Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1922-02-13

electorate-there is bound to be CORE
spending lack Of cohesion and direction
/ in the legislative branch at Washington
Development Of the bloc" system with
its seductive opportunities for ambitious
party iEdividualists and vote-catching
"isms" is considered by many G. O. P.
leaders as an insidious outgrowth of the
primary. They believe if the party con-
ventiOn could be restored to its aboriginal
importance as the oracle in town county,
State and Nation, the Republican party
today might present the spectacle Of a
phalanx instead Of a house somewhat di-
vided against itself There would then
be what Senator Watson Of Indiana terms
"A Republican hloc."
WEAKNESSES OF
PRIMARY SYSTEM.
Another Interpretation Of President
/ Harding's swing lack to the convention
system is that he possibly feels the New
berry case has exposed the incurable
weaknesses Of the primary system. The
primary is thought by many authorities
to be particularly susceptible Of abuse in
States like New York. Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Michigan and Illinois, which have large
metropolitan celebrates. One we'll
known Republican explained to the writer
that in the case of a United States Sen
ator's struggle for denomination, for ex-
ample, q rival aspirant for his seat al
ways must spend money freely to cOun-
teract the all-pOwerful influence of the
patronage element lined up for the in
cumbent He ventured the estimate that
the cost to the aspirant may be as 10 to
/, as against the incumbent expend-
lures. He thinks the 1922 congressional
GOV oil viii faNaw Of Ta1
experiences. That evil would not be en-
tirely eradicated, the informant conceded.
by the delegate convention system, but
he believes Ii would lie minimized. His
opinion. In short is "Newberryism" is
less likely and less necessary under the
nominating system of old.
There is Of course. incessant debate as
whether the direct primary has lowered
the standard of the men who obtain
high public Office. as compared to the
/ giants" who used TO become Governors,
United States Senators. Representatives
and presidential candidates. One view
is that the convention system on the
whole produced as many false alarms in
politics. in both parties. as the direct
primary has manufactured. Another
theory is that, under the convention sys-
TEN. nominee for high office had 10 be
Header of leaders" Under the primary,
say the proponents Of that action. any
old leader" can propaganda or other
wise precipitate his advent into exalted
position.
Leaders of both parties are agreed
that the outstanding drawback Of the
primaries IS their notorious failure to
bring out the votes. Experience of that
sort has led some professional politicians
TO advocate a penalty for the man or
woman who ignores the primary. The
suggested corrective finds expression in
the slogan: mo visit to the primaries
not vote at the polls" Habitual neglect
of the primary privilege, more radical
authorities say, should result in disfran-
chisement of the voter,
1t is more than probable that some. If
not all. of these considerations were at
the back Of the Presidents head when he
made his impromptu remarks. Mr.. Hard
ing too, may have had his own political
experiences in mind. He may have re-
minded himself that when the Republican
party. in national convention assembled,
named his as presidential standard bearer
in 1920. it disregaFded primary results
all over the United States, from which
be had not emerged as Republicans
first choice The President also may
have harked back to the famous Ohio
State Republican convention O. 1912 Of
which he was chairman. Theodore RoOse-
welt a few weeks before had carried the
Ohio primaries after a bitter tussel with
William Howard Taft over the issue of
instructions to the State convention. The
convention, under Mr. Harding's chair
manship, overruled the dictum Of the
primaries and instructed for Taft, elect
ing Charles p. Taft and Warren G. Hard
ing as delegates at large to the Chicago
convention. President Harding's atti-
tude on that critical occasion, watch pre-
coded the Bull Moose detection and the
ensuing election Of Woodrow Wilson,
was that which he always has consistent
ly maintained and again for the hun
dredth time has mphasized-namely
the inviolable regularity Of party rule.
organization, discipline and convention
decisions.
STATEMENT PUZZLES
BORAH.
Senator william E. Borah of Idaho, a
veteran protagOnist of the direct primary
said:
81 can hardly understand the politics
Of Mr.. Harding's proposal at this june
ture In the party's fortunes. l can IN
derstand its impolitics If there ever was
time when the Republican party needed
to advocate systems that bring it closer
to the people, instead Of farther away
from them that time is now. To repudi
ate the primary-and the Presidents
speech win seem to many people as
meaning nothing else-is to take things
away from the people. That is a step
backward and it is not LincOlnism. -