Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-31
r GOVERNMENT.

through party government. The
primary law has gone far to abolish
party government. There are those
who believe that pure democracy,
as exemplified in the mass meeting,
is a superior form of government
to representative government. TO
such the wrecking of political par
ties accomplished through the pri-
mary system of nominations is not
a matter which auses them any
anxiety. There is nothing new un-
der the sun and pure democracy or
mob rule was tried out in the Greek
republics more than two thousand
yea ago. In Athens they called a
mass meeting Of the citizens to
make laws and administer justice.
Some eloquent citizen got up on
the platform and proposed a new
law, or death, or Punishment for
some citizen, and the mob voted on
the proposition. The voice of the
majority was the voice of God and
their verdict prevailed. 1t worked
a great deal of injustice. Aristides
was banished from the republic be-
cause its citizens were tired OF
hearing him called A~ristides, the
lust Judge. The ignorance and
tyranny of the majority finally
caused the fall of the republic and
the installation of dictatorship and
one man power.
The primary system of nomina-
tons has much the same faults.
In California the dispatches tell US
the democratic party practically
disappeared in the primary election
last Tuesday. The democrats went
into the republican primary in or
der to have a voice in the Johnson
and anti johnson fight in that party.
In the primary election in this state
the returns show conclusively that
thousands of democrats participated
in the republican primary, and many
third party men, socialists, COM
munists, labor-farmer party men,
nonpartisan leaguers, participated in
both the republican and democratic
primaries. Voters crowded into
both the major political party pri-
maries who very recently had been
actively engaged in defeating the
party in which they now partici-
pate. They made no secret OF the
fact that they owned no allegiance
TO the party. whose nominations
they sought to control and did not
intend to support the candidates
of that party unless they were sue
cessful in debating the nominees
of that party. The result OF such
tactics are that bona fide members
of the party feel no obligation on
their part to support nominees
whose nomination is due to the in
vasion of their party primary by
citizens who are not republicans or
democrats and who hold no party
allegiance. All this is distinctive
of party government. A party
name no longer stands for any
fixed political principles. 1t means
nothing to the well informed voter
and he refuses to be bound by party
action, knowing that it is poisoned
at its sources by the participation
in its affairs of men who simply
want to use its name as a cloak tor
their own selfish purposes.
Some people think that all party
government will 500 be abolished,
and we will revert to the referen-
dunn of the Greek republics as a
means of ascertaining the will OF
the majority and putting it into Eff
CIlC(t. SO.LlC PCOPi@
new parties having a more secure
place in the esteem of the voters
will take the place of the old poll
teal parties, and partisan govern
ment will remain under new party
names. We are of the opinion that
such may be the case. at least until
some one devises a better system OF
giving voice to majority opinion
than the political party systems
The voters at the late party pri-
mary in this state were confronted
by a very long ticket which con
tanned a multitude of names. I'm
der the names were printed some
slogan which was supposed to ex'
press their views on some political
question. In most part they prom
ised the voter lower axes. No
doubt some were sincere in this
ynatter, but the fact is that there
Is very little likelihood of lower
taxes for some years to come. The