Evening star., 1923-09-27
FIGHT ON PRIMARY
| INTENSIFIED AGAIN
IAccray Financial Troubles
Bring to Fore Strong 0p.
| =. position to System.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Politicians believe that one result of
the financial troubles of Gov. McCray
OF Indiana, who may be asked for his
resignation by republican leaders of that
state. VIII be to call public attention to
the evils Of the primary election system
McCray. then q man of great wealth,
exercised his legal prerogative to spend
his own money In the Indiana guberna-
torial primaries of~192O. One estimate
places his personal disbursements as
high as s5O0.0O0.,, A distinguished In
dianian, who was himself once governor
of the state. declares freely that the
primary system has put q premium on
delinquency in Office permitting rich
men with personal ambitions to thwart
party purposes and party welfare, The
politician quoted says he's spent only
s3.e.0 to be nominated and elected
under the old convention system. "You
can't carry half q congressional district
With that much money under the pri-
mary SYSTEM he adds. -.
President Harding's hostility to the
primary was we'll known, but he never
expressed himself more forcibly regard
ing 1t than in a letter addressed to this
casion Mr.. Harding suggested that
many of our present-day ills in govern
ment' are due to the extinction OF the
convention and delegate system of nom
mating men for public office. The late
President went further and declared
that the overwhelming majority of poll
ticians is opposed to the primary. but
that they lack the courage to make
their antagonism public.
Text of Letter.
Mr.. Harding's letter. which is pub
lished by permission obtained in the
proper quarter. reads as follows:
You have fairly construed. in your
dispatch regarding my views on the
primary system, what was in my
mind and what I ventured to say
without previous deliberation. I very
heartily believe we would cure many
rf our present-day ills in government
" we could emphasize party SPONSOR
snip and have Ii thoroughly superSede
the expression Of individual ambition.
IL Is very curious fact that ninety
nine men interested in politics out
or a hundred, who discuss with me
the trend of modern political methods
are outspoken in the belief that the
primary system has not contributed
TO our political progress; and yet
scarcely one of these ninety-nine is
willing to take an open stand for his
There were many abuses developed
In the practice of the convention sys-
TEN. but instead of curing the abuses
we took long step in an experiment
which. / confess. is very disappoint-
Ing to me. You know. of course. /
do not speak from any personal dis
appointment l came to the Senate
as the first nominee of my party
unner the primary system. l only
write you these things because your
own comments on the subject tended
to suggest them"
Interest Is Revived.
The approach of the 1924 national
campaign is bound to revive interest
In and discussion of the primary idea
The more ardent adherents of Presi-
dent Coolidge. like Senator Moses of
New iampshire, already are warning
"fdforfte- sons" who can enter the
convention only as the result of pri-
mary contests in their own states to
desist from "menacing party soli-
darity." The Moses admonition, while
directed especially at Senator Hiram
Johnson. is meant to head off other
asp1rants like Pinchot of Pennsyl-
vsnia. Lowden of Illinois. and others.
MT. Pinchot spent nearly s150,OOO of
his private fortune to beat the re-
publican machine in the Pennsylvania
gubernatorial primaries of 1922, and
he might regard it worth his while to
put UP as much or more to capture
the state delegation for the national
convention in 1924. 1t is precisely
possibilities like this. open exclusive
1y TO rich men or aspirants with rich
friends, that have brought the pri-
mary into much disrepute. The prin-
Ctple remains the same, even when il
works out in the elevation to office
of undeniably able men like Clifford