CLEANSING POLITICS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 126, 31 May 1910, Page 7

CLEANSING POLITICS.

AMERICAN POLITICAL "BOSSES." By Telegraph. — Pren Association.— Copyright. NEW YORK, 30th May. Governor Hughes is calling an extra session of the New York Legislature to pass a law for destroying the power of political bosses. THE DIRECT PRIMARY SYSTEM. Twenty-eight States have adopted law® establishing the Direct Primary" system ; and this fact alone (recently stated the New York correspondent of The Times) argues that the people have found therein the promise at least of something which they want. The promise is one of deliverance from the autocracy of the "machine." The system has been tried in various forms, of which that, now urged by Governor Hughes is tho latest. Mr. Hughes proposes that the voters of each party be enrolled, and that the voters so enrolled choose by ballot their candidate for all State elective ofnees. Stringent measures are to be taken to prevent members of one' party from voting in the Primaries of another — an important provision. The State is to- bear the expense of holding these Primary elections, and the expenditures of tho candidates for nomination are to bo limited by law and made public. Recognising that there must still be party committees, for the management of campaigns, Mr. Hughes's Bill provides for the election of committeemen at Primaries, the committeemen thus becoming directly responsible- to and removable, by the members of the party. To the committee is given the right to draw up a list' of candidates for confirmation or rejection by the party voter at the Primaries, whilo at tho same time opportunity is given to other would-be candidates to place their names before the party on petition of a certain number of voters. Mr. Hughes thus seeks to preserve party organisation while destroying its autocracy. The party voter, he believes, can act more intelligently in the direct choice of candidates than in the choice of delegates to a convention for nominating candidates. In his recent message he wrote :—: — "The former (candidates to be chosen directly at Direct Piimaries) are publicly discussed, their qualifications avo analysed, the genesis of their candidacies is considered, and the public opinion of the respective districts may be ascertained. Delegates at the best are uncertain, and public attention cannot be invited upon them to the same degree. If they are absolutely pledged they are simply registering devices and an unnecessary and cumbersome addition to the party machinery. If they are not pledged absolutely, the party voter has no proper assurance either of their allegiance or of their deliberation. They lend themselves easily to secret control by party managers, and furnish the means, not for true representation, but j for misrepresentation, of tho party." '