The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-01-28
Law
IS DEFENDED
BY BEvERIDGE
Republican Women of Wayne
County Urged to Fight Pro-
posed Abolition of Direct
Nominating Method.
APPEAL IS PASSIONATE


idge in an address before the Wayne
County Republican Women's organi-
cation at $3.50 O'Clock Friday afternoon
IN the high school auditorium. A ma
Jor1ty of the 66 Republican precinct
women were present at the meeting.
in addition to large crowd of both
| men and women. Miss Esther Griffin
White, county chairman of the wo-
mems organization presided.
In introducing Mr. Beveridge Miss
White said: Senator Beveridge needs
| no introduction to this community.
where he has long been admired for
| the high quality of his craftsmanship
and where he has SO many personal
and political friends.
Women For Primary.
THE women of Indiana" continued
Miss White, "arose in arms against
the repeal of the primary election law
which gives each individual voter a
| chance to say who he or she wants
nominated and that the voters spoke
| in no uncertain tone is shown by the
! defeat of the law in the senate Thurs
day"
A resolution denouncing the attempt
TO appeal the law and applauding the
| group of senators who defeated this
attempt, and thanking Mr.. Beveridge
FOR consenting to speak here were
| passed.
Speech In Part.
Mr. Beveridge's speech follows in
| part:
This is emphatically the fight of the
women of Indiana to save from de-
| struction the civil rights they now en-
JOY The proposed abolition of the
! direct nominating primary and restor.
@ a ho
mating convention, means that women,
as a class, shall have no voice in
| naming the candidates of their party
but that, instead, the expert practical
politicians who manipulate conven-
| tlons VIII choose party candidates.
so far as women are concerned.
the whole question comes down to
, this: Do they want to help name their
, party candidates. right which is
now theirs and which, for the first
! time in Indiana, they can exercise at
the next primary, or do they prefer to
surrender that right and let their
party candidates be named by manip-
ulated conventions? That is all there
is to it, practically speaking, from the
woman's point of view.
Urges Vigilance.
indiana women have won their
! TO safeguard your victory That is
sometimes harder than to succeed in
| open conflict; often the champions of
righteous causes relax their vigilance
after initial triumphs. take it for grant
ed the enemy is beaten and, therefore
! sleep on their arms; whereas, those
VINO plot against the rights of the
| people never relax their vigilance
never take anything for granted, never
| sleep on their arms, never concede de-
feat until every possible resource II
exhausted, the last ballot cast and re-
corded beyond recall or interference.
Compromise Stage.
| Inc compromise stage has now
been reached-the most difficult and
delicate stage in all conflicts involv-
ing principle. From now on the peo-
pie must keep a sharp eye on the
proposed compromise. They can be
| drawn so cleverly as to deceive the
most suspicious. and completely BAN
boozle the people. Every proposed
| compromise must be studied with ma
! triculous care
| Thus far those senators who cham
pioned the primary have fought with
masterful skill and splendid courage;
| they have earned the gratitude and
! applause of the people of Indiana: un-
limited credit is theirs: and they raav
be sure that the people will see to i,
that they receive that honorable dis
tinction that they have so brayelv
won. We trust them absolutely and
with perfect confidence to continue
the advantage they have secured
! Powerful Attack
In order to give them effective SUD
port, let the voters of all parties in
Indiana. and especially the women. gel
it firmly and clearly in their minds
that, in this matter of the primary.
| they are not safe until the legislature
| adJourns sine die. So carefully plan
ned movement as this, nationwide
in extent, backed by powerful non
public forces, will not be overcome
quickly OF easily.
That is made plain by the fact
that this assault on the peoples pri.
mary is made at all. That assault is
one of the most audacious events in
political history. Why is it madee
Who asked for it? The people? No,
Everybody knows that the overwheln-
ing majority of the voters of all par
ties want to keep the peoples pri-
maries. and oppose the politicians
conyentions-if the politicians deny
this, let the question be referred to
the people at the ballot box; the an
swer would be at least ten TO one
for the primary and against the con-
vention.
Not Campaign Issue.
WAS the repeal of the primary and
restoration of the convention an issue
in the last campaign? Did single
speaker for either party mention the
subject? Did a single candidate on
either ticket mention it? Was a sim
gle vote cast for the scheme? Did a
single citizen, woman or man, have 1T
in mind when he or she went to the
polls?
Keep. asking these questions:
Who has requested the legislature to
destroy or mutilate the primary, since
the people do not want that done
What power is behind this backward
movement? What influences are