The Washington herald., 1922-07-07
PROCRESSIVESPLAN
ATTACK TO EXTEND
DIRECT PRIMARIES
: Establishment Would Mark
Step Toward Monarchy,
Declares Norris.
. FLAILS OLD GUARD
Seeks to Prevent Expen'
diture of Vast Sums in
Contest for Office.

e Progressive elements wfth1n the
2epTtblican party. aroused at the
administration campaign for modf-
4. acction or abolition of the direct
primary. have begun counter night
Q for extension Of that system
Meantime. their bitterness. sharp
ened by the latest attack OF. the
J. primary. launched by Senator New
yesterday in declaring that move
: 7neuts already begun to abolish the
law would be pressed found ex-
. preston in Senator Norris COM
: NEXT;
"Standpatters in both parties are
= Behind this movement To do away
with the direct primary would be
= n step toward monarchical govern
e ment."
In the belief that the anti-pr,-
: mary sentiment is fostered by de-
sire to gag the free expression OF
the people at the polls progressives
are fighting back with the follow
ing proposals:
ProEre<SIVeS' Proposals.
I. To radically extend the primary
system so az to permit of nOmina-
- tion Of Presidential candidates by
direct vote Of the people.
>. To remedy the present primary
system by preventing the vast eN-
per ditures Of money now possible
in a contest for Office.
Since President Harding some
months ago first came out openly
in favor OF abolishing the direct
primary and retUrnIT E to the old
convention system. there has stead
. ily been built up within the admin
istratinn party a growing campaign
to this end
Nok Senator New. personal friend
of President Harding, and one to
o. suffer recently as a result of the
direct primary system. has an
% nOunced that the system is bad.
should be abolished ard a return
made to the convention plan Work
d. tn that md. he indicated. is under
way in the states.
20 w Chance In Convention.
. As New frankly admits. many
candidates for office who win in the
g primaries would not have a chance
to win in a convention. Four eN-
amples of this are to h. found in
the recent primary winners-Alberr
Reveridge. who beat New: clifford
8 pinchot who beat Attorney Gen
c-aI Alter for the Pennsylvar ia
Cu5ernatorial nomination: Smith
> Rrookhart. who won the Iowa pri
mary and Lynn Frazier. who beat
= Senator McCumber iE North Dakota.
The nomination of none of these
would have been possible in con-
ventiOn.
New ard other administration
spokesmen declare the anti-primaTy
move Is not organized. But in thls.
such leaders Of the Republican pro
gressiVe wing as Johnson. Califor-
bra ska. differ with him.
There is rot the slightest doubt
but that the campaign against the
primary system is highly organ
lied" Borah declared Yesterday.
Senator Norris went further
TIL old guard inside the White
House and out. inside Congress ana
70 out" he said, lis working to abol-
ism the direct primary. II doesT Z
need any special organization. be
cause. the old guard itself is organ
ization enough"
Refers TO Statement.
Senator Johnson referred to his
statement issued at the opening Of
the present administration regime
when h. warned that there would
b@ launched an organized effort to
4y with the direct primary
system.
trr people are not fit to vote
m t,,e primaries" said senator Nor
ris they are lot fit to vote in the
elections. As for the convention
system. we have only to look at the
national COnve ntiuns to see its evils
The present system Of dominating
Presidents is unfair. unjust. tyran-
nical and often absolutely fraudu-
lent IL is true that the present
primary system is not ideal. 1t
should he remedied by preveI ting
vast expenditures. 1t should be
radically extended so as to put the
selection of candidates more strictly
in the hands Of the electorate by
making nomination of Presidential
car didates possible only through
direcf N.ntn Of The nnnnln