The Daily Alaska empire., 1932-04-12
THE EMPIRE HAS ALWAYS FAVORED LAW-CONTROLLED PRIMARY
 ELECTIONS

The Empire has always favored law-controlled pri-
 aries that would prevent the old bossridden back room or closet caucus from controlling conven- tions. It has always favored legislation that would provide for primaries in which every voter-man or woilan-would have an opportunity to cast a ballot By this means representative men and women could be selected to attend conventions to speak for the party A convention made up in that way would not only be representative of the party but it would be able to draft candidates for pub lie place from among those who are not office seekers if it believed it desirable to do so. IL would make it so that the office might seek the man and permit him to obey the call from the people.
 Under the primary law it has worked out in Alaska the candidates usually nominate themselves, or they are hand-picked by a very small bunch of people. Then at the primary and general cleo tion the voters have the choice of picking and choosing among these hand picked or self-selected candidates
 The informal Divisional and Territorial conVen- tions held by the Democrats this year in Alaska were largely responsible for inducing men to He for various offices in the Territory. II the con- ventions could have been held under good law that would have guaranteed representation of all party members they would have done better At that, the conventions were approximately representative of the party No one set controlled them No one tried to control them The delegates met, discussed the issues and adopted platforms that represented the composite judgment of the deie- gates Where there was evidence that there would be candidates to file for the respective offices, no one was endorsed or suggested for the places where there was evidence that the ticket might not De filled out unless the delegates requested filings they sought suitable men for the nominations,
 The Alaska primary law was not repealed in the last Legisature because there was no agreement on a satisfactory law to take it's place. The Empire baeves that if the members of the Legislature from all four of the Territorial Divisions would get together they could frame primary law tnat would be better than the one we nave now. onen they do that, if they ever do, We snail nave 1le urinary law as it is with all it's faults The Ell hire is not in favor of it's repeal until better law is prepared to take it's place-one that mlght anpeal to the intelligence and fairness oI the peo- ple and it believes that is the majority attltuae'
 1t ought always to be remembered that party members are the proper persons to control the party organization and select the candidates of the party oroanization for office A party primary ought to he an election in which the members of that party vote. Otherwise, the primary elections should be thrown open to all parties they in those units ,phere they have non-partisan elections It is not fair for Democrats to select Republican tickets or Taepublicans to select Democratic tickets The party primary ought to be the source of authority oi the party organization and the candidates selected for nomination as party nominees ought to be the se- 1ections of the party The primary law in Alaska does not work out that way at all It ought to be changed party SOVeIIIltlAt uoSoiitaA'uSu
 It also should borne in mind that the selection of Democratic and Republican tickets do not end matters. Other parties might be formed or candi- dates might run as independents. Judge Wicker sham ran for Delegate to Congress as an independent candidate five or six times. and served most Of his Congressional years as independent. He was ire ouently elected over both Democratic and Repubi- can candidates There have been sessions of the Alaska Legislature when most of the members were elected without party nominations Most of the Leg isatures in the Territory have had independents in them
 It would be lot farer and more consistent to do away with party primaries and make the primary election free for all in which people of all parties or no party might participate freely and let the two high men in the primary, matter whether they belong to separate parties, the same party, or no party at all run it off in the general election rather than continue system that is not at all what it pretends to be.