Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 15.djvu/537

 MUNICIPAL REVIEW, 1908-1909 523

primary and responsibility for all nominations is taken home to the mass of the voters.

■ There has been a disposition on the part of some advocates of direct nominations to consider the enactment of a law as the beginning and the end of their work, overlooking the fact that the direct primary is an opportunity not a cure. The most that good laws can do is to make it more difficult for the reactionary elements to promote evils and easier for the progressive elements not only to prevent or cure them, but easily and effectively to advance the general welfare of the community. Philadelphia afforded a striking instance of what could have been done at the primaries under a system of direct nominations if the inde- pendent elements had utiHzed the machinery which the law placed within their reach. On June 5 last the primaries were held in the city of Philadelphia under the law of 1906. The Republican organization had selected its candidate for district attorney and the other offices to be filled. The independents also placed their candidates in the Republican column, but yet they took no steps to secure votes for them in that connection. The independent candidate, Mr. Gibboney, received in the Republican column within 5,000 of as many votes as the candidate favored by the Republican organization, and his total vote in the Republican, Democratic, and independent ("William Penn") columns was nearly 87,000, or 25,000 more than were cast for his opponent. If these votes had been concentrated in one column (the Re- publican), the contest would have then been won. In the words of the Philadelphia Ledger,

This demonstration of the value of the uniform primary law is the most inspiriting of Saturday's election. No law is of any use if peopk are not interested sufficiently to avail themselves of it. There is no fault in our election laws or in our representative system. The root of political tyranny and wrong is in popular apathy and neglect. The people of Philadelphia have found again and again that they can exercise control of their own affairs if they will. Throughout the fault is that their efforts are too often only spasmodic.

Hon. William Lorimer's election as senator from Illinois is a striking illustration of the disregard of party lines by practical