Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 February 1919 — PRIMARY BILL IS REJECTED [ARTICLE]

PRIMARY BILL IS REJECTED

MEASURE CALLING FOR DIRECT PRIMARIES IS REJECTED ~- BY THE SENATE.

Indianapolis, Feb. 24.—The Beards-ley-Van Auken primary hill, which proposed the nomination of party tickets at conventions of delegates elected by the primary system, and which had been amended so as to provide for “local option” on the question of calling direct primaries, was indefinitely postponed in the senate this afternoon by a vote of 27 to 19. The bill was not killed by a strictly party vote, as both Republicans and Democrats were divided concerning the desirability of adopting the system of nominating all candidates by conventions. The motion by Senator Alldredge, Republican, of Anderson, for the indefinite postponement of the bill came after several speeches had been made for and against the bill, Champions of the bill pointed r ut many, of the unsatisfactory results of the present primary system, saying it is a burden to candidates, costly, and has not resulted in nominations of acceptable men in many instances. They pointed out that the bill threw all the safeguards of the present primary law and the corrupt practices law about the primaries for the election of delegates to conventions, and denied that it mfeant a return to the abuses of the old delegate convention system. The opponents of the bill argued that the principle of giving the people an opportunity to choose their own candidates was too valuable to be thrown away for the delegate convention plan. They said delegates could not reflect the sentiments of their community in all cases concerning all candidates for nomination. By the adoption of a minority report on the Abrams house bill, requiring the two platoon system in fire departments of cities of the first, second, third and fourth class, the senate today left the establishment of such systems optional! instead of mandatory, just as it now is. The bill as amended was then sent to secondreading. . ~ A majority report proposed amendment of the bill so as to make the two iplatoon system mandatory in cities of the first and second class and optional in cities of the third and fourth class. The general appropriation bill was again taken under consideration by the house sitting as a committee of the whole this afternoon. Representative Mendenhall moved that the house reconsider the items it had approved Friday afternoon and this motion was adopted.