The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-08-13
SECOND PRIMARY
CALLED IN TEXAS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE
nor, one OF the candidates simpllfIed
the operation by Withdrawing before
Il was necessary to drop him. Cam
didates for other offices were like
wise accommodating. and the con-
yention got through in a week In
stead OF month that was in pros
pect. Completely fed up" as II
we're, on higher mathematics, this
convention wound up by adopting an
emphatic demand upon the next
legislature to enact a law providing
foi nominations without the inter-
vention of conventions" What this
really meant was well expressed in
the language of one delegate who.
IN a speech from the floor demanded
that the legislature cut out this
darn fool figgerin'."
Law Revised in 1907.
Accordingly, the legislature, in
1907 revised the primary election
law so as to require the democratic
party TO nominate all candidates in a
blanket primary election. and. In the
case Of state and district offices,
Il was provided that Il candidate re-
ceIying the highest number of votes,
even though less than majority.
tnOul0 De the nominee.
In 1915 the prohibitionists, hav-
ing the whip hand" in the legisla-
ture, enacted law to govern the
nomination and election OF United
States senator. This required a ma
jority nomination. and II was provid-
ed that IL no candidate got "A major
lty vote In the first primary election,
a second primary should be con
dppfaA 20 no ttrn
high men,"
There were six candidates for the
democratic nomination for United
States senator in 1915. The two high
men In the first primary were former
Gov. o. y. Colquitt and Senator C..
A, Culherson, who finished in the
order named. In the second primary
the opposition to Colquitt centered
on Culberson and gave him the
nomination.
with this object lesson. the legls-
lature Of 1918 provided similarly for
majority nominations, through dou-
bic primary elections, of all demo-
cratic candidates for all offices
chosen by vote of the state at
large and for district offices. also.
and this system still is In vogue.
Confliction In Law.
As 10 smaller parties there is a
confliction in the election law that
was not discovered until recently.
This law declares at the outset that
no party polling 100000 or more
votes in the last preceding final cleo
ton shall nominate its candidates
save in primary election. a subse-
quent section declares that any party
polling as many as 10000 votes, but
fewer than 100, 900 for its nominee
for governor In the last election
may" nominate either through
primary elections or through con-
ventions, as its state committee may
estermine.
Through all the years since the
enactment of the law. the republican
party OF Texas has polled more than
10000 votes in the final elections
for all OF its candidates. but'it never
polled as many as 100000 for any
OF them--until 1920.
In 1920 the republican nominee
for governor received fewer than
100000, but the republican nominees
Tor presidential elector received
more than 100000 votes. Therefore
the question arose as TO whether
the republican party under the iirsl
OF the provisions still had rish'
to select it's method, or whether, un'
der the second provision, It was re-
quired to employ the primary eiec'
ton method. The republican com.
mittee took the side Of safety and
decided again TO nominate through
conventions