election day?
1t is said the primaries compel candi-
dates TO spend too much money. 1t is
strange that that excuse comes chiefly
from rich men-few, If any, poor men
make that complaint. But Is il true? It
IS not. The primary law does not require
any candidate to spend anything; If he
does that IL is his fault and not the
fault of the law.
1t is a fact that far more money was
spent under the convention system than
under the primary system.
The principal reason why the people
finally, after decades Of experience and
debate, dethrOned the convention and es-
tabHshed the primary, was the disgrace
ful financial debauchery.
MOreOver-and this point is vital-the
amount Of money spent in the primary
O. Is made public; the amount spent in
delegate convention is never made pub
lie and cannot be made public. 1t Is
impOssi6-2 to trace delegate-conveDtiO ton
corruption funds. Able lawyers have
striven and failed to devise statutes that
would locate and punish convention We
niality. Human nature stands in the
way.
But the final and compelling argument
70 rthe peoples primary and against the
politicians convention is that the pri-
mary Is right and the convention is wrong
provided. of course, that we care to
continue &c develop our American idea
Of popular representative government.
RESPONSIBLE
no PEOPLE.
The peoples primary makes those who
run our Government representative or
and responsible to the people who elect
them; the politicians convention makes
those who run our Government reprssen-
tative Of and responsible to those who
nominate them, and, unrer the marty
lash, compel The people to elect them.
If it is said that unfit men are some
times nominated at primaries the answer
is two-fold: First. that such result is
the fault of the citiZen-and the women
who now correct that-and, second. that
fewer bad citizens have been named at
primaries than at conventions.
In the evolution of political parties as
the necessary agents of popular repre-
sentative government the convention has
come to be destructive and the primary
the savior of both.
Just as King Caucus was Overthrown
and the convention established in its
place, SO King Convention" was over
thrown and the primary established in
Its place. Each step was a natural,
righteous and BILE advance in party
responsibility and in popular representa-
tive government. And just as the ''oid
timers" or 1915 bemOaned the caucus and
fought the convention, so our present da Y
ancients bewail the convention and de-
nounee the primary. Nevertheless, the
world moves on.