PAGE EIGHT
LA GRANDE EVENING OBSERVER MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1910.
oooooooooooo
PEOPLES FORUM. O
SYSTEMS FOB SELECTIG CAN
DIDATES PAST AXD PRES.
' E'T.
To the Editor of The Observer:
There is much being written and
said now as to the manner of nomin
ating candidates for office, and It
seems to me that much of It is wild
and unreasonable. Permit me to cast
a look backward on this question, to
ascertain how these matters were ar
ranged in the early days when such
men as Jefferson, Madison, Jackson,
Clay and others were dominant in poll
tics. Prior to 1824 candidates for state
officers were nominated by caucauses
composed of members of the state
.legislatures and many of the people
had no sort of representation at these
caucauses and caucauses of members
of congress nominated candidates for
the presidency. Conventions such as
we have had for three quarters of a
century were not known at all until
about the second decade' of the last
century. The present convention sys
tem originated in New York ajnd was
'first suggester.by the Tammany so
ciety as early as 1813, but this sys
tem was not fully adopted even in
New Yk until 1824, and it was gen
erally adopted throughout the coun-
ral use ever since. It Is easy to see
that the convention system was a
great Improvement oa the caucuses
ef tae state legislatures and of con
gress. That system permitted these
e&Med to the state legislatures td se
lect Ue candidates to be Wed for;
state offices and the Congressional
canons was the "boss" who determin- j
4 who should be voted for in the reg
l&r way for the presidency. . 1
- To my mind the convention system
Is not only a groat improvement on
the systems that preceded It, but it Is
a better system than the much vaunt
ed primary system now in vogue in
Oregon and many other states. Un-1
der the convention system a state
convention was held to nominate sta' e
and district candlda'es, and this con
vention was, composed of delegates
elected by the county conventions of
i no various counties oi me siaie, eacn
eounty having the number of dele
gates apportioned to it, according to
tuo aueu&ia vi ino party in mo coun
ty as shown by the vote at the last
preceding election. Each county had
I's convention, composed of delegates
from each precinct In the county and
these delegates to the county conven
tion were elected at a primary in
cash precinct at which every voter
oi me party una a rigm 10 a.'.ena ana
vote. Notice of the conventions and
primaries was given and every voter
had the right to attend the primary
of bis party in his precinct and vote
in "the selecilon of delegates. I ton
tend that this system was In all re
spects fair and that every man had
a right to vote at the primaries, and,
if he did not attend and vote, it was
his own fault. 'He had a fair oppor
: tunlty.
Now what waa wrong in' this sys
tem! Can nny one show any defect In
U. It Is said that "rings" and "bosses"'
ontrolled politics urnr this sya
rm, and In many Instances this Is
rue,' but this was duo to the neglect
)f the voters to do their duty In at
tending at tho primaries and In not
sending the right men to the conven
tions. This was not a defect In the
syutem. It w.is a fault of ths voters
The present primary system nfTords
bosses the simo opportunity that the
old system did. Only a part of the vot
ers a tend -the primaries under the
pTscnt system. I believe It Is a fact
that Senator Ilourno had paid agents
in about every county of this Btate
for weeks prior to the primary that
noniina'ed him for United S ntes 8cn
ator and he published statements af
ter he was nominated to the effect
hat he spent about 132.000.00 to ob
tain the nomination for tl. S. Senator,
Jflst think of that! He spent to ob
tain the nomination a Bum nearly
equal to what his salary will be for
Jils whole term. If It cost $32,000.00 to
get the nomination, how much did it
cost him to be elected? That in for
mat Ion has never jeen given to the
public, I believe. It is certain that
Bourne, with all his money, could
not have been elected U. S. Senator
under the old system. He was the first
fruits of the ne wplan in Oregon. "By
their fruits ye shall know them.'
Now, I contend that our present prl
nary system without any convention
!s a Dolttlcal disorganlzer, and for
iroof of this I ask that citizens will
- !ook all-around them in this state
What Is the condition of things in
the republican party? We find that a
lot of self-seeking litlcians are now
traversing the su e and making per
sonal appeals for votes to nominate
themr and that they have nobody
back of them. They Jumped Into the
arena because they wanted 'the offi
ces not because they possess any
special fitness for the offices they
seek, and not because there was any
call from the people of the state for
them to run. They are self consti
tuted candidates and they are tearing
their party to pieces in their efforts
for self exploitation. Every republican
seems to recognize that, although
his party comprises two thirds of the
voters In the state, it Is In imminent
danger of losing some of the state of
fices. Why is this? That party is go
ing to pieces largely because of the
fact that the present primary system
has wrecked all organization and has
converted an organized party into a
mob of politicians, each seeking his
own advancement and disregarding
the interests of the public. Personal
politics Is In the saddle now and ev
erything Is subordinated to individ
ual greed and ambition. What will be
the result? Can good results be rea
sonably expected from such a sys
tem? Can such a system bring forth
good fruit? It used to be that the of
fice was supposed to seek the man who
was qualified to discharge its duties,
but under this system the political
roustabout Af ihm m t
road in a wild hunt for office, and
qualification for office is little consid
ered. Audacity and push are the pass
ports to success in this wild scram
ble for office, and modesty and the
public Interests are relegated to the
rear; It is everybody t fclmself.
How Is It with the democratic par
ty in Oregon? This party has been in
a state of rapid decay the last eight
years, and this is largely due to per
sonal politics. But what is its actual
state under this new system? Here In
Unloa county, what is its condition! I
understand taat when a democrat
goes into the Booth to vote at the ap
proaching primary, and . scans the
space for the candidates for nomina
tion for county officers,, he will find
it all blank, excepting for the office
of sheriff! Juit th'nk of such a. svs-
tem as this. Mr. P. P. Chllders is the
only man who wants any space on the
democratic county ticket. In Vermont
where democra'ie success Is as re
mote as in Oregoa the democrats at
their conventions put up a ticket and
make a fight Their ticket is not a
blank. It is not improbable that, with
good selection of candidates In this
county this year, several offices could
be eloded. but all is left to Individual
and the places will be blank unftss
individuals write names of persons on
the ticket at the primary.
Whatever may be truthfully said
nBuuiHi uoBsism in conventions, un
der the old system there was some ef
fort to put un persons that the con
ventions though would have Bome
chance of success. Bosses did not usu
ally want to put up men that the vot
ers would repudiate. It Is my Judg
mem mat tne old system was much
octter than this. I believe that Gov.
Chamberlain was rlsht. when h,
wiuir, mme years ago, mat "on as
sembly is the best and only sensible-
means of selecting candidates for
office." That waa true when he wrote
that statement and it Is trua now. Bui
the people seem to want tha new cvn-
tem, and I am entirely willinr that
they shall have It. But It will place
mater'al out of tho. best sor1.
W. M. RAMSEY.
! I MERE
if
JL1 , !w
A
REA
SON!
why our store is the popular store with the
ladies nowadays. There are reasons all over
the house; in every department are found
these dainty feminine creations that delight
the eye and appeal to the judgment as well
as the artistic sense of the ladies.
Of Special Interest Today
Advance showing of ladies' TAILOR
ED WAISTS. A sigh of satisfaction in every
garment. GEISHA WAISTS' are better
waists.
Those dainty creations in NECKWEAR
just arrived the kind your friends write
you, are the rage in the large cities.
CORSETS
J The American Lady, per-
fection in every detail.
TP
he Jr aiE8
i
t
i
i
1
The American Laav. ner- S
Ja:l i
reci m every uciuii. j
The line is complete. I
CORSETS
TSie
Fair
NEW BUILDING
Illl ONE
HEAR WALL TO BE 36 FEET niGII;
FBOST 27.
Excellent Fire Exits Wffl Make Bnild
lag Modem and Safe.
Workmen are excavating with con
siderable progress for the new Gardl
nler theatre building. The store
room which is to be an adjunct to the
theatre building will not be construct
ed until the thea:re is finished. Conse
quently the walls which are to sep
arate them will be built first.
The building is to have considerable
height. The plans call for a brick
structure SO feet high In the rear and
27 in front. The main entrance will be
through a huge arch, almost as wide
as the entire building and twenty-scv
eii feet high. Tho dressing rooms are
to be underground, and tho excavation
for this department of tho building is
now under way.
The building will have splendid fire
exits. .
Political Announcements
This column is open to any candidate regardless of Faction
or Part y and is paid advertising
S. F. WILSON, Athena, Oregon, candi
date for Joint senator for Umatil
la, Union and Morrow counties sub
ject to decision of republican pri
maries. MI firmly believe In the di
rect primary law, economy In' the
use of public funds, good roads,
better schools, strict and prompt
enforcement of Hw, the square deal
and eternal progress of man and his
Institutions."
If Our Wagon Does Not Call
ft
Please Phone
We started with a business much larger than expected, and our driver was
unable to reach everyone.'
In order to more promptly handle the business, we will add another new wagon
Mo our delivery service on Monday.
Monday we will again start our REPAIRING DEPARTMENT foi single men.
CHERRY'S NEW LAUNDRY
C. A. BARRETT, Athena, Oregon. I
hereby announce myself as a candi
date for the nomination for Joint
senator for the district embracing
Union, Umatilla and Morrow coun
ties, subject to the choice of re
publican TOters at the primary
nomlnaUng election to be held on
September 21th. 1910. If nomlna
ted and elected I will work for the
interest of all Ue people of my
district to the best of my ability,
favor the maintenance of the di
rect primary law and ' people's
choice for seuator and believe the
people are as competent to nom
inate as they are to elect their of
ficers. Very respectfully your.
C. A. BARRETT.
DR. C. T. BACOX, La Grande, Oregon.
The Observer Is authorised to
announce the candidacy of Dr. C. T.
, Bacon for coroner of Union county,
subject to the decision of the re
publican voters at the primary election
DR. CLYDE! T. IIOCKETT, Enterprise.
Oregon I wish to announce my
. candidacy for Joint representatlvo
for the 24th representative district
subject to the voters of the republi
can party at the primary nominat
ing election to be held In said rep
resentative district, September ti,
1910. CLYD3 T. IIOCKETT.
S PMHSSSt
An Oprn Letter Rusk to Ilockctt
Joseph. Oregon, Sept. 1, 1910.
To Dr. C. T. Hockett, Enterprise. Ore.
Dear Sir:
Inasmuch as you were a delegate
to the late republican' assembly at
Tortland, and as you state in your
announcement for the republican nom
ination for Joint representative, Un
ion and Wallowa counties, that you fa
vor holding assemblies In this state, I
as a candidate against yon and pledg-
j dl to uphold the Primary Law, State
ment No. 1, and opposed to assemb
lies, do hereby challenge you to pub
licly discuss the assembly proposition
before the voters of our district, you
may fix the times and places during
the primary' campaign and defend
while I shall oppose the assembly
scheme. 1
I also Invite you to discuss adverse
ly, if you please, my record last ses
sion or any part of It
No "pussy footed" campaign for
me. Let us see if the people deem
themselves capable of choosing their
own officials.
Respectfully,
JOHN P. RUSK.
Republican candidate for renomlna
tion Joint-representative Union and
Wallowa counties.
J&IA advertisement.
W. W. RANDALL, LA GRANDE, I
wish to announce that I am a candi
date for the republican nomination
to the office of sheriff, subject to the
decision of the primary held Septem
ber 21th.
T. B. KAY, Anti-Assembly candidate
for State Treasurer has had wide ex
perience in business and public life.
He is president of the Salem Board
of Trade, Is manager of the Salem and
Eugene Woolen Mills. Has been a
member of the Oregon legislature for
the past eight years and has a good
record. He always supported meas
ures In the Interest of eastern Oregon.
Such as the Portage Railway bill, the
Sheep Inspection law, the Experiment
al station, the bill to establish a
branch Insane asylum In eastern Ore
gon and many others, and is In sym
pathy with the "eastern Oregon Aun
ties. He is well qualified to fill the
position of State Treasurer. Vote for
T. B. KAY.
-
MM..-
v l -T '
5ft J
W. S. DUNIWAY
Direct Primary Candidate for
State Printer
Asks a second term on his record ol
ECONOMY and EFFICIENCY. BJ cut
ting out gTafts has made the prlntlnl
department the cheapest department of
the State government