Arizona republican., 1922-05-26
Mr.. Hunt for Governor

The announcement. somewhat than tenta-
tive, by former Governor Hunt at Globe on wednes-
day of his candidacy the governorship will not
be at all surprising to those who have given even
cursory attention to political events. Three months
ago there intimation of it in statements by
friends Of Mr.. Hunt that he did wish to become
candidate for office but that he might be forced to
the field by the attitude of the conservative ee
ment of the party toward the then only discussed
constitutional amendments.
The attitude which might drag the former COVER
into the arena was taken in the legislature
by the conservative leaders, and it has since been
maintained by them. An effort to camouflage it by
silence in the state conference frustrated by the
supporters of Mr.. Hunt, who brought the issue up
in such way that evasion of it could only mean
declaration in favor of the amendments Evasion
favored by every leader in the conference who
had been active in the support of the amendments
when the question of their submission was pending
the legislature. Thus the contingency which
the friends of Mr. Hunt had said might force him to
become candidate for governor
There were two other contingencies which
would naturally hasten and strengthen Mr. Hunts
decision to beeome candidate One was the ineyi-
table hostility of the conference the direct primary
Whatever the advocates of the conference might
profess it should proceed to selection
of persons candidates for office it must have
usurped the functions of the primary. The only pur-
pose OF the selection could be to discourage and
exclude the primary candidates other than those
selected by the conferences in the event that these
selections should be opposed in the primary it was
the belief of the conferees that other candidates
would be regarded as upstairs and boilers and would
be by the Democratic voters in the name
of party regularity.
AS a supporter of the direct primary former
Governor Hunt could not do otherwise than make
fight for its existence. He could recognize the
ticket the conference had selected even if the seec
tion had resulted in candidates of all of whom he
could personally approve. To him it must have
appeared that the endorsement of every candidate
carried with it taint which must somehow be
removed and the removal could be wholly accom-
plshed only by the nomination by the people of an
other set of candidates
More important to the former governor than
the nomination of successful ticket is the uphold
ing of the principle of the direct primary. If the
party should be beaten again might retrieve itself
years later But if the conference ticket should
be elected there would be another nomination by
conference in 1924 and the peoples primary would
have gone forever
More momentous even than the attempt to evade
and usurp the functions of the primary in the mind
of Mr.. Hunt is the assault upon the constitution
which would be facilitated by the campaign of the
endorses of the conference who whatever their
views with respect to the proposed constitutional
amendments may be, would be regarded as the prod
ucts of conference controlled by who are sup
porting the amendments The Tucson ticket is mex
tricably linked with the amendments.
All this made clear to readers between the
lines OF the Claypoo letter. IL any Democrat had
overlooked it there. he could not have failed to
observe it in reports of Mr.. Hunts address Tucson
last Sunday. So, the former governors pronounce
ment at Globe Wednesday was not really new,
but expected forma1ity.