The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1922-03-16
THE PRIMARY ELECTION
LAW A FAILURE


vocate of the Minnesota primary
election law for many years Gunnar
Bjornson editor of the Minneota
Mascot has finally arrived at the con-
clusion that after twenty years trial
the law has not proved success in
Minnesota.
The primary law was first made APP
plicable to the city of Minneapolis on
ly. At that time Doc Ames life long
Democrat and notorious for his "wide-
open" policies as mayor OF Mime
apolis had become so bad that his
own party repudiated him. Over
night Doc became a Republican and
filed as Republican candidate for
mayor of the Flour City. Democrats
voted the Republican ballot by thous-
ands in assisting to make Ames the
Republican nominee, expecting to de-
feat him with one of their own kind
at the general election. Ames was
again inflicted upon the people OF the
city. o.
Two years later the Legislature en-
acted the state wide primary and
while there have been notable excep-
lions in such men as Senator J.. D.
Sullivan of St. Cloud, Senator Gund-
erson of Alexandria, Theo Christensen
of Dawson, w. l. Nolan of Mime
apolis and limited number of others,
the personnel of the law making bod
les of the state of Minnesota began
to decorate with the nomination OF
Legislative candidates by primary
election. Regardless of the charge
of "gang" control, better men were
unusually selected by convention than
have been the case since the enact
ment of the primary law.
At the 1913 session of the Mime
sofa Legislature the Herald editor
happened to be located at the state
capitol and we were in and out on the
floor of both Legislative bodies prac-
tically every day of the session. In
this particular session Gunnar Bjorn-
son was member of the house and
he was so progressive that he al
most reared backward. He supported
a bill which passed the house taking
county officers out of the realm of
party politics. When the bill reach
ed the Senate the statesmen there
were not particularly in favor of the
measure but they did not dare de-
feat what was apparently the will of
the people. Frank Clague of Red
wood county, and now congressman
from the Second Minnesota district,
was in the Senate at this time. Often
times amendments are added to bills
for the sole purpose of killing them.
Clague was opposed to the measure
and he introduced an amendment
making the Legislature non political,
expecting, of course, that the house
would not stand for this ammendment
and the measure would be killed.
Much to the surprise of the Senate
the house accepted the Clague
amendment and the non partisan
Legislature became a reality.
In every session of the Legislature
since the enactment of the Primary
Law there has been limited number
of men supporting measure for its
repeal but as the members of the
Legislative bodies were beneficaries
of the law, the great majority of them
insisted that the rights of the "dear
peopul" should prevail and they re-
fused to give away their political
meal ticket. .r IS.
The Herald editor was somewhat
familiar with the tactics of the Ames
crowd at the first primary election
held in the state and we have ever
been convinced that the law instead
of purifying politics has made them
more corrupt, and we have been OPP
posed to it. We have always been
more or less stand patter political
ly and believe that the best results
can be obtained by putting the Min