Jasper County Democrat, Volume 18, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 July 1915 — DEMOCRATIC NEWS LETTER. [ARTICLE]

DEMOCRATIC NEWS LETTER.

By Wilis S. Thompson.

Indianapolis, July 1 b.—The one thing that is interesting ail the political parties at this time is what about the primary law?” On the one hand the'constitution ality of this patched-together statute is being attacked because the freedom of the voter to express a primary choice is prohibited. In other words, while there is a decided pres-ent-day tendency to independence in political action such a thing is absolutely prohibited under this law. The only manner in which any vote may be admitted is for the voter to declare he supported the same party ticket at the last election as the one he seeks to vote in the primary. Not only that, but he must also declare under oath that he will adhere to and vote the same party ticket at the ensuing general election, no matter who may have been nominated. The effect of this provision is to prohibit and make impossible any independent voting of any sort,' orthe voter must be deprived of any participation in the naming of candidates.

Of course this may serve the purpose of the stand-patters on either side who may want to slip by the independent voters in the primary, appealing later for that independent vote at the general election, but it hardly reaches or embraces air the reforms for which the primary advocates contended when the law was being patched together and passed. Then there is the other serious consideration of collecting a fee from 11 men who seek office, including a fee of SIOO from all candidates for President, Vice-President and United States Senator, before any man may be allowed to seek a nomination. This is declared by many good lawyers to make -the whole law unconstitutional. It is stated that the Nebraska law, having the same provision, has been declared unconstitutional on this account. That the federal constitution declares against

any abridgement of the rights of a citizen, among those rights being to offer himself as a candidate for public office.

As already pointed out in these letters, if one-tenth of the care were taken to have, the law properly written. that is required afterward to interpret the meaning: of the legislative patch work, therewould be many less useless laws and the higher courts would not have the records clogged with a lot of needless litigation for which the public must pay the bill. ’ The chances now appear that several suits will be filed attacking the new ,primary law and seeking its interpretation, so that the interpretation may mean elimination.