JK 2295 M52 M5 LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE J\C Ms JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY STUDIES IN HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL SCIENCE Under the Direction of the Departments of History, Political Economy, and Political Science VOLUME XXXV BALTIMORE THE JOHNS HOPKINS PRESS 1917 COPYRIGHT 1917 BY THE JOHNS HOPKINS PRESS PRESS OF THI NEW ERA PRINTINS CONMMV LANCASTER. PA. CONTENTS PAGE I. THE VIRGINIA COMMITTEE SYSTEM AND THE AMERICAN REV- OLUTION. By J. M. Leake I II. THE ORGANIZABILITY OF LABOR. By W. O. Weyf orth 159 III. PARTY ORGANIZATION AND MACHINERY IN MICHIGAN SINCE 1890. By A. C. Millspaugh 437 PARTY ORGANIZATION AND MACHINERY IN MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 SERIES xxxv No. 3 JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY STUDIES IN HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL SCIENCE Under the Direction of the Departments of History, Political Economy, and Political Science BY ARTHUR CHESTER MILLSPAUGH, PH.D. Professor of Political Science in Whitman College BALTIMORE THE JOHNS HOPKINS PRESS 1917 COPYRIGHT 1917 BY THE JOHNS HOPKINS PRESS PRESS OF TNC NEW ERA PRINTING LANCASTER. PA. CONTENTS Page PREFACE vii CHAPTER I. Introduction 9 CHAPTER II. Party Committees, Primaries, and Conventions, 1890-1904 25 CHAPTER III. Direct Primary Legislation 56 CHAPTER IV. The Committee System under Direct Primaries 77 CHAPTER V. Direct Nominations in Operation. ... 91 CHAPTER VI. Campaign Management and Finance . 126 CHAPTER VII. Conclusions 169 PREFACE A study of party organization which aims to be of any value must necessarily follow in a limited field and perhaps with more intensive methods the instructive lines laid down by Professor Macy in his Party Organization and Machinery. In the present investigation, however, I have attempted to cover a period of time long enough to bring to light whatever tendencies may be at work and to show somewhat definitely the effects of legislation. My study is an attempt to contribute to the satisfying of what is believed to be a real need in applied political science. It is confined to one State, and States differ in their internal conditions and in their legislative experimentation; but I believe there is nothing so peculiar in the conditions and legislation of Michigan that its experience may not be accepted as fairly typical of the experience of many other States. I regret that, on account of my inability to secure adequate data on events in Michigan since September I, 1916, my study must lack the timeliness and the complete- ness which might have been afforded by an examination of the primary vote and expenditure of 1916, the campaign of 1916, and the legislation of 1917. Parts of this study have appeared in somewhat different form in the following articles: " Bi-Partisanship and Vote Manipulation in Detroit," in the National Municipal Review, Vol. V, No. 4, October, 1916; " The Operation of the Direct Primary in Michigan," in the American Political Science Review, Vol. X, No. 4, November, 1916; and " Direct Primary Legislation in Michigan," in the Michigan Law Review, Vol. XV, No. I, November, 1916. Numerous political leaders of Michigan have contributed by correspondence or in interviews valuable information which would have been procurable from no other sources, vii Vlll PREFACE and to these men grateful acknowledgment is made. I am especially indebted to Homer Warren, D. J. Campau, Charles Moore, and Pliny W. Marsh, of Detroit, H. E. Thomas, E. C. Shields, and D. E. Alward, of Lansing, F. O. Eldred of Ionia, G. L. Shipman of Kalamazoo, and S. W. Beakes of Ann Arbor. For inspiration and helpful criticism I am especially in- debted to Professor W. W. Willoughby, at whose suggestion the study was undertaken and under whose direction it has been completed. A. C. M. PARTY ORGANIZATION AND MACHINERY IN MICHIGAN CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION As a preliminary to a study of party organization in Michigan it seems desirable to review briefly the social, economic, religious, and political conditions in the State; for these conditions make the background and affect the form and the workings of party organizations. The population of Michigan in 1890 was 2,093,890, and in 1910, 2,810,173. l In. !89O the population per square mile was 36.4; it had increased in 1910 to 48.9. The dis- tribution of the population has never been uniform. In 1904, for example, the population of the southern counties was 84.79 P er square mile; of the central counties, 51.43; of the northern counties, 22.16; and of the upper peninsula, only 16.53. There are no large cities in the northern half of the State. The urban population of Michigan has increased from 34.9 per cent of the total in 1890 to 47.2 per cent in 1910. Detroit, the chief city of the State, had in 1890 205,876 people. Twenty years later its population had more than doubled, containing over one sixth of the voting population of the State. Grand Rapids, the second city, had in 1910 a population of 112,571. No other city in the State is half so large as Grand Rapids. Of the citizens born outside of Michigan, New York has furnished more than any other State. In 1850 two thirds of such citizens had come from the Empire State; in 1890 1 Statistics of population are taken from the decennial United States Census Reports, and from the Michigan Census Reports. The latter are prepared in the fourth year of each decade. 9 IO PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [446 almost one half; and as late as 1900 over one third. 2 Eleven of the twenty-three governors of Michigan were born in New York. 3 Foreign-Born. The foreign-born population in 1890 was 2 5-97 P er cent of the total, about the same percentage as in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, or New York. In 1910 the percentage was 21.2. In general, with the exception of Wayne County, in which the city of Detroit is located, the foreign-born have been most numerous in the northern counties. In 1894, for example, approximately three fourths of the voters in the upper peninsula were foreign-born; in the mining town of Ironwood the foreign-born males of voting age outnumbered the native-born five to one, in Iron Mountain six to one, and in Ishpeming ten to one. In the upper peninsula in 1910 the percentage of foreign-born in some counties was as high as fifty and in none was lower than twenty-five; on the other hand in the counties of Hillsdale and Eaton in the lower peninsula the percentage was less than five. In Wayne County, which constitutes an exception in the lower peninsula, the foreign-born 4 amounted in 1890 to fifty-five per cent of the potential voting population and in 1910 to forty-eight per cent. Since 1890 the Canadians have always formed the largest racial group among the foreign-born. 5 They have been most numerous in the eastern counties of the lower penin- sula and in the upper peninsula. Numerically the Germans rank second, 6 and the English third. The Irish, holding first place in 1870, had become in 1910 a relatively unim- portant group. The Dutch are numerous in the western counties ; the Swedes, next in importance, are found largely in the upper peninsula and in the counties of Muskegon and Kent in the lower. The Slavs are steadily increasing in number, going to Detroit and Grand Rapids, to the lum- J See also D. F. Wilcox, "Municipal Government in Michigan and Ohio," in Columbia University Studies, vol. v, no. 3, p. 21. 1 Detroit Free Press, July I, 1894; Who's Who in America. 4 Excluding aliens. 8 In 1910 the Canadians constituted 28.7 per cent of the total foreign-born population. * In 1910 the Germans amounted to 22.1 per cent of the total. 447] INTRODUCTION 1 1 bering counties of the lower peninsula, and to the lumbering and mining counties of the upper peninsula. 7 In the copper counties of Keweenaw and Houghton they outnumber any other racial group. It is somewhat encouraging to note that almost three fourths of the foreign-born in Michigan in 1910 were from Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Holland, and Sweden. The negro has never been an im- portant social or political factor in Michigan. He has constituted, since 1890, less than one per cent of the total population. Illiteracy is one of the most marked characteristics of the foreign-born, and politically appears to be one of the most serious. In Detroit in 1910 the percentage of illiteracy among the foreign-born males of voting age was 12.4; among the native, 0.4 per cent. In the county of Gogebic in the upper peninsula with its large foreign element the rate of illiteracy among the males of voting age in 1894 was eighteen per cent. In 1910 the rate of illiteracy in the upper peninsula had fallen, but it was still much higher than the general rate for the State. 8 It will be observed, therefore, that the southern part of Michigan differs radically from the northern part, and especially from the upper peninsula, with respect to density of population, the foreign-born element in the population, and illiteracy. The two parts of the State show an indus- trial dissimilarity equally marked. The upper peninsula is devoted to the exploitation of its rich copper, iron, and lumber resources, and its industry is dominated by great corporations. On the other hand the economic character- istics of the southern half of the lower peninsula are much like those of northern Ohio and Indiana. Socially and economically strangers to each other, the two sections of the State are absolutely separated geographically. Party Composition. Passing from the characteristics of the State to the complexion of its political parties, we observe that in their economic make-up the major parties 7 The Slavic groups were numerically third in 1910. 8 The rate for the State was 5.9 in 1890 and 3.3 in 1910. 12 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [448 have changed considerably since 1890. Early in the in- dustrial history of the State the lumbermen were found in the Democratic party; latterly, the election returns indicate that they are voting for Republican candidates. 9 In 1890 a Republican majority among the farmers was partially balanced by a Democratic majority among the workingmen of the cities; but since then the farmers have become less hidebound Republicans, and the Democrats have lost their hold on the labor vote. Since the Civil War a large pro- portion of the men of wealth in the State have been in the Republican party; and in 1896 most of the wealthy men still active in the Democratic organization changed their party allegiance. 10 The racial composition of the two parties has also altered. In 1890 most of the Irish were Democratic; now, not so many. 11 A similar change of allegiance has occurred among the Germans. 12 The Dutch have generally enlisted in Republican ranks, and they are still found almost to a man in that party. 13 The same seems to be true of the Scandi- navians. 14 A majority of the later immigrants appear to become Republicans; in the northern part of the State this is possibly due to the fact that these foreigners have fallen under the political tutelage of the great mining and lumbering corporations, which have usually supported the Republican candidates. 15 This tendency of the later im- migrants to join the Republican party accounts in part for the increase of Republican strength among the Roman Catholics, who early in the period were generally Demo- cratic. Religion, objectively considered, has been, at least since 1895, a negligible factor in Michigan politics. The Ameri- can Protective Association, organized to oppose the nomi- H. M. Dilla, "The Politics of Michigan, 1865-1878," in Columbia University Studies, vol. xlvii, no. I, p. 237. 10 Detroit Free Press, March 5, July 30, August I, September 20, 1896; Detroit Tribune, August 16, 1896, August u, 1898. 11 Detroit Tribune, July 26, 1886, and interviews. 12 Dilla, 232; Detroit Tribune, April 4, 1895; and interviews. 13 Interviews. 14 Detroit Free Press, October 29, 1886. 15 Interviews. 449] INTRODUCTION 13 nation and election of Roman Catholics to public office, was reported in 1895 to have a membership in the State of 125,000. It endorsed particular candidates in local and state elections, and used its influence in party primaries and conventions to secure the nomination of Protestants. It appears to have had some success in Republican gather- ings; but Democratic platforms, naturally, repeatedly de- nounced it. The third-party movements in the nineties, phases of the economic unrest which had found expression in the Green- back and Union Labor parties, affected both party organ- izations and especially the Democratic. Between 1890 and 1 892 independent political action was either undertaken or discussed by a National Greenback Labor Party of Michigan, 16 the Patrons of Industry, 17 the State Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, and the Industrial party. 18 Out of these various unstable elements crystallized the People's party, which held its first state convention in Michigan in i892. 19 In 1894 it polled over thirty thousand votes. In 1896 the Silver Republicans effected a state organization and entered into an alliance with the Demo- crats and the Populists, the three organizations adopting a joint name, Democratic-People's-Union Silver Party, which was retained until 1901. In the meantime the Gold Democrats were in actual though not nominal alliance with the Republicans. In the secret history of these ephemeral organizations the leaders of the major parties played an important although not easily ascertainable part. The Republicans gave financial assistance for several years to the Middle-of-the-Road Populists; and Republican and Democratic wire-pullers were active in third-party con- ferences and conventions. 16 Detroit Free Press, July 26, 1890. 17 According to the secretary's figures, their membership in Michigan in 1891 was 70,059 (Detroit Tribune, March 9, 1891). See also ibid., July 16, 1890, February 26, 28, March 21, 1891; Detroit Free Press, February 27, July 22, 30, 1890. 18 Detroit Free Press, August i, 1890, February 20, 1891; Detroit Tribune, July 18, August i, 24, 1890, February 20, 1891. 19 Detroit Free Press, June 17, 1892. 14 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [450 The sale and use of intoxicating liquors has exerted a most important influence on the functioning of party or- ganizations, because it constitutes at once an economic interest with a peculiar liability to be affected by legislation and administration; a social influence, with power to reach directly and sway to its purposes an extraordinary number of voters; and, finally, a potential political influence, with the possibility, by its moral appeal, of causing radical re- alignments in the rank and file of parties. Saloon men have been pretty generally Democrats, with a recognized tend- ency, however, to shift their votes and influence according to their own interests. 20 In the late eighties, therefore, when the Prohibition party was growing in voting strength and seemed to be drawing followers from the Republican party, this third-party movement was looked upon with favor by the Democrats and was feared by their opponents. 21 Since 1890, when the Prohibitionists attained their greatest relative strength with a vote amounting to 7.2 per cent of the total vote, they have been a negligible factor in elec- tions. But the liquor problem remained, and the saloon in- fluence preserved its contact with the party organizations. Party Strength. Since 1890 an increasing majority of the partisan newspapers of the State have supported the Republican party. Of 679 periodicals of all descriptions which were published in 1890, 209 were independent, 201 were Republican, and 117 were Democratic. In 1914 the independent newspapers had increased to 288, the Repub- lican to 235, and the Democratic had dwindled to 29. In 1890 there were 23 independent dailies, 19 Republican, and 14 Democratic. Twenty-four years later the independent dailies had increased to 45, and the Republican to 22, but the Democratic had fallen to 5. In 1890 fourteen counties had no Democratic local newspapers. Nine of these counties had Republican papers only, and there were Republican papers in every county that had periodicals of any kind. In 1914 the Republicans had press represen- 20 Interviews. In the election of November, 1916, Michigan adopted state-wide prohibition. "Dilla, pp. 91, 169; Detroit Tribune, July 4, 17, August 27, 1886. 45 1 ] INTRODUCTION 15 tatives in all but one of the counties; but the Democrats lacked an editorial spokesman in fifty-three of the eighty- three counties. 22 The history and the traditions of the Republican party of Michigan have been positive elements of strength. The State boasts of having held the first Republican convention. During and after the Civil War the party had in Zachariah Chandler a strong-minded and strong-willed leader of national influence. The Republicans had been perfectly organized when the Democrats were demoralized and without a leader. 23 Long after the war the best people of the State were usually Republican. 24 It was not until after the election in 1890 of the Democrat Winans, who had been denounced as a Copperhead, that the old vote-getting shibboleths of the war era were generally abandoned. 25 Election returns show that Michigan is normally Re- publican. Between 1854 and 1912 the Republican candi- date for governor was defeated but twice : by a Fusionist in 1882 and by a Democrat in 1890. Under abnormal con- ditions in 1912 a Democratic governor was elected; and under equally abnormal conditions he was reelected in 1914. A Democratic candidate for president, however, has not carried the State since 1852. Even in 1912, when Roosevelt received a plurality of sixty thousand over Taft, the greatly reduced Republican vote in Michigan still exceeded the Democratic by one thousand. Between 1894 and 1910 the Republican vote has never been less than fifty- two per cent of the total vote, and in 1904 it was as high as sixty-nine per cent. In the legislature of 1891 the Democrats had a majority in both houses. Since then they have never secured a majority in either house, and in 22 Lists of newspapers are contained in the Official Directory and Legislative Manual of the State of Michigan. Many papers, of course, that call themselves independent are in effect either Republican or Democratic. A prominent Democrat believes that independent actually means Republican. Moreover, counties with no Democratic papers are not without the circulation of Democratic opinion. 23 Dilla, p. 254. 24 Interviews. 25 Detroit Tribune, September 12, October 14, 22, 1890, February 10, 14, 22, 1891. 1 6 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [452 1905 the legislature was all Republican. Between 1890 and 1912 the Democrats have at no time controlled both na- tional and state administrations; and during most of that time they have controlled neither. The Republicans, therefore, have practically monopolized political patronage. The Republican vote, moreover, is evenly distributed. In 1904 and 1908 the Republican candidate for president carried every county in the State; and in 1900 and 1906 the Democrats carried only one. 26 Wayne County, the chief urban center, appeared to be normally Democratic prior to 1894, but it has since given the Republican state and national tickets increasing majorities. The upper peninsula is a Republican stronghold with overwhelming majorities at every election. The Democrats did not carry a single county in that section at a state or national election between 1894 and 1912. The safe Republican majority may account in part for the fact that Michigan, since the birth of the Republican party, has never had a presidential candidate, and since i888 27 has had no important aspirant for a presidential nomination. Leadership. Along with advantages of patronage and wealth, the Republican party, at least until 1902, had the advantage of superior leadership. During this time the undisputed head of the party was James McMillan, a multi- millionaire of Detroit, who was elected United States Senator in 1889 and retained the office until his death in 1902. He succeeded Zachariah Chandler as chairman of the Republican state central committee in 1879; and in 1886 was again elected to the same office. In 1896, when he resigned the nominal management of the party organization while retaining the actual control, he had been connected with the central committee for twenty years and had been its chairman for ten years, a longer period than fell to the 26 St. Joseph in 1900 and Cass in 1906. 27 In the Republican national convention in 1888 R. A. Alger, a former governor of Michigan, and later secretary of war and senator, received 84 votes on the first ballot and 143 on the fifth (Proceedings of the Republican National Convention, 1888, p. 134). The election of 1916 has not necessitated any modification of the above statements. 453] INTRODUCTION IJ lot of any of his predecessors or successors. 28 He almost never made speeches and rarely came into direct relations with the workers of his party, but he used money effectively, and was skillful in the choice of his subordinates and in the distribution of patronage. Tactful and conciliatory, he usually came to terms with his enemies, and he did not interfere in state contests unless his own prestige or position seemed involved. 29 He was a boss; but, to use the words of one of his assistants, he was perhaps the "easiest boss that Michigan ever had." Differing in almost every respect from McMillan and other Republican leaders of the nineties, Hazen S. Pingree was the most picturesque state leader of the time. He was mayor of Detroit during four terms. In spite of his lack of education his speeches were written for him and, unless he lost control of himself, were read verbatim his wealth, his homely personality, his original methods, his radical policies, and his attacks on bosses won for him a large following outside of Detroit and secured for him a firm hold on the organization in Wayne County. Defeated by the machine in 1892 and 1894, he finally secured the Republican nomination for governor in 1896. Though his support by the organization was lukewarm, he ran ahead of his ticket. In 1898 he was in absolute control of the state convention and the new central committee, and was renominated and reelected, again running ahead of his ticket. Had he been well educated and had he been wise in the choice of his political advisors, he might have threatened Senator McMillan's leadership. As it was, he is noteworthy in the history of party organization for his early and vigorous advocacy of direct nominations, for his denunciation of bosses and corporations, and for his frank championship of 28 Detroit Tribune, December 10, 1894, April 24, 1896. 29 "The keynote of his political leadership . . . was executive abil- ity rare discrimination in the selection of assistants and consum- mate skill in handling them " (Detroit Tribune, August n, 1902). 1 8 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [454 independent voting. He was the first of the Michigan insurgents. 30 On the death of Senator McMillan in 1902 the Republican organization was left without a leader. Strong factional feeling developed, and in several counties local bosses appeared who were able to make their power felt in the state organization. 31 In the meantime, the so-called pro- gressive sentiment was growing in the Republican ranks. The election of W. A. Smith as senator in 1907, of Townsend to succeed Burrows in 1910, and of Osborn to the governor- ship in 1910 gave definite indication of new ideas and new methods. The leader of the Democratic organization in 1890 was Don M. Dickinson, a Detroit lawyer, who had been post- master-general in Cleveland's first administration. The chairman of the state central committee, however, was D. J. Campau, also of Detroit; and in 1892 Mr. Campau became national committeeman as well as state chairman. With the beginning of the cleavage in the Democratic party between the gold and silver elements, accentuated in Michigan by a dispute over the distribution of patronage, 32 Mr. Campau put himself at the head of the radical faction and Mr. Dickinson led the administrationists. Mr. Dickinson controlled the state delegate convention in 1896; but the victory of the silver forces in the national convention and the unseating of several of the gold delegates from Michigan delivered the state organization into the control of Mr. Campau. From this time until 1908 Mr. Campau was national committeeman and dominated the state organization. He was a close friend of Mr. Bryan, an industrious party worker, an organizer of some ability, 30 Detroit Tribune, February 2, 1895, March 13, May 26, November 6, 1896, April 10, 1897, September 21, November 7, 9, 1898; F. E. Haynes, Third Party Movements since the Civil War, pp. 408-410; J. F. Hogan, ed., The History of the National Republican League of the United States, pp. 360-364; and interviews. 31 The most powerful of these local bosses were Tom Navin of Wayne, Tip Atwood of Tuscola, Bill Judson of Washtenaw, and Link Avery of St. Clair. In 1904 Atwood was said to be in control of the state or- ganization (Detroit Tribune, July 23, 1904). 32 See below, pages 28-29. 455] INTRODUCTION 19 and, above all, a man of wealth who was believed by his followers to be generous in the financial support of his party. 33 He never held an elective office. 34 In 1901 the Democrats returned to their old party name, having practically absorbed the Populists and the Silver Republicans. 35 In 1904 the state organization of the Gold Democrats was abandoned, and many of the conservatives again became conspicuous at Democratic gatherings. The party organization, however, grew steadily weaker. In 1908 the organization was captured by a conservative group of leaders who are still in control. 36 The Progressive movement and the resulting split in the Republican party placed a Democrat in the governorship in 1912, and the holding of this office, with the direct primary, has consider- ably strengthened the Democratic organization. Legal Status of Party Organizations. Prior to 1887 the legislature and the supreme court of Michigan were reluc- tant to recognize political parties or to interfere in their internal affairs. In People v. Hurlbut the supreme court declared unconstitutional an act of 1871" which provided for a board of public works in Detroit, the members to be taken from the two political parties. The party composi- tion of the board was criticized by the court, but the uncon- stitutionally of the act was based on other grounds. 38 An 33 His enemies, however, accused him of fostering a financial myth, and declared that his large campaign contributions were not actually his, but were funds derived from other sources. 34 On the political activities of Mr. Campau and Mr. Dickinson see News, January 10, April 28, 1886; Detroit Tribune, April 22, 1892, July 31, 1896, June 22, 25, August 10, 1898; Detroit Free Press, Sep- tember 7, 1886, June 22, 1894, July 6, August 14, 26, September 6, 1896; Proceedings of the National Democratic Convention, 1900, p. 264; Legislative Souvenir and Political History of Michigan, p. 59. 35 Detroit Tribune, March 6, 9, 1901. The Middle-of -the- Road Populists, however, maintained an organization until 1909. The Silver Republican organization practically ceased to exist in 1900. 36 October I, 1916. 37 3 Session Laws, 1871, p. 273. 38 24 Mich. 44 (1871). Justice Christiancy said: "This act, there- fore the first ever brought to my knowledge, which has attempted to recognize parties as permanent if it intended that their identity should be determined by anything more than the mere name of the organization to which an individual might profess to belong, has at- tempted a mere impossibility." Justice Cooley declared the provision 2O PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [456 act of 1885 providing for a board of election commissioners in Detroit to be appointed from the two leading political parties was held unconstitutional because, among other reasons, it prescribed a political test for the holding of office. 39 In 1887, however, a law was passed which not only recognized parties but prescribed optional regulations for the control of conventions and ward primaries; 40 and in 1889 the first of the secret voting acts 41 was passed, these acts again involving the recognition and regulation of parties. The legal regulation of party primaries and of elections was extended in subsequent legislation and was upheld by the supreme court. Legal control of the ballot early brought before the court cases involving the validity of nominations. In Shields v. Jacobs (1891), a case arising from a split convention, the court decided that it was not the province of the board of election commissioners to determine the regularity of a party convention, but that both tickets nominated should go on the ballot. 42 In accordance with this decision, an opinion of the at- torney-general the following year declared that it was the duty of the board of election commissioners to print all tickets duly certified by the chairman and the secretary of the committee of a political organization. 43 In 1894, how- ever, the court itself reviewed the proceedings of a party convention and, in the light of party custom, decided as to the regularity and validity of its nomination. 44 The leading Michigan case, however, is that of Stephenson v. Board of as to appointment from parties nugatory "because the Legislature, on general principles, have no power to make party affiliation a qualifica- tion for office." 39 Attorney-General v. Detroit Common Council, 58 Mich. 213. Justice Campbell said : " But parties, however powerful and unavoidable they may be, and however inseparable from popular government, are not and cannot be recognized as having any legal authority as such. The law cannot regulate or fix the numbers, or compel or encourage adherence to them." 40 Public Acts and Joint and Concurrent Resolutions of the Legis- lature of the State of Michigan, 1887, No. 303. Cited as Public Acts. 41 Public Acts, 1889. 88 Mich. 164. 43 Annual Report of the Attorney-General of the State of Michigan, 1892, p. 213. 44 Beck v. Board of Election Commissioners, 103 Mich. 192. 457] INTRODUCTION 21 Election Commissioners, in which the nominee of a rump convention claimed a place on the official ballot. The court pointed out that the usual remedy against injustice in con- vention procedure has been either a bolt on the part of the dissatisfied, and the selection of an opposition candidate within the party, or a refusal by the electors to support the nominee; and the courts have been careful not to inter- fere with the application of these remedies which have usually been found adequate . . . and when a considerable faction of a convention leaves the meeting, and nominates a ticket, claiming to be the repre- sentative of the party which called the convention, it is not the province of the courts to determine upon technical grounds that it is not, and that its action is void, and deny it a place upon the ballot, thereby defeating the purification of methods within the party, or to say which faction was right and which wrong. . . . The electors must decide between them." The above doctrine was reaffirmed in 1904 in Jennings v. Board, the court holding that, in the absence of fraud, the determination of a political convention as to who are its nominees is final, 46 and in 1907 in Potter v. Deuel, when the court declared that the composition of a committee accord- ing to the custom and usage of the party with the sanction of the party conventions would not be disturbed by the courts. 47 In the following year, in Burns v. Board, the court decided that the relator, who had received six of the eleven votes in a regularly constituted convention, was entitled to a place on the regular Republican ticket rather than the respondent, who had received five votes in a seceding body. 48 The policy of the Michigan supreme court, therefore, appears to have been in general to refuse to decide controversies between claimants to a nomination for the reason primarily that such controversies are extremely difficult to adjudicate, and, when making an exception, to decline to go back of party usage or the determination of a regularly constituted convention. Neither the legislature nor the courts of Michigan have 46 118 Mich. 396. See also Baker v. Board, no Mich. 635 (1896). "The reluctance of the courts to enter upon an inquiry . . . into the question of fact as to which of two contending factions truly represents a political party, has been manifested in various cases." 46 137 Mich. 720 (1904). 47 149 Mich. 393 (1907). 48 154 Mich. 471 (1908). 22 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [458 undertaken to frame a precise definition of party organiza- tions. The attorney-general was of the opinion that the words "political organization" or "political party" as used in the general election law of 1891 "must be construed to mean any respectable body of citizens who are electors of any township or election district, and who assemble themselves together in the manner provided by the law, and hold a nominating caucus or convention." 49 In Chateau v. Board, the supreme court said that a nomination for alder- man "ought to represent the wishes of a respectable portion " of the electors of the ward "in order to entitle the ticket, as a distinct party ticket, to be printed upon the ballot." 50 The attorney-general said: I apprehend that what the court means by a respectable body of "such electors" must depend very largely upon the number of voters in the district where the candidate is to be nominated. For instance, if there were three hundred voters in the ward, ten voters could not be said to be any respectable portion of the electors of the ward, and unless the caucus or convention was called by giving public notice so that all the people of the ward or district might be notified, I hardly think that a board of election commissioners would be criticized for refusing to accept a ticket when they knew that it only represented a secret caucus, attended by less than five per cent of the voters of the ward. 61 General Features. When party organizations were free from legal control and later with respect to matters not regu- lated by law, the form and the working of the organizations were determined by rules adopted by the parties themselves and by custom. The organization in general outline the two parties were alike was based on the political sub- divisions of the State. There was a party committee for the State as a whole, for the county, for the city, for the congressional district, for the senatorial district, for the representative district, for the judicial circuit, for the ward, and for the township. In general each of these political subdivisions had its own convention or primary. In cam- paigns the organization frequently extended into the pre- cincts and the school-districts The organization in each political subdivision was considered in theory to be an 49 Report of Attorney-General, 1892, p. 181. 50 50 N. W. Rep. 102. 61 Report of Attorney-General, 1892, pp. 206-207. 4591 INTRODUCTION 23 independent organization, not only with respect to the organizations in other subdivisions, but also with respect to the state organization ; and the state organization was con- sidered to be independent of the national organization. 52 Within the State and within each subdivision the highest authority was considered to be the party convention; but on most matters, and especially on those which were most pressing, the party committee took decisive action. As a matter of fact, however, written rules were rarely adopted even by the state central committees. The written rules of the Republican state central committee seem never to have been complete, and the Democratic state central committee does not appear ever to have adopted written rules of any kind. 53 The practice of the organizations was determined almost wholly by custom. In quiet times and quiet places custom was likely to continue uninterrupted for many years. On account of the looseness of the party confederation we find in the various subdivisions a puzzling variety of practices. Probably no two counties were at any time alike in every detail of form and procedure. Republi- can practice in one county will be found to resemble Dem- ocratic practice in another, and both may differ from the practice of either party in a third county. Except in the nominating process, there was no permanent arrangement for the coordination or subordination of the various organizations, although in practice these cooperated with each other and with the state organization. Sometimes the organizations of two or more subdivisions were con- solidated; 54 sometimes the functions of one organization were assumed by another. 55 The relations of the organiza- tion of one subdivision with that of another depended on custom, on expediency, on geography, on the local political situation, and especially on the ability and the temper of the party officials. In general the good of one organization 52 Interviews. 63 Interviews. 64 As in Wayne and Kent counties, where the county, city, and con- gressional committees were sometimes consolidated. 55 As in the case of representative and senatorial district committees. 24 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [460 was felt to be the good also of the others; and the recognition that unity was essential to success was itself unifying. The state leaders, moreover, were usually also local leaders; and below the surface there were invisible influences which always worked for a centralized and comprehensive control. The existence of this invisible element in party control makes difficult a real understanding of the dynamics of the organization. Party battles in Michigan have been fought on two elec- tion dates: the first Monday in April, and the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. In April occurs the election of township and village officers, most city officers, the justices of the supreme court, the regents of the uni- versity, the circuit judges, since 1903 the county commis- sioners of schools, and since 1909 the superintendent of public instruction, the State Board of Education, and the State Board of Agriculture. At the biennial election in November have been chosen all other elective state officers, in most counties the remaining county officers, members of Congress, and, quadrennially, presidential electors. Party organization has been most complete and most active prior to the fall election, and more complete and more active in presidential than in off years. The spring election, although it has not been taken out of politics as was intended, is chiefly important for the fact that it is the first state election in the United States following a presidential campaign. CHAPTER II PARTY COMMITTEES, PRIMARIES, AND CONVENTIONS, 1890-1904 Committees. The ward committee usually consisted of three members. 1 Legislation in 1895, however, necessitated in Detroit a committeeman in each voting precinct, to be elected at the first precinct primary for a term of one year. 2 The ward committee exercised almost complete control over the conduct of primaries, but its campaign duties tended to gravitate into the hands of the city or county committee. 8 Its officers were a chairman, a secretary, and sometimes a treasurer. 4 The township committee consisted ordinarily of three members, who were elected at the first township primary in the spring and who served for one year; 5 the committeeman first elected usually acted as chairman. 6 The county committee, the most important local party organ, was usually made up of one member from each ward and township, and these ward and township representatives were elected at the county convention, which in most cases confirmed caucus selections by ward and township dele- gations. 7 Sometimes, however, the county convention decided that the chairmen of the ward and township com- mittees should make up the county committee. 8 The com- mittee ordinarily served two years, and the customary 1 Detroit News, August 19, 1912; Detroit Free Press, October 28, 1894; Grand Rapids Herald, May 9, 1902. 2 Local Acts of the Legislature of the State of Michigan, 1895, No. 411. Cited as Local Acts. 3 Detroit Free Press, October II, 1892, July u, 1906. 4 Ibid., March 18, 1891, February 15, 1899. 5 Grand Rapids Herald, March 10, 22, 1900. 6 Detroit Tribune, March 15, 1888, and interviews. 7 Detroit Tribune, August 22, 1886; Grand Rapids Herald, August 25, 1898, May 16, August 3, 1902. 8 Ann Arbor Argus-Democrat, August 22, 1902, and interviews. 25 26 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [462 officers were a chairman, a secretary, and a treasurer, with sometimes a vice-chairman and an assistant-secretary. In Wayne County the chairman was often selected by the committee itself, in other counties, usually by the county convention; but in many cases he was actually named by the candidates 9 or by a dominant clique or a boss. There was usually an executive committee, consisting of five, seven, or nine members, appointed by the chairman, and of this sub-committee the chairman and the secretary were usually ex-officio members and officers. 10 The county com- mittee usually held a meeting for organization immediately after its selection by the county convention; but meetings in general were infrequent except during campaigns and were usually secret. 11 The county committee was an essential element of the party mechanism, and its control formed the chief issue in many factional fights. The office of chairman entailed work and sacrifice, and it was generally filled, especially in the Republican organization, by energetic and able men who were often repeatedly reelected. 12 In recommending the appointment of postmasters Senator McMillan sought and usually followed the suggestions of the county chairmen. "When people complained about an appointment," said one of the senator's former assistants, "we told them that, if they were dissatisfied, their business was to select a new county chairman." The members of the committee were often disinclined or were unable to meet and act, and ex- pressly or tacitly authorized the chairman to transact practically all of the business. While engaged in the service of the party he often availed himself of the oppor- tunity to build a personal machine, the finished product of As in Kent County. Grand Rapids Herald, June 18, i892,;May 16, 1902; Detroit Tribune, August 15, 1886, July 15, 1890. 10 Detroit Tribune, October 10, 1894, October 23, 1902; Detroit Free Press, September 23, 1890. In 1899 the Wayne County Repub- lican Executive Committee consisted of the chairman, the secretary, the treasurer, and fifteen other members (Detroit Free Press, February 9, 1899). 1 For an exception see Detroit Free Press, February 12, 1899. n Detroit Tribune, April 16, 1904. 463] PARTY COMMITTEES, PRIMARIES, AND CONVENTIONS 27 which, in the Republican party, was usually an appointive or elective office. At the head of the state organization stood the state central committee, with general supervision over other organizations in so far as they participated in the nomina- tion and the election of state officers. It named new district committees when, on account of legislative reap- portionments or for other causes, the regularly chosen com- mittees had become defunct. 13 It decided on the party name and vignette. 14 During the period 1890-1904 the constitution of the two central committees was the same: two members from each congressional district, and four officers who were usually selected from outside the com- mittee. 15 The members of the committee were chosen biennially, in presidential years at the first state convention. A caucus of district delegates meeting just before the state convention selected the two district members of the com- mittee, and the caucus selection was confirmed by the state convention. Reelections were common. 16 The committee filled its own vacancies. 17 Apparently no provision existed for the removal of members or of officers; but, as far as I can learn, there were no removals. 18 The officers of the state central committee were a chair- man, a vice-chairman, a secretary, and a treasurer. The chairman was customarily selected by the state convention.- Delegates frequently made the attempt in conventions to leave the selection of a chairman to the committee ; this was done by the Democrats in 1904 and possibly in 1894. From 1890 to 1904 the Republicans had four chairmen, the Dem- 13 Detroit Free Press, March 2, 1892; Detroit Tribune, March 2, 5, 1892; Proceedings of the Republican National Convention, 1892, p. n. 14 As was done by the Democratic central committee in 1896 and 1901, in the latter year after authorization by the state convention (Detroit Tribune, March 6, 1901). 16 In 1892 an unsuccessful attempt was made to enlarge the Repub- lican central committee to three members from each district (ibid., April 14, 15, 1892). 16 One member in 1903 had served for fourteen years (ibid., January 20, 1903). 7 Ibid., October 19, 1888. 18 Ibid., September 19, June 22, 1898, August 26, 1904; Detroit Free Press, June 29, September 7, 20, 1894. 28 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [464 ocrats six. In the selection of a state chairman wealth was a desideratum, for in the absence of dependable revenue the incumbent had to bear unexpected burdens and pay expected deficits. Of the ten chairmen of this period four were reputed millionaires; five of them were lawyers, and five were from Detroit. Most of them were at one time or another aspirants for public office. The secretary was usually the personal choice of the chairman, although form- ally chosen in most cases by the committee. The Repub- lican secretary for many years was paid a salary, 19 and he devoted most of his time to the work of organization; but the Democratic secretary received payment only while engaged in campaign activities. The chairman appointed an executive committee to which the central committee delegated many of its powers, the membership of this sub- committee varying from six to eleven. There were two regular meetings of the central committee, in presidential years three: a meeting for organization immediately after its selection, and a meeting just before each state convention to pass on the credentials of delegates. The chairman called other meetings at his discretion. Proceedings of the com- mittee were usually secret, but were often attended by can- didates and other party leaders. According to newspaper reports, the first open meeting of a state central committee was in 1898 when the Republicans held a public session. 20 The national committeeman was theoretically the rep- resentative in the State of the national organization and a connecting link between the two organizations. The office was considered to be the prerogative of wealthy men, es- pecially of men willing to contribute generously to campaign funds. In the Democratic organization, which differed in this respect from the Republican, the national committee- man was considered to be more important than the state chairman, because in the minority party the national committeeman was expected, in the event of party success, to be the distributor of federal patronage. From 1892 to 19 $1200 to $1500. M Detroit Tribune, October 5, 1898. 465] PARTY COMMITTEES, PRIMARIES, AND CONVENTIONS 2Q 1896, however, Mr. Campau, who was national committee- man and was in control of the state organization, was opposed to the administration; accordingly the leader of the administrationists in the State, Mr. Dickinson, selected a number of referees in various parts of the State who rec- ommended Democrats for appointment. This arrange- ment intensified the opposition of the radical wing of the party, which regarded Mr. Dickinson's methods as opposed to "the rights and authority of the regular party organiza- tion." 21 In the congressional district committees there was much variety with respect both to number of members and method of selection, the committee very commonly consisting of one member from each of the counties in the district, chosen by the congressional district convention. 22 The officers were usually chosen by the committee or by the candidate; and in the first district, which coincided with Wayne County, it appears to have been the custom for the candidate to name the entire committee, as, in fact, he frequently did in other counties. 23 The senatorial district committee consisted usually of three or five members, or of one member from each of the subdivisions of the senatorial district. The representative district committee was similarly constituted; but in the cities the city committee usually acted as a representative district committee, and in some counties the county com- mittee performed that function. The judicial circuit com- mittee was in general unimportant; it called judicial con- ventions, and in some circuits managed the campaigns of candidates for circuit judge. The city committee, composed of representatives of 21 Detroit Tribune, September 12, 1894; Detroit Free Press, June 25, 1894. 22 Detroit Tribune, July 9, 1902, May 30, 1902; statements in Michi- gan Department of;State. For other apportionments see Grand Rapids Herald, May 2, 1900, September 17, 1902. 23 Grand Rapids Herald, September I, 1904; Detroit Tribune, October u, 1892, September 13, 1900; Detroit Free Press, March 10, 1908. In 1898 and in 1904 J. B. Corliss of the first district had a com- mittee of over one hundred (Detroit Tribune, October n, 1898, April 22, 1904). 3O PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [466 wards chosen at the ward primaries, was chiefly concerned with municipal nominations and elections. In Detroit and Grand Rapids, however, it performed much of the campaign work of the county and district committees, acting at times according to a definite arrangement for the securing of effective cooperation. Primaries. In the nominating process the party primary was the first and most vital step. Here in theory the opinion of the rank and file of the party became articulate in definite delegations of authority. No feature of the party organization, however, was subjected to so much deserved attack, reformers, newspapers, and party leaders repeatedly pointing out the connection between bad primaries and bad government. 24 Legislation regulating primaries and conventions was passed in 1887, 1893, 1895, 1899, and I9OI. 25 Rules for the conduct of primaries, other than as laid down in this legislation, were made usually by the city, ward, and town- ship committees, and sometimes by the county and district committees; but the actual control of the primary was in the hands of the ward and township committees or of the precinct committeemen. Prior to 1895, primaries were generally held by townships and wards. The local act of 1895 made precinct primaries mandatory in Detroit; and the public act of the same year made precinct primaries optional with the city committees in cities of fifty to one hundred and fifty thousand. 26 Early in the nineties the general custom seems to have been to hold a separate primary for practically every convention. 27 M For example, Detroit Free Press, March 8, 1895, October 8, 1890. 15 1 do not consider in this chapter the local direct nomination laws passed for Kent, Muskegon, and Wayne counties in 1901 and 1903. There is a summary account and criticism of primary legislation in R. W. Butterfield, "Direct Primaries in Kent County," in Papers and Addresses on Primary Reform, read at the Annual Meeting of the Michigan Political Science Association, 1905, pp. 1-7. 26 Local Acts, 1895, No. 411; Public Acts, 1895, No. 135. 27 Thus in Wayne County in 1892 the Republicans held six primaries: the first, to elect delegates to the district convention; this convention elected delegates to the national convention and to the county conven- tion which elected delegates to the state delegate convention ; the second, 467] PARTY COMMITTEES, PRIMARIES, AND CONVENTIONS 3! In the townships there were probably fewer primaries in a year than were sometimes held in the counties; but in presidential years there were as many as four. The ten- dency, however, seems to have been to lessen the number of primaries and to assign more work to each one. 28 There were disadvantages in holding six primaries in a year; but it is hard to see any counterbalancing advantages in having one primary elect seven sets of party officials, as was some- times done. The city or county committee issued the official call for the ward primaries. 29 Conflicting calls were sometimes issued by different committees, resulting in the selection of contesting delegations. The township committees called the township primaries. The call stated purpose, date, and hours of the primary, leaving the place, in cities, to be designated later by the ward committees. Sometimes the call included additional directions; for example, that voting should be by ballot, or that the primary should be held at a central location. The law of 1893 provided that notices of primaries should be published or posted five days in advance. 30 Not all primaries were partisan. In the villages nomi- nating primaries were frequently called in a general manner and participated in by members of more than one party; 31 to elect delegates to the county convention which elected delegates to the state nominating convention; the third, to elect delegates to the county convention which elected delegates to a special state convention held to nominate a candidate for judge of the supreme court; the fourth, to elect delegates to the congressional district convention to nominate a candidate for Congress; the fifth, to elect delegates to county, city, and senatorial district conventions; the sixth, to nominate candidates for aldermen and to elect members of the city committee. 28 Thus, on October 18, 1900, the Republicans in Detroit held one primary for the choosing of aldermanic candidates, members of the ward committees, members of the primary and election boards, delegates to the county nominating convention, delegates to the city nominating convention, delegates to the senatorial district nominating convention, and delegates to the congressional district nominating convention (Detroit Tribune, October 18, 1900). 29 Early in the period, however, the call for the county or city con- vention usually "requested" the ward committees to call the primaries for a certain date (ibid., July 28, 1888). 30 Report of Attorney-General, 1899, p. 92; Public Acts, 1893, No. 175. This provision was also in Local Acts, 1901, No. 470. S1 Report of Attorney-General, 1899. 32 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [468 and I am told that in one township it was the custom to hold a union primary for the nomination of township officers, the first and second choices of this primary receiving places on the ballot. Custom decreed that the call for the primary should not be issued in advance of the call for the corresponding con- vention; and snap primaries do not seem to have been a general or serious evil, although they were occasionally attempted, especially in the Republican gubernatorial contests in 1896, 1900, and I9O2. 32 In some instances primaries were held without any call at all. 33 Primaries were sometimes purposely located in out-of-the-way corners of the ward, and prior to 1893 were in the largest cities frequently held in saloons. 34 The act of that year pre- scribed that primaries should not be held in saloons or in places adjacent to them. 35 In general, primaries met within three days of the local convention and very often on the day preceding the con- vention. The legislation of 1895 prescribed that all wards or precincts in cities of over fifteen thousand inhabitants should hold primaries on the same day, but that all parties should hold primaries on different days. The com- mon councils in cities of fifteen thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants were empowered to require parties to hold primaries within a given time; but, unless the council chose to act, the time of the primaries should be determined by the city committee. 36 In Detroit all primaries should be held after the last session of the board of registration, and for the October and March primaries definite days were assigned to each party. Prior to 1893 the usual hours for primaries as fixed by the county, city, or district committee were in the cities from 6 or 7 to 8 p. m. ; in the townships hours in the early af ter- 32 Detroit Tribune, April 13, 1896, May 30, September 9, 1900, June 4, 1902; Detroit Free Press, March 22, 1896. 33 Detroit Free Press, June 21, 1894. 84 Ibid., September 7, 1886, July 7, 8, 1892; Detroit Tribune, July 9, 1892. ' Public Acts, 1893, No. 175. 36 Local Acts, 1901, No. 470. 469] PARTY COMMITTEES, PRIMARIES, AND CONVENTIONS 33 noon were selected. The committee in charge, however, often closed the polls long before the announced time for closing, and not infrequently while many were still waiting to vote. 37 Sometimes the committeemen opened and closed the polls intermittently in order to receive the votes of henchmen and exclude the votes of opponents and strangers. Manipulation of the clock was in the opinion of some observers the chief evil of the party primary. As a remedy the law of 1893 provided that in cities of twenty-five thousand or more the primaries should begin at 2 and last until 8 p. m.; 38 and the acts of 1895 prescribed these hours for all cities of fifteen thousand or more, 39 except that in Detroit the hours were to be from 3.30 to 7.30 p. m. The amending act of 1899 provided that the hours in cities of less than thirty thousand should be from 4 to 8; in cities of more than thirty thousand, 2 to 8. 40 In practice, however, the ward committeeman continued in many cases to act as a thoroughly biased time-keeper. 41 The act of 1887 prescribed no method for the organization of the primary. The township primaries usually assembled in the town hall and were called to order by the chairman of the township committee; in the small cities the ward primary was similarly a party assembly or mass convention of which the chairman of the ward committee was tem- porary presiding officer. The primary organized by electing a chairman, a secretary, and tellers, but in practice the organization of the primary was largely determined by the chairman of the ward or township committee. Some of the worst cases of disorder occurred over the organization of the primary board, for the voters generally recognized that "Detroit Tribune, October 26, 1886, October 2, 1888, October II, 1890, July 7, 1892, February 13, 1893; Detroit Free Press, August 6, 1886, April 26, 1888, October i, 1890, March II, 14, 1891. 38 Public Acts, 1893, No. 175. 39 Public Acts, 1895, No. 135; Local Acts, 1895, No. 411. 40 Public Acts, 1899, No. 198. 41 Detroit Tribune, June 8, October II, 1898, February 21, 27, 1899, October 18, 1900, July 26, October 18, 1902, May 15, 28, 1904. The Kent County act of 1901 provided that hours in the townships should be from 2 to 6 p. m. and in the city from 2 to 8 (Local Acts, 1901, No. 470). 34 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [470 this initial step in the proceedings was very likely to deter- mine the result. In quiet times there were often hardly enough persons present to elect officers; on the other hand, during an exciting contest so large and so unruly a crowd sometimes assembled that fair organization was impossible. 42 In Detroit the primaries were managed by a caucus board, which usually consisted of the chairman or a member of the ward committee and two inspectors chosen by the voters present at the opening of the primary. The legislature in 1895 attempted to curb the power of the ward chairman in Detroit by providing not only for precinct primaries, but for the election by ballot at the primary of three primary election inspectors and three alternate inspectors who should hold office for one year, and who, with the ward committeeman resident in the precinct as ex-officio chair- man, should constitute a board of primary election in- spectors for all primaries during the year. 43 Outside of Detroit the board of inspectors should be composed of a member of the ward committee as ex-officio chairman, and two inspectors who should serve for two years. 44 The act of 1887 had provided that the presiding officer and the in- spectors should take an oath as in general elections. 45 The most progressive party leaders favored putting the pri- maries in the control of the regular registration officers ; but this plan was never adopted by the legislature. 46 Finally in 1901 the legislature enacted that in the townships of Kent County the township committee should act as board of primary inspectors, and that in the city a member of the ward committee as ex-officio chairman and two inspectors should preside over the ward primary. 47 One of the most persistent evils was the participation by members of one party in the primaries of the other. In Detroit when there were contests in the Republican party Democrats usually took part in Republican primaries. 42 Detroit Tribune, February 20, 1895. 43 Local Acts, 1895, No. 411. 44 Public Acts, 1895, No. 135. Public Acts, 1887, No. 303. 46 Butterfield, page iff. 47 Local Acts, 1901, No. 470. 47 J ] PARTY COMMITTEES, PRIMARIES, AND CONVENTIONS 35 The act of 1887 left the parties free to prescribe their own tests of party membership, the final decision as to a voter's eligibility resting with the board, and in contested primaries challenges were frequent. The poll-list, the registry roll, and even the city directory were occasionally used to check illegal voting, but with little success. 48 The voter was not required to declare his party affiliation unless challenged. The public act of 1895 provided for party registration in cities of fifteen to one hundred and fifty thousand; the registration had to be in charge, however, of the city com- mittee. It provided also for challenges and for the taking of an oath as to party affiliation by the challenged voter, and it required a sworn witness as to residence. No one, according to the law, could vote whose name was not on the party registration list or the registration list of the last election unless he took an oath as to residence, age, and party affiliation. 49 The parties did not generally undertake or did not continue the registration of their members, and in a few years this part of the law was ignored. 50 Through- out the period the challenge and the oath were practically the only checks on the members of one party voting in the primaries of the other. 51 The local act of 1895 applying to Detroit went somewhat more into detail, making it the duty of the city clerk to deliver the registration list and the blanks for poll-lists to a police- man who should attend the primary and deliver the ma- terials to the chairman of the board of inspectors. The law required the board of inspectors to check off voters on the registration list and to keep a poll-list of all persons voting. But this part of the act was seldom faithfully observed. The residence qualification was often disregarded, gangs of heelers sometimes marching from precinct to precinct and voting in each. The act of 1887 did not prescribe a method of voting, but "Detroit Tribune, October 17, 1890, October 26, 1892, September 21, 1894; Detroit Free Press, September 21, 1894. 49 Public Acts, 1895, No. 135. 50 Grand Rapids Herald, August 24, 1898. 51 Report of Attorney-General, 1899. 36 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [472 implied that voting by ballot was the regular way. The township primaries and the ward primaries in the less populous cities usually elected delegates and nominated candidates by acclamation. When contests developed, however, informal and formal ballots were taken. In Detroit the call often specifically prescribed voting by ballot, and the act of 1893 made this method of voting mandatory in cities of twenty-five thousand or more, pre- scribing that ballots might be received through an open window, but where the ballot-box was inside, the room should be large enough to admit a reasonable number of persons. 57 The local act of 1895 provided that in Detroit booths should be set up by the city council and that the polling place and all the arrangements for secret voting should be the same as in general elections. The general act of the same year, which was less skilfully drawn, contained the same provision but lacked the machinery to carry it out. It was dis- cretionary with the common councils to cause booths to be erected, and if erected there was nothing in the act to compel their use. 53 Both acts provided for ballots of uni- form size, but the ballots were prepared and distributed outside the polling place, and repeating and stuffing were frequent. The primary board counted the ballots, precisely what it should not have done. An innocuous provision of the act of 1887 had made false counting a misdemeanor. The local act of 1895 provided for certified duplicate copies of the count, one copy to be delivered to the city clerk and the other to constitute the credentials of delegates elected at the primary. But the counting was often conducted secretly and fraudulently, and the board of inspectors through its power to count the ballots was able to perpetuate itself in office. In the townships and smaller cities the counting of the ballots, like other features of the primary, was less open to criticism. 54 In the opinion of most observers the fundamental evil K Public Acts, 1893, No. 175. M Report of Attorney-General, 1896, p. 97. " Correspondence. 473J PARTY COMMITTEES, PRIMARIES, AND CONVENTIONS 37 in the nominating system was not any defect in machinery or absence of legislative control, but it was the conspicuous failure on the part of the average citizen to attend the primaries. It seems to have been generally felt that the primaries were cut-and-dried affairs, managed by the ward committeemen, and that whatever might be done or who- ever might vote, the result would be the same. At the usual hours of primaries the workingmen found it hard to attend. There were too many primaries in a year. Finally the primary was merely a preliminary step in a complicated nominating process, and it was an impossibility to register at the primary an intelligent decision or a clear mandate as to nominations or issues. 55 Ordinarily when the good citizen went to the polls in Detroit he either found them closed or found only one list of delegates to vote for ; and in either event it is scarcely surprising that he should consider his visit useless. No official record of the primary vote was preserved, and the newspapers seldom published the vote unless the primaries were in some respect exceptional or sensational. It is, therefore, impossible to make satisfactory computa- tions of primary votes. From the data available, however, it is evident that the proportion of the party membership attending the primaries was on the average very small. More than fifty per cent of the party rarely attended, and the average was probably not more than twenty per cent. The city primaries were better attended than the country, the Republican better than the Democratic, the contested better than the uncontested, and those held in regular election years better than those held in off years. 56 It is true that occasionally the primary vote exceeded the 66 An intelligent Republican politician of Detroit in 1902 attributed the lack of attendance at primaries to (i) the large number of primaries; (2) the power of the ward-heeler; (3) the fact that the delegate while expressing the voter's choice for one candidate did not express it for others; (4) the bartering of votes in conventions; and (5) the manipula- tion of conventions (C. C. Simons, "Direct Primary Elections," in Publications of the Michigan Political Science Association, p. 136). 68 The following figures represent what were believed to be abnor- mally large votes in Republican primaries and will serve to illustrate, although not to prove, the above estimate: 38 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [474 party vote at the succeeding election. At Ann Arbor, for example, in 1900, on the occasion of a contest for the control of the Republican county organization, 1369 voted in the primaries and 1341 voted for the Republican candidate for secretary of state. 57 Such an abnormally large vote may be attributed to the participation of Democrats or to apathy or defection in the election. To offset the occasional heavy votes, there was in many cases practically no attendance at all, and frequently no primary was held. Examples of this extreme are to be drawn chiefly from Democratic history. 58 Date Place Primary Election vote vote 1892' Detroit, 14 wards 8354 18980 i9OO b Detroit 13602 29229 1900" Lansing 1219 2073 i900 d Battle Creek I5H 2375 1898' Brownston Tp., Wayne Co. 246 375 1903' Grand Rapids 1765 7393 1902* Grand Rapids 4652 6805 Detroit Tribune, July 9, 1892; Michigan Manual, 1901. b Michigan Manual; Detroit Tribune, June I, 1900. c Detroit Tribune, June 13, 1900. d This was called the largest vote known (Detroit Tribune, June 12, 1900). e This was said to be the largest primary in the history of the town- ship. * These primaries, according to newspaper reports, called out an unusually heavy vote (Grand Rapids Herald, February 18, 1903). The heaviest vote was in the fourth ward which gave 300 in the primary and 701 in the election. B Grand Rapids Herald, June 19, 1902. 67 Detroit Tribune, April 24, 1900. 58 The following table gives the attendance in five Democratic pri- maries in Detroit: Date Place Attendance 1897* Detroit No primaries in 23 precincts 1 899* Detroit No primaries in 40 precincts 1901 Detroit No primaries in 55 precincts, and in three wards no one attended but the police- men with the materials 1902* Detroit In 120 precincts, 334 1903' Detroit No primaries in 49 of the 125 precincts Detroit Tribune, March 19, 1897. b Detroit Free Press, March 5, 1899. c Detroit Tribune, March 2, 1901.' d Ibid., July 26, 1902. e Simons, p. 140. 475] PARTY COMMITTEES, PRIMARIES, AND CONVENTIONS 39 The party primaries were at their worst in Detroit, where in close contests disorder was usual and fights were not infrequent. 89 The township primaries were often controlled by rings of leading men or petty politicians, but seldom through corrupt or "strong-arm" methods. Bribery was known to be common in Detroit, less common in other cities, and comparatively rare in the rural districts. Votes in primaries were purchased in a variety of ways, but usually with drinks 60 or small sums of money. 61 Primary corruption attained its highest point in 1894, and led to the public act of 1895 which provided penalties for soliciting money from the candidates or from any other person, for receiving directly or indirectly any money, promise of place or posi- tion, or consideration of any kind for a vote or for support or for attendance, for voting at more than one primary, for hiring carriages or other vehicles for conveying voters other than those physically disabled, and for treating or otherwise entertaining any voter. These provisions were not effective, however, and primary corruption reached a climax in the Republican "barrel" canvasses of 1900 and 1902. The exact amount spent by the candidates legiti- mately or illegitimately cannot be ascertained; and current estimates were doubtless exaggerated. In each of the three counties of Kalamazoo, Ionia, and Washtenaw residents state that each of the three candidates in 1900 spent ten thousand dollars. It was commonly reported that the successful candidate in that year spent to secure the nomination one hundred thousand dollars, much of which was used in the primaries. 62 In addition to the various primaries, a Detroit partisan M Detroit Free Press, October 30, 1894; Detroit Tribune, November 27, 1894. 60 A party official said in 1894: "I heard one man say that he had got eighteen beers for voting eighteen times at one caucus" (Detroit Tribune, February 27, 1894). 81 In the Republican primaries, July 7, 1892, it was reported that toughs were paid one dollar a head (Detroit Free Press, July 7, 1892). See also Detroit Tribune, June 2, 1900. 61 A manager of one of the unsuccessful candidates in the same cam- paign told me that his candidate spent $57,000 in Kent County alone and lost the county. 4O PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [476 in 1892 should have been interested in the following con- ventions, beginning in April and ending in October: a county convention to elect delegates to the state delegate convention; a congressional district convention to elect delegates to the national convention; a state convention to elect delegates to the national convention; a county con- vention to elect delegates to the state nominating con- vention; a state convention to nominate state officers; a county convention to elect delegates to a special state convention; a special state convention to nominate a justice of the supreme court; a city convention to nominate city officers; a senatorial district convention to nominate state senators; a county convention to nominate county officers; and a congressional district convention to nominate a candidate for Congress. In Lansing in 1896 there were six conventions: a city convention, three county conven- tions, a senatorial convention, and a representative con- vention. Outside of Wayne County it seems to have been usual for one county convention to select delegates to the state con- vention, the congressional district convention, and the senatorial district convention. The county nominating convention was customarily held at the same time as the representative district convention, the former body dividing according to districts to make nominations for the legis- lature. The call for the county convention, issued by the chair- man and the secretary of the county committee and usually published in the newspapers two or three weeks in advance of the convention, stated place, date, hour, and purpose of the gathering, apportionment of delegates, and date and hours of the primaries for the selection of delegates. 63 It seems to have been recognized as a customary rule that the county convention should not be called before the state convention had been called, and that the county convention M Detroit Tribune, March 15, April 22, 1888, June 8, 1898; Detroit Journal, February 21, 1899; Grand Rapids Herald, August 2, 1898, February 13, 1899, April 4, 1900, June 12, 1902, February 17, 1903. 477] PARTY COMMITTEES, PRIMARIES, AND CONVENTIONS 4! should transact only the business stated in the call. 64 The dates of county conventions varied greatly. In the number and the apportionment of delegates, which were subject to no uniform rule, a conflict asserted itself between the principle of equality in representation of wards and townships and the principle of apportionment according to party vote. Where the former principle prevailed the representation appears to have been usually one delegate from each voting precinct, or three, four, or five from each township or ward. In many cases, however, the number of delegates was roughly proportional either to the whole population or to the party vote. According to a rule adopted by the Republican state convention in 1876, every county was entitled to one dele- gate for each five hundred of the total vote cast for governor at the last election and one additional delegate for every fraction of three hundred votes, but each organized county was entitled to at least one delegate. In 1900 the Repub- lican state convention changed the apportionment so that in the future it would be based on the vote for governor in presidential years; and later the Republicans provided that each organized county should have two delegates. Nominations in county conventions prior to 1895 were often made by ballot, but when there was no contest they were usually by acclamation. The local act of 1895 provided that candidates should be selected by a viva voce vote on a roll-call of the delegates; 65 and an act of 1901 apply- ing to Kent County prescribed detailed directions for voting in conventions, providing for a roll-call of ward and town- ship delegations by the secretary of the convention, for an announcement of the votes by the chairmen of delegations, and for a poll of the delegation in case of challenge, and prohibiting the announcement of votes of absent delegates. 86 The distribution of nominations so as to satisfy the various parts of the county was a problem which party managers 64 Detroit Tribune, September 9, 1900, May 4, 1904; Ann Arbor Democrat, April 24, 1896; Lansing State Republican, April 30, 1896. 65 Detroit Tribune, June 26, 1902. 68 Local Acts, 1901, No. 389. 42 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [478 had to solve. In some counties there was an understanding that certain offices should go to the city or cities and others to the country. 67 County conventions in the upper penin- sula, moreover, as well as in other sections where there were marked racial groups, had to make their nominations reflect more or less faithfully the racial complexion of the county. Even in counties which were not dominated by a machine, nominations apparently were usually pretty well settled before the meeting of the convention, in order to secure a satisfactory distribution of nominations and a harmonious convention. The call for the state convention, determined upon by the state central committee a month or more before the date of the convention and issued and signed by the chairman and the secretary, prescribed date, place, hours, and purpose of the gathering, apportionment of delegates among the counties, residence qualifications of delegates, date, hours, and work of the congressional district caucuses, directions to the secretaries of county committees to forward certified lists of delegates, and often other directions to county com- mittees and their officers. 68 The state delegate convention usually met in May, the state nominating convention in July, August, or early September. The fixing of the date was often a tactical move for the advantage of some candidate. 69 In 1890 the Republican state convention had 944 and the Democratic 954 delegates; in 1902 the Republican had 1094 and the Democratic 1102. Absent delegates and a number were always absent were represented by proxy or their places were filled by the remainder of the delegation. 67 Detroit Tribune, June 19, 1898, and interviews. 88 For an example, see Grand Rapids Herald, July 30, 1898. In the Democratic state central committee meeting in 1900 the following considerations were mentioned in fixing the date of the state nominating convention: (i) It should be soon after the national convention so as to take advantage of the enthusiasm that has been aroused; (2) it should be after harvest so that farmers can attend; (3) it should be late so that the campaign can be short, sharp, and economical; (4) it should be early enough to give time for thorough organization. 69 Detroit Tribune, February 25, 1891, April 30, 1896, May 4, 1900; Detroit Free Press, May 5, 1892. 479] PARTY COMMITTEES, PRIMARIES, AND CONVENTIONS 43 The northern counties were most likely to be unrepresented. The attendance was better in Republican than in Demo- cratic conventions. 70 It was a rule that delegates in state conventions should reside in the counties which they rep- resented. 71 Delegates were ordinarily admitted to the convention hall by badge or ticket supplied by the secretary of the state central committee ; they were grouped according to congressional districts; and with the exception of dis- tinguished guests no one not a delegate was ordinarily allowed on the floor. 72 Previous to the convention the various congressional district delegations held caucuses, at which, following the selection of a chairman, a secretary, and a teller, each district chose two members of the central committee, one vice-president of the convention, one member of the com- mittee on credentials, one member of the committee on permanent organization and order of business, and one member of the committee on resolutions. The congressional district appeared again as an organization unit in the selec- tion of district delegates to the national convention. These were usually chosen by conventions in the districts, but were sometimes selected by district caucuses at the state con- vention. With respect to the nomination of presidential electors the practice of the two parties seems to have differed. In Republican conventions the congressional district was regarded as the unit, and presidential electors were looked upon as national officials, and were accordingly put in nomination by the state convention which selected delegates to the national convention. In Democratic conventions the county was regarded as the unit, and presidential electors were looked upon as state officers, and were usually nominated by the state convention which nominated state officers. 73 The difference in practice corresponds to the 70 In the latter part of the period no more than two or three hundred delegates attended some of the Democratic conventions (Detroit Tribune, June 22, 1898, March 7, 1901). 71 Grand Rapids Herald, February 13, 1899. 72 Detroit Tribune, April 30, 1896. 71 Detroit Free Press, May 22, 1908. 44 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [480 different constitutional philosophies of the two parties. Usually nomination speeches were made on a roll-call of districts and an informal vote was taken by counties or districts, the chairman of the delegation announcing the vote. Convention interest centered in the nomination for governor. In the Republican party there were keen contests for this honor, since nomination was practically equivalent to election. In nominations for other state offices there was, in Republican conventions at least, con- siderable log-rolling and little interest in the actual balloting. After nominating the head of the ticket, delegates left the hall, and the proceedings came to an end somewhat per- functorily in the midst of disorder. The district conventions were called by the district com- mittee, usually subsequent to the state convention. Gen- erally speaking, where the district coincided with or was smaller than the county, representation in the district convention was the same as in the county convention and delegates were elected in ward and township primaries. Where the district comprised two or more counties, repre- sentation was likely to be the same as in the state convention and delegates were elected by county conventions. In at least one respect, however, Republican district conventions differed from both state and county conventions. Where the district was composed of two or more counties, as was frequently the case, each county was likely to have a candi- date for the nomination, a situation which resulted in dead-locks and prolonged ballotings. 74 The desire for harmony often led to an understanding that nominations should alternate from one county to another, and in the case of members of the legislature the two-term custom facilitated these understandings. Leaders in secret conference usually prepared for the 74 Detroit Tribune, September 15, 1894. In 1898 the seventh congressional district Republican convention nominated Weeks on the 749th ballot (Grand Rapids Herald, September 4, 1898). In 1902 the second congressional district Republican convention nominated Town- send on the Soist ballot (Detroit Tribune, May 29, 1902). See also Detroit Tribune, August 18, 1892, August 4, 1896, June 24, July 22, 1898. 481] PARTY COMMITTEES, PRIMARIES, AND CONVENTIONS 45 real work of the convention long before the assembling of the delegates, not infrequently planning every step in the convention program, naming committees, slating nomi- nations, and appointing a steering committee or a floor leader to push the slate through. A necessary step in the control of a convention was the domination of the ward and township committees and the primaries. More im- mediately effective was the control of the committee which called the convention, for, lacking a majority of the dele- gates, a victory might still be won by controlling the con- vention organization. 75 The preliminary organization of conventions in Michigan brings to light a conflict between what may be termed the idea of popular control and the idea of regularity. This conflict most marked, perhaps, in local conventions was waged over two steps in the preliminary organization: (i) the appointment of the temporary chairman, and (2) the fixing of the roll of delegates and the adjudicating of credentials. Both of these steps were extremely important in the strategy of convention control. (i) All conventions were called to order by the chairman of the appropriate party committee. In state conventions between 1890 and 1904 the temporary chairman seems to have been named in all cases by the state central committee ; and the assembled delegates never rejected the choice of the committee, although it was recognized that they had the power to do so. 76 In county, city, and district con- ventions the situation was different, some of the worst cases of disorder occurring in connection with the selection of a temporary chairman. 77 In many counties and districts it was customary for the delegates themselves to elect the temporary chairman, 78 although, of course, the chairman 7S Detroit Tribune, April 29, 30, 1896, October 25, 1898. 78 But see Detroit Free Press, August 28, 1890. 77 Detroit Tribune, April 14, August 13, October 9, 1892, April 29, June 26, 1900; Detroit Free Press, October 9, 1890, February 26, 1893, June 13, 1894. 78 Detroit Free Press, March 15, 1899; State Republican, June 23, 1894, March 31, April 25, 30, August 3, September 10, 1896; Beck v. Board, 103 Mich. 192. 46 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [482 of the committee through his power of recognition might actually determine the selection. Other temporary officers were usually named by the delegates, who, however, often simply confirmed the selections of the party committee. The temporary officers did not need to be delegates to the convention. This difference in the attitude of delegates toward the selection of the temporary chairman is explained largely by the fact that in local conventions the temporary chairman named the committees of the convention. 79 In all con- ventions there were three important committees: a com- mittee on credentials, a committee on permanent organ- ization and order of business, and a committee on reso- lutions. 80 In county conventions these committees con- sisted of three or five members each. In state conventions they consisted of one member from each congressional district. Most important was the committee on credentials ; and a consideration of the work of this committee brings us to the second step in the preliminary organization of the convention and to the second phase of the conflict between the principles of popular control and regularity. (2) With respect to the credentials of delegates to state conventions the procedure was about as follows: The cre- dentials were drawn up and signed by the chairman and the secretary of the county convention and issued in trip- licate, one copy being sent some time in advance of the state convention to the secretary of the state central com- mittee, and one copy being given to the chairman of the delegation. 81 The state central committee examined the credentials, made out the temporary roll of the convention, and authorized the secretary to issue badges or tickets to the delegates on this roll. "Badges or tickets were issued to the congressional district members of the state committee 79 For a protest against this practice, see Detroit Tribune, April 14, 1892. 80 In county delegate conventions there was often also a committee on apportionment and sometimes committees appointed for special purposes. 81 In the case of delegates to a Democratic state convention the credentials were certified by the chairman of the county committee. 483] PARTY COMMITTEES, PRIMARIES, AND CONVENTIONS 47 and by them distributed to the chairman of the county delegations, who in turn distributed them to the individual delegates. If the state committee had not decided a contest from any county, tickets for that county were with- held. If both contesting delegations were seated each being given one-half a vote then tickets were issued to each delegate so seated. Badges or tickets conferred no power. They simply enabled delegates to get into the hall." 82 If there were no contests, the state committee reported in favor of the delegates bearing regular credentials, and the credentials were returned to the convention with the report. The adoption of this report settled the permanent roll of the convention. In case of contests the state committee often seated one of the contesting delegations, sometimes both, and sometimes neither. After the organizing of the con- vention the credentials committee or the convention as a whole could seat a delegate or a delegation rejected by the state committee. 83 Through their power of settling contests, therefore, the state committee in the first place and the credentials committee in the second could in many cases practically determine the result of the con- vention. Although the credentials committee ordinarily conducted hearings and sometimes very protracted ones, its decisions were determined in most cases by factionalism and expediency rather than by principles of judicial fairness. In Democratic state conventions it has been customary, if the credentials committee presents a unanimous report, not to take up contests on the floor of the convention ; if there is a contest, however, it has usually gone to the convention. What has been said about the procedure in relation to credentials in state conventions will apply, generally speak- ing, to the local conventions. In these conventions, how- 82 Letter from D. E. Alward, November, 1915. 83 F. W. Waite, who is familiar with Republican convention pro- cedure in the nineties, writes: "The roll as made by the committee was practically always adopted. I think in 1896 the state central committee seated the Avery faction as against the contending faction and the temporary organization of delegates modified this by giving the two delegations one-half a vote apiece; more as a matter of politics than of justice. This is the only case I remember where the committee was reversed or modified." 48 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [484 ever, the selection of the temporary chairman by the as- sembled delegates and the selection of the credentials com- mittee by him considerably increased the importance of the temporary roll. There were two alternatives. The party committee might seat both of the contesting delegations and give each delegation one half a vote. This obviously put a premium on the trumping up of contests; for a con- testing delegation, however chosen, would during the pre- liminary stage of the convention negative a regularly chosen delegation. 84 The party committee might, however, seat one of the contesting delegations, giving it a vote in the preliminary organization of the convention. It is denied that this was done in Republican state conventions, but it was done in other conventions. In any event, to give a contested delegation a voice in the choice of its own judges and a vote in adopting the decision of the judges does not appeal to one's sense of abstract justice. When contesting delegations secured access to the convention hall, as they frequently did in local conventions, a struggle at once ensued over the selection of the temporary chairman who should name the credentials committee. At this point, a split was most likely to occur; for the result of the convention might be decided by the votes of delegates whom the presiding officer the chairman of the party committee did not consider delegates at all. In spite of the difficulties inherent in the system and asserting themselves constantly in practice, and in spite of the inequitable findings of credentials committees, the legislature has not attempted to surround the preliminary organization of conventions with any safeguards, 85 and the supreme court adopted a policy of non-interference with party organs. 88 In Beck v. Board the court reviewed the proceedings in a senatorial district convention which had split over the report of the credentials committee, and on 84 For an interesting example, see Detroit Tribune, July 16, 1902. 84 Under the acts of 1895 the certificates of election made out by the primary election board of inspectors was to constitute the credentials of delegates elected at the primary. 88 See above, page igfi. 485] PARTY COMMITTEES, PRIMARIES, AND CONVENTIONS 49 the authority of party usage decided as to the validity of the convention and the right of its nominee to a place on the ballot to the exclusion of the nominee of the rump convention. 87 Nevertheless the general attitude of Michi- gan courts toward committees on credentials, in fact toward party organizations in general, is best explained in a later case, Stephenson v. Board. 88 Delegates to conventions, says the court, usually come armed with something in the nature of credentials and it has usually been supposed that the assembly itself passes upon the authenticity and sufficiency of such credentials, and it has been quite common for conventions to admit bystanders from an unrepresented district to seats as representatives of their locality, although without other authority. While it has doubtless been the common practice for chairmen of political committees to use the gavel to procure order and silence, to read the call, and then to ask the assembly its further will or pleasure, and put motions until a temporary chairman is chosen, we have not understood it to be the province of the chairman to do more, or so much even, if against the will of the assembly. Certainly, we know of no rule of law authorizing it. The assembly is a law unto itself and has uniformly been the judge of the qualification of its own members, and its decision final. The contention of the relator seems to be based upon the assumption that the assembly cannot be trusted to faithfully discharge the duty of sifting out the disqualified, and that for that reason there must be some outside authority which shall have power to determine the qualification of delegates; "and they claim that party custom has conferred that power upon the committee." It can be said on either side that the alternative plan can be so used as fraudulently to control the convention. These difficulties do not now present themselves for the first time. From our earliest recollection, party politics has always been a matter of shrewdness and management, not always defensible; yet the people have been left to deal with the difficulties as they arise. It is not to be supposed that committees on credentials, however fairly selected, have always dealt justly; and, no doubt, expediency or political exigency has governed their actions to the exclusion of abstract justice. The remedy has been either a bolt on the part of the dissatisfied, and the selection of an opposition candidate within the party, or a refusal by the electors to support the nominee; and the courts have been careful not to inter- fere with the application of these remedies which have usually been found adequate. Since the convention split, the court must do one of two things, viz: Either follow the precedents, and say that 87 103 Mich. 192 (1894). 88 118 Mich. 396. 5O PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [486 we will not decide between the rival factions, or ourselves decide who were the lawfully elected delegates to the convention. To do this, we might be called upon to investigate every ward or township caucus and county convention held in the two disputed counties, and, had either side asked it, throughout the district. We have intimated that the assembly is the judge of the qualification of its members, and that back of its decisions we cannot go. Its presiding officer is its creature and it must protect itself. In turn, its voters must protect themselves against fraud upon their convention or misconduct of its delegates, officers, and candidates; and when a considerable faction of a convention leaves the meeting, and nominates a ticket, claiming to be the repre- sentative of the party which called the convention, it is not the province of the courts to determine upon technical grounds that it is not, and that its action is void, and deny it a place upon the ballot, thereby de- feating the purification of methods within the party, or to say which faction was right and which wrong. . . . The electors must decide between them. Delegates were often unwilling or unable to attend con- ventions. In such cases they were usually represented either by proxies or by substitutes elected by the remainder of the delegation; and it was a rule that the holder of the proxy or the substitute should be from the circumscription which he represented. 89 The buying and selling of proxies and the issuing of fraudulent proxies became a source of considerable corruption. Many conventions ruled them out altogether and insisted that vacancies should be filled by the delegation itself. 90 This rule was made law in i895 91 and was generally observed thereafter. Delegates usually paid their own expenses to state conventions; but in the case of delegates from Wayne County to contested con- ventions it was not uncommon for their expenses to be paid by persons interested in controlling the convention. The committee on permanent organization and order of business, although less important than the committee on credentials, was nevertheless frequently utilized in the strategy of the convention. It reported the permanent officers, the order of business, and the method of voting, and in doing so sometimes devised ingenious schemes to control the selection of delegates or nominations. One 89 Detroit Tribune, April 30, 1896. 90 Detroit Free Press, June 21, 22, 28, September 16, October 17, 1894; Detroit Tribune, September 2, 5, 27, 1894, March 13, 1895, May 27, 1904; Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention, 1896. 91 Local Acts, 1895, No. 411; Public Acts, 1895, No. 135. 487] PARTY COMMITTEES, PRIMARIES, AND CONVENTIONS 51 device was to change the geographical basis of selection of delegates, for one faction of the convention sometimes con- trolled a majority of the districts and the opposing faction controlled a majority of the counties. Disfranchising schemes of this kind were probably more common in local than in state conventions. The following was the order of business in the Republican state delegate convention in 1892 : 9i (i) report of credentials committee; (2) vote on making temporary organization permanent; (3) election of delegates at large; (4) nomination of two electors at large and one from each district; (5) election of chairman of state central committee; (6) con- firmation of members of state central committee from districts; (7) report of resolutions committee; (8) adjourn- ment. Pursuant to the law of 1887, the permanent officers of nominating conventions were sworn in by a notary. To bind delegates to certain action they were often instructed and the unit rule was adopted. In some counties it seems to have been customary to instruct, in others not to in- struct. 93 During this period there were isolated cases of rump conventions growing out of local contests, but except in 1896 there was no state-wide bolting movement. Michigan experience in the period under consideration affords a basis for three fairly definite conclusions. In the first place, conventions were not representative. The delegates were not drawn from all classes of men, but were too largely office-holders and their dependents and other professional politicians. In local conventions delegates from the country districts were practically powerless, the city lawyers usually dominating the proceedings. Men who were not delegates at all frequently took part in pro- ceedings on the floor, and were still more frequently in- fluential in proceedings off the floor. The arbitrary rulings of the chairman, the unfair handling of contests, the ar- rangement of committees, or the unofficial power of a boss 92 Detroit Tribune, April 15, 1892. M Ibid., July 3, 1892, April 20, May 1,1896; Detroit Free Press, July 20, 1892. 52 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [488 frequently determined the result of conventions and actually disfranchised a majority of the delegates. Above all, con- ventions did not represent in their nominations the public opinion of the party. With the exception of that of Pingree, it is doubtful if a single Republican gubernatorial nomina- tion in this period represented a substantial demand of the party membership. Dummy candidates were sometimes put up to divide the vote and make it possible to nominate a minority candidate. The studied ascertainment of party sentiment was a negligible element in the making of nomi- nations; an equally ineffective check in Republican con- ventions was the prospect of defeat. Having their origin in a party opinion which found in the primaries an attenu- ated and incoherent expression, convention nominations were the final result of a series of filtrations which removed every vestige of responsibility. This is not to imply, however, that nominations in all cases were bad; for some candidates, such as those for the supreme court, were notably good. In the second place, conventions were not deliberative. There was much manipulation and wire-pulling and little discussion. Slates made debate superfluous. Participa- tion in conventions was not looked upon as an honor or a responsibility. Disorder and fights were frequent in local conventions, which were sometimes practically unmanage- able mobs. It is true that old politicians refer to a time when the nominating system was ideal, when conventions were councils where party leaders met and arrived at rational and wise decisions; but this time had evidently passed long before 1890. State conventions were less demoralizing, more orderly, more dignified, and higher in tone than local conventions. Democratic and third-party state conven- tions were more deliberative than were Republican state conventions, but mainly for the reason that their prizes were not worth fighting for. Thirdly, methods used in conventions were often corrupt. In conventions, especially in Detroit, where several candi- dates were to be nominated for example, for the legislature 489] PARTY COMMITTEES, PRIMARIES, AND CONVENTIONS 53 a slate was sometimes arranged, places on the slate were bought, and a "pot" was collected to push the slate through. 94 In other cases where money did not figure so conspicuously in the making of the slate, nominations were effected by deals and trades in which no one of the nominees could command a majority of the delegates. 95 The saloon influence, exerted in a variety of ways, was common in county and city, and was not absent from even state conventions. Delegates were influenced commonly by patronage and by personal connections, which amounted in many cases to bribery, and the actual use of money in conventions was frequent. The act of 1887 declared the accepting of money or the offer of place or position or other valuable consideration by a delegate a misdemeanor; 96 and the acts of 1895 made it a misdemeanor to solicit money from candidates or to offer money or place to a delegate. 97 These provisions, however, seem to have been generally ineffective. More money was used in primaries and con- ventions in 1900 and 1902 than ever before; and, although more was used in the primaries than in the conventions and much was spent legitimately, nevertheless in these and other years an indefinite amount of money, but certainly a large amount, was used corruptly in conventions, state as well as local. Money was passed openly on the floor of conventions. 98 Conditions seemed to be growing worse, and it became a truism that a poor man without powerful associates had small chance of securing a nomination. 99 94 Detroit Tribune, October 12, 1890, October 9, 12, 13, 1892. 95 Ibid., March 14, 1893. 96 Public Acts, 1887, No. 303. 97 Public Acts, 1895, No. 135; Local Acts, 1895, No. 411. 98 Detroit Tribune, October 13, 1892, June 9, 1894, April 30, 1896, October 30, 1898, June 30, October 27, 1900. "Money has been paid freely and openly on convention floors" (Governor Pingree's outgoing message, 1901, in Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of Michigan, 1901, vol. I, p. 29). "Syndicates of office-seekers are formed, corrupt combinations are made, delegates are bought and sold, promises of position to unworthy men are often of necessity made. . . . The convention has become the medium of trickery, bribery and fraud " (Governor Pingree's message, in Detroit Tribune, January 8, 1897). 99 A Republican politician said in 1903: " Under the present arrange- ments, a man without money or without an 'angel,' who aspires to any 54 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [490 The increase of corruption and the deterioration of con- ventions is attributed generally to the entrance into politics of corporations, which through their attorneys and the liberal use of money participated in both conventions and campaigns. Originally this participation seems to have been largely a defensive move against blackmailing bills in the legislature; but the activities of corporations steadily increased in thoroughness and extent, and at the same time developed a new and corrupt class of convention managers. In state politics the Michigan Central Railroad was believed to be the most powerful element, and in the upper peninsula the mining corporations exercised a pretty constant control over local conventions. Nevertheless conventions served useful purposes. They kept the organization alive; they stimulated and focused party enthusiasm; they tended to obliterate or satisfy factions. These more favorable considerations will be treated in a later chapter. Fusion. In 1894 A. M. Todd was nominated for Con- gress in the third district by the Prohibitionists, the People's party, the Union Silver party, and finally by the Democrats. The Republicans had reason to fear that this combination would carry the district. They had a majority in the legislature, however, and shortly before the election passed a law providing that the name of a candidate nominated by more than one party should not appear in more than one column of the official ballot. 100 It was charged that the purpose of the law was purely partisan, and it is significant that Mr. Todd's opponent was then lieutenant-governor and president of the state senate, 101 When a mandamus suit was brought into the supreme court before the election, the four Republicans on the bench upheld the law, the one Democrat entering a dissenting opinion. 102 The attorney- general held later that the law did not apply to local city, high office at the present time, has his candidacy treated as a joke, and we look at such a man as having no chance of winning "(Detroit Tribune, March 13, 1903). 100 Public Acts, 1895, No. 271. 101 Correspondence with A. M. Todd, November 3, 1915. 102 Todd v. Board, 104 Mich. 474. 49l] PARTY COMMITTEES, PRIMARIES, AND CONVENTIONS 55 village, and township elections. 103 On account of this law, the Democratic, People's, and Union Silver parties did not fuse in 1896, but adopted a joint name and made joint nominations. They held separate conventions on the same day, and each convention appointed a conference committee of five members. The committee of fifteen agreed that nominations should be made as follows : by the Union Silver party, a candidate for governor; by the People's party, candidates for auditor-general and state land commissioner; and by the Democratic party, candidates for the remaining state offices. 104 After nominating state officers the delegates to the three conventions met together and nominated presidential electors. During the campaign the three parties maintained separate organizations, the three state central committees occasionally holding joint meetings, 105 and their candidates were placed on the ballot in one column under a hyphenated name. Similar procedure was fol- lowed in 1898 with a different apportionment of offices. 108 In 1899 the three parties came together in one convention, 107 and in 1900 the Populists and the Silverites were practically absorbed into the Democratic ranks. In 1904 the strength of the fusion idea in the Democratic party was shown by the fact that J. S. Stearns, who had twice been defeated for the Republican nomination for governor, came near securing a majority in the Democratic convention. 108 103 Report of the Attorney-General, 1899, p. 100. 104 Detroit Tribune, August 26, 27, 1896. The nomination for secre- tary of state was at the time left vacant, with the expectation that it would be filled later by the National party. 105 Detroit Free Press, September 29, 1896; Detroit Tribune, Novem- ber 26, 1896. 106 Detroit Tribune, June 22, 1898. 107 Detroit Free Press, March 9, 1899. 108 Grand Rapids Herald, August 4, 1904. CHAPTER III DIRECT PRIMARY LEGISLATION The first local direct nomination law in Michigan was passed in 1901, the first general law in 1905. The public opinion, however, which looked to the abolition of the con- vention system of nomination rather than to its legal regulation had its inception as early as 1894. The unusually objectionable primaries of that year led to a pronounced but unorganized agitation for reform, in the course of which a few of the most radical citizens proposed to abolish ab- solutely all conventions. 1 As we have seen, however, the legislature of 1895 contented itself with attempting the regulation of primaries and conventions, leaving most of the nominating machinery in the control of the party organization. Nevertheless, as early as 1896 the Repub- licans of Battle Creek decided in mass-meeting to do away with the city convention and to nominate city officers directly in the ward primaries. 2 Early Attempts. With the election of Hazen S. Pingree to the governorship in 1896, the movement for direct nominations entered the stage of legislative debate. In his first message Governor Pingree laid marked emphasis on the direct nomination issue. 3 In this session several bills relating to this matter were drafted and introduced but none were passed. 4 Members of the legislature from Detroit were very prominent in the attempt to secure the enact- ment of a direct nomination law. In 1898 public opinion, 1 Detroit Tribune, November 10, n, 12, 13, 14, 1894; Detroit Free Press, November 16, 1894. 2 Detroit Free Press, March 14, 1896. 3 Detroit Tribune, January 8, 1897. 4 Ibid., January 8, February 20, March 2, 6, 1897; House Journal, 1897. PP- 103, 571, 638, 643, 662, 717, 762; Senate Journal, 1897, pp. 210, 296, 366. 493] DIRECT PRIMARY LEGISLATION 57 especially in Detroit, 5 was crystallizing. For the first time direct nominations were discussed by the Michigan Political Science Association, which had been organized in i893. 6 In his message in 1899 Governor Pingree urged the passing of a law which should apply "to all candidates for each elective office, from governor down to township and ward officers." 7 Representative Colby of Wayne County intro- duced five direct nomination bills, two general and three to apply only to Wayne County; 8 but the only result of the session was the amending of the acts of 1887 and 1895. 9 The opposition argument most frequently heard was that the direct primary would destroy the party organization and would give to the cities a monopoly of the nominations at the expense of the country districts. 10 In this session, however, the majority of the farmers in the legislature which opposed direct nominations was not significantly large, 11 and was probably due more to the native conservatism of the farmer than to a feeling that the legislation would be contrary to his class interests. The corrupt gubernatorial campaign of 1900 greatly strengthened the sentiment for direct nominations; and in Wayne County a majority of the Republican senatorial and legislative conventions and candidates endorsed the direct nomination principle. 12 In his address in 1901 at the close of his term Governor Pingree dwelt at length on the need for direct nominations; but the incoming executive made no recommendation on the subject. 13 There was no dearth of bills, however; and the most important ones passed the Lower House, being opposed by some of the agricultural 5 Grand Rapids Herald, November 9, 1898; Detroit Tribune, October 6, November 3, 12, 24, 26, 1898. 8 Detroit Tribune, November 20, 1898. 7 Detroit Free Press, January 6, 1899. 8 House Journal, 1899, pp. 217, 520, 521, 591. 9 See above, page 3off . 10 Detroit Free Press, February 18, 1899; Detroit Journal, February II, 1899. 11 On one vote in the House 19 of the 39 farmers voting favored the bill (House Journal, 1899, p. 1070). In the Senate two of the six far- mers voting favored the bill (Senate Journal, 1899, p. 1288). 12 Detroit Tribune, February 8, March 26, 1901. 13 House Journal, 1901, pp. 29, 30. 58 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [494 members, by office-holders, and by machine politicians in general, some of whom expressed the fear that direct nomi- nations would "bring Pingree back." 14 In addition to the arguments used in the previous session, it was now con- tended that the direct primary would be too expensive, that it would facilitate manipulation, 15 and that it would unduly increase the power of the newspapers. It was also held that the farmers would not attend the primary elections. 16 The session resulted in the enactment of three laws affecting party organizations : a law supposed to have been passed at machine dictation abolishing off-year elections in Detroit and merging the city with the general elections ; 17 a law regulating convention procedure in Kent County; 18 and a law providing for direct nominations in the city of Grand Rapids, 19 which, after a trial in the March primaries, was superseded by a more detailed law passed during the same session of the legislature. 20 These local acts for Grand Rapids, which in their main provisions were identical, provided that primary elections in that city should be controlled by the general election officials and in details not specifically covered by these special acts should be governed by the general election laws; that in the direct primary should be nominated all candidates for elective city offices, judges, representatives and senators in the state legislature, and all other elective officers chosen in the city except elected members of school boards; that the primary should be held on the third Tuesday preceding the general fall election and on the third Tuesday preceding the city election; that to secure a place on the primary ballot candidates should file a personal affidavit and pay a fee which for the principal offices amounted to fifteen dollars; that separate ballots uniform in size and color should be 14 Detroit Tribune, January 19, 23, February 10, March 22, 1901. 15 Ibid., files for February, 1901. 16 Ibid., February 8, 1901. "Local Acts, 1901, No. 437; Detroit Tribune, March 23, 26, 1901. 18 See above, page 41. "Local Acts, 1901, No. 292. In effect February, 1901. The first primary elections under it were held on March 5, 1901. 20 Local Acts, 1901, No. 471. In effect June 6, 1901. 495] DIRECT PRIMARY LEGISLATION 59 printed for the different parties ; that the voter should state his party affiliation when he received his ballot; and that the candidates nominated at the primary should select the chairman and the secretary of the city and legislative campaign committees. The acts also made provision for the nomination of independent candidates by mass con- ventions. In 1902 the popular demand for the direct primary became more general and more insistent. Democratic and Repub- lican conventions alike endorsed it, and conventions in rural as well as in urban counties favored it. 21 It was the chief issue in the Republican preconvention canvass and in the campaign. 22 The renomination and reelection of one who had been characterized as a barrel candidate and a machine governor served to intensify the demand for legis- lative action. Some county committees voluntarily tried the direct nomination plan. In Wayne County the chair- man of the Republican county committee, advised by lead- ing Republicans, worked out the details of a plan which was adopted by three of the four senatorial district committees. It was put into operation on October 17, but, on account of the lack of legal safeguards, failed to give general satis- faction. 23 In Washtenaw County the chairman of the Republican county committee instituted a direct primary which was less successful than the one in Wayne County, owing in this case to the refusal of the anti-Judson Repub- licans to participate and to the fact that the regular nomi- nating convention was held as usual after the primary election. 24 Further Local Legislation. Governor Bliss in his message to the legislature in 1903 recommended a "satisfactory primary election law." 25 The opposition of the farmers, from the first probably nursed and exaggerated by the poli- 21 Detroit Tribune, May 21, June u, July 26, 1902. 22 Ibid., May 29, June 22, 24, August I, 1902. 23 Ibid., June 4, 27, September n, 17, October 5, 17, 18, 20, 1902. 24 Ibid., August i, 1902. Letter from former County Chairman Green, September 15, 1915. 28 Detroit Tribune, January 9, 1903. 6O PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [496 ticians, had now apparently disappeared. The State Grange and the State Association of Farmers' Clubs declared for direct primaries. 26 At a referendum election the people of Kent County outside of the city of Grand Rapids voted for the application of the system to the whole county. 27 In addition to the familiar objections already mentioned it was argued in opposition to the bill that came nearest to enact- ment that the putting of registration and the primary election on the same day would encourage "colonization;" that the bill aimed at the destruction of the minority party; and that the convention system was necessary for the adoption of party platforms. 28 The most persistent ob- jection was that the direct primary would hurt the organ- ization. 29 The upper peninsula members based their op- position on the supposed difficulty under direct primaries of apportioning nominations equitably among the various nationalities. 30 The result of this legislative session was the passing of three local acts: one for Wayne County, one for Muskegon County, 31 and a new one for Kent County. General Legislation. In the gubernatorial campaign of 1904 the question of the adoption of the direct primary was still the most pressing issue. Public opinion seemed unanimous in demanding the new nominating method. 32 Endorsements came from the League of Michigan Munici- palities, the Michigan Political Science Association, the State Association of Farmers' Clubs, the State Grange, and the State Convention of Fremont Voters. 33 The State League of Republican Clubs, representing the younger element of the party, was active in creating sentiment for a 26 Detroit Tribune, January 30, February 19, 1903. ; 27 The majority in the county was about 8000 (Grand Rapids Herald, April 21, 1903). The vote in the city of Grand Rapids was: for, 8008; against, 2134 (ibid., April 7, 1903). 28 Detroit Tribune, April 9, 1903. 29 Ibid., February 22, 1903. 30 Ibid., March 8, April 3, 1902; January 20, February 26, 1903. 31 Local Acts, 1903, Nos. 291, 326, 502. 32 Butterfield, p. 9. 33 Detroit Tribune, February 1 1, April 2, May 19, November 2, 1904. 497] DIRECT PRIMARY LEGISLATION 6 1 direct primary. 34 Both the Republican city and county committees in Wayne County favored the new system. 35 The opposition of conservative Republicans and machine leaders was now centered chiefly on the application of the direct nomination principle to general state offices; but these men insisted that, even in the counties and the dis- tricts, the proposition should be subject to party referenda. This was the position taken by the two Republican state conventions 36 and by the Republican nominee for governor. 37 In the first congressional district, which was coextensive with Wayne County, the Republican congressional district committee voluntarily adopted a direct primary plan for the selection of delegates and alternates to the national convention; and anti-machine delegates were chosen by large majorities. 38 The Wayne County Republican com- mittee decided to do away with the county convention and to vote directly for delegates to the state nominating con- vention. 39 In Alpena County the Republican county convention voluntarily adopted by a vote of 61 to 5 the direct nomi- nation system for all county officers, county committees, and delegates to all conventions. 40 The Democrats declared for general direct primary legislation, and on this issue their candidate for governor polled an unusually large vote. Unmistakable indications of the strength of the public demand convinced the Republicans that a general direct primary law of some kind must be enacted. Machine leaders and members from the upper peninsula directed their efforts, not to defeat the legislation, but to make minimum concessions and to render the system difficult of operation. The act which finally emerged with the gover- nor's signature is a curious sample of the handiwork of a 84 Detroit Tribune, March 24, 1904; Grand Rapids Herald, February 22, May 18, 1904. 36 Detroit Tribune, March 25, 1904. 36 Ibid., May 19, July I, 1904. 37 Ibid., February 10, II, 1904. 38 Ibid., May 10, 12, 17, 19, 1904. 39 Ibid., May 29, June 10, 22, 1904. 40 Ibid., June 19, 1904. 62 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [498 state legislature, and there is reason for believing that the law was deliberately framed so that it would not work. This law 41 applied to no elective state administrative officers except governor and lieutenant-governor, and left the adoption of direct nominations optional with the parties, prescribing that a separate referendum election should be held in each city, county, legislative district, and congres- sional district, following the circulation of independent petitions for the election in each of these subdivisions. Furthermore in the referendum elections and in the sub- sequent primary elections only enrolled members of any party could vote. Voters might enroll at the April election, but enrollment was purely voluntary. The referendum election was to take place on the petition of twenty per cent of the party vote for governor in the last election. It is apparent that twenty per cent of the party vote in the November election represented a larger number than twenty per cent of the enrolled vote; for the vote in the April election is always less than in the November election, and not all those voting would enroll. It is true that the important question of nominating candidates for governor and lieutenant-governor was to be submitted to each party without previous petitioning, but on the adoption of the proposition only enrolled party members could vote. To resubmit the question of the direct nomination of governor and lieutenant-governor petitions signed by only twenty per cent of the enrolled party members were required, a more lenient requirement than that for the original sub- mission of the proposition. The law provided, moreover, that in order to be nominated at all a candidate for governor must have received forty per cent of the votes cast at the primary election. Otherwise, the nomination was to be made in convention. The law provided for the nomination of candidates for city and county offices, the legislature, and Congress, and for governor and lieutenant-governor. Primary elections were to occur on three dates : for city officers on the second 41 Public Acts, 1905, No. 181. 499] DIRECT PRIMARY LEGISLATION 63 Tuesday preceding the city election, for delegates to con- ventions on the second Tuesday in June, and for nomi- nations on the first Tuesday in September. Two oppor- tunities were allowed for enrollment, on the first Monday in April and on primary election day for those previously unable to enroll, but there was no provision for the enroll- ment of independents. Each party was to have a separate ballot. Candidates in the primary were required to file petitions signed by a number of enrolled voters equal to two per cent of the party vote for governor, and no fees were exacted. The voter was expected to write on the ballot the names of delegates to conventions. Any elector "legally qualified and enrolled" might vote in the primary, but he must ask for his party ticket, and if challenged must swear to his party affiliation. The law made no provision for the election of committees, but provided that all county conventions of any party should be held on a day to be designated by the state central committee and to be within seven days after the primary election. The state conven- tion was to take place within sixty days after the primary election, the date and place to be fixed by the state central committee. The law provided for the nomination of can- didates of new parties, and their petitions were to be signed by a number of electors equal to one per cent of the total vote for governor in the last election. The same legislature 1905 passed a local act for Alpena County which contained some features at variance with the public act. The Alpena act 42 provided for the direct nomination of all candidates except those for school district and possibly village offices, for the election and almost complete organization of the city and county com- mittees, and for the filing of petitions not only by candidates for office but by delegates to conventions. The chief in- novation, however, was the provision that candidates for the principal county and city offices must receive at least twenty-five per cent of all votes cast at the primary ; and if no candidate for nomination to a particular office received 42 Local Acts, 1905, Nos. 476, 620. 64 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [500 the required percentage, a second primary should be held a week later at which the two leading candidates in the first primary should again be voted for. Repealing the Wayne County act of 1903, the legislature passed another act 43 which provided for the election of ward, city, and county committees, a choice by the candi- date between the payment of a fee and the filing of a peti- tion, a separate ballot for each party, challenges on the ground of party affiliation, a change in the date of the primary election and the holding of the fall primary on three consecutive days in presidential years and on two days in other years, nominations by new parties or non- partisan organizations, and the legalization of the mass convention as an alternative method of nomination for old and new parties alike. The legislature of 1905 also amended the Kent and Muskegon acts so as to abolish the fee system, which had been declared unconstitutional by the state supreme court. 44 The referenda on direct nominations in 1905 were in both parties overwhelmingly favorable. Of 55,960 Republicans who voted, 46,447 favored the new method. Of 15,022 Democrats, only 2070 voted in the negative. There was an unfavorable majority in only two of the eighty-three coun- ties, Cass and Tuscola. The latter county was controlled at the time by the most prominent boss in the State. 45 In Kent County, where direct primaries had been tried longest, ninety-six per cent of the Republicans and ninety-seven per cent of the Democrats voted for the local application of the law. The majorities in the upper peninsula were large, although less than in the lower peninsula. 46 In his messages to the legislature in 1907 Governor Warner recommended a change in the primary law to make the primaries less expensive to the candidates and to the 43 Local Acts, 1905, No. 345. "Local Acts, 1905, Nos. 340, 341; Dapper v. Smith, 138 Mich. 104 (1904). The legislature also passed an act providing for the direct nomination of the circuit judge in the fourteenth judicial circuit (Local Acts, 1905, No. 341). 45 T. W. Atwood (Detroit Free Press, June 13, 1906). 46 Ibid., June 23, 1906. 5Ol] DIRECT PRIMARY LEGISLATION 65 public; he also recommended a change in the number of signatures required on petitions, a provision for one primary day for both delegates and candidates, the adding of party enrollment to the various local acts, and the regulation of the use of money in the primaries. He urged the enactment of a corrupt practice law and act providing for the publishing of primary expenditures. 47 The legislature passed a general act 48 which repealed the law of 1905 except as to the pro- visions for party enrollment. This act left the adoption of direct primaries optional with the parties and the localities in the case of district, county, and city offices; but in addi- tion to the mandatory provisions for the nomination of candidates for governor and lieutenant-governor, it made similar provision for candidates for United States senator. This law afforded an opportunity for the enrollment of independents, for a change of party affiliation, and for nominations by new parties. It made the vote for the candidate for secretary of state a measure of party strength, and introduced into the primary the non-fusion provisions of the general election laws. 49 The first Tuesday in Sep- tember became the date of the primary both for candidates and for delegates, and accordingly the county and state conventions were to be held after that date. The legis- lature in this session passed ten local acts, 50 the most im- portant of these amending the already radical Alpena act so as to make possible in that county the direct nomination of all candidates, including those for school district and village offices. 51 Up to January, 1909, direct primaries had been adopted in the following subdivisions: 52 Congressional districts . . . Rep. . . IO Dem. I Pro. 2 Soc. I Soc. Lab. I Senatorial districts . . IO g 8 7 7 Representative districts. . Counties ..56 . 58 16 17 9 9 9 47 Detroit Free Press, January 4, April 24, 1907. 48 Public Acts, Extra Session, 1907, No. 4. 49 See above, page 54ff . 50 Local Acts, 1907, Nos. 353, 370, 483, 601, 693, 712, 728, 740, 752, 754- 51 Local Acts, 1907, No. 754. 62 House Journal, 1909, p. 43. 5 66 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [502 Various local acts were in force; and in practice the nominating system showed need of simplification, uni- fication, and additional safeguards as to the use of money. 63 In 1909, therefore, the legislature in a more scientific and less reluctant spirit enacted a law 54 which repealed the law of 1907 and all contravening local laws and made detailed and careful provision for nominations and party organiza- tions throughout the State. It prescribed that direct nominations should apply without a previous referendum vote to the offices of governor, lieutenant-governor, United States senator, representative in Congress, representatives and senators in the state legislature, and city officers in Detroit and Grand Rapids. The law made a similar pro- vision with reference to officers in all counties and cities already having direct nominations, but permitted its use in other counties and cities and in judicial circuits to be optional. It abandoned the forty per cent provision. Finally it made elaborate provision for the constitution of district committees and contained stringent corrupt practice clauses. This law, with certain amendments, is still in force. In the referendum elections of 1910 Saginaw was the only county of the thirty-three voting that rejected direct primaries. 55 Legislation Since 1909. In the session of 1911 the legis- lature 86 changed the date of the fall primary from the first Tuesday after the first Monday in September to the last Tuesday in August, and set the date of the spring primary for the first Wednesday in March. It made mandatory the direct nomination of all officers except city officers in cities of less than seventy thousand, and made possible the direct nomination of school officers. It expressly provided that independents should not be enrolled. It changed the date of the state conventions and made some changes in the method of selecting committees. Most interesting, how- ever, was the legislative attempt to encourage Democrats 63 Detroit Free Press, January 8, 1909. 64 Public Acts, 1909, No. 281. 55 Detroit News, July 8, 1910; Michigan Manual, 1911, p. 411. 11 Public Acts, 1911, Nos. 169, 279. 503] DIRECT PRIMARY LEGISLATION 67 to vote in their own primaries by providing that, if a party failed to poll in the primary fifteen per cent of the party vote for secretary of state in the last preceding election, none of its candidates should be allowed places on the official ballot. The constitutionality of this clause was attacked, but was upheld by the state supreme court, which declared that the test did "not destroy the right of franchise because the voter may write the names on the ballot. It may render his voting less convenient, but it does not destroy or take away his right." A dissenting judge maintained, however, that "it is not competent for the legislature to enact laws which seriously impair the right to the elective franchise . . . [and] the right of all political parties to freely nominate their candidates for office is fundamental." 57 The clause providing for the fifteen per cent vote was in many respects ambiguous. The attorney-general held that it applied to city and ward offices as well as to state and county offices, 58 but he was in doubt whether the clause meant that the vote in the city or county should be con- trolling rather than that in the State. 59 The clause was unpopular with the Democrats, at whom it was aimed, and it was repealed in the legislative session of 1913. Early in 1912 the supporters of Roosevelt in Michigan demanded a presidential preference primary, and in February Governor Osborn, who was one of the " Roosevelt Governors," called an extra session of the legislature to enact the desired law. The proposal enlisted the active support of the Roosevelt Republicans and the Wilson Democrats, but it was opposed by the conservatives of both parties and by the mining interests in the upper peninsula and the representatives of the interests in the lower penin- sula. 60 The opposition, however, was not to the bill itself but to the proposal to give it immediate effect. To do this required a two-thirds vote, and many of the legislators 57 Brown v. Kent County Election Commissioners, 174 Mich. 481 (1913)- 58 Report of Attorney-General, 1912, p. 347. 59 Report of Attorney-General, 1913, pp. 71, no. 60 Detroit News, March 4, 5, 6, 1912. 68 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [504 probably believed that the action would be unconstitu- tional. 61 In any event the opponents of Roosevelt and Wilson were successful in the legislature. The act, slightly amended in 1915, provides that a presidential primary election shall be held on the first Monday in April in presidential years. Names of presidential candidates shall be placed on the ballot on the sole petition of at least one hundred of their party supporters in Michigan. The law declares that the "candidate receiving the highest number of votes in the State at said election shall be declared to be the candidate and the choice of such political party for this State." No provision is made in the law for the selection of delegates to the national convention or for their in- struction. 62 To the legislature of 1913 Governor Ferris recommended the abandonment of party enrollment, provision for a second-choice column on the primary ballot, the repeal of the fifteen per cent clause, and a corrupt practice act. The Republican majority in the legislature, which was faction- ally opposed to the men then in control of the Republican state central committee, passed a law providing for the legalization, composition, election, and organization of the state central committees. 63 The attorney-general, however, held the law to be defective and it was never applied. 64 This legislature also passed a thorough corrupt practice act, 65 and an act for the choosing of national committee- 61 See testimony of Judge Murfin before the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections of the 62d Cong., 2d sess., p. 982). 61 Public Acts, First Extra Session, 1912, No. 9; 1915, No. 219. In the first trial of the law in April, 1916, Henry Ford won the Republican endorsement for president over Senator Smith. The Republican state convention later declared for Justice Hughes. "The utter futility of the presidential primary needs no further demonstration. It is a use- less, expensive and undesired innovation in our political system" (Detroit Free Press, April 5, 1916). 63 Public Acts, 1913, No. 395. 84 He held the execution of the law to be a physical impossibility, because the county clerk is given ten days to file a return on the names and the secretary of state twenty days to call a meeting of the state board of canvassers, while the law directs that the men elected to the central committee shall meet within ten days after the primary (Detroit Free Press, August 14, 1914). 65 Public Acts, 1913, No. 109. 505] DIRECT PRIMARY LEGISLATION 69 men. 66 Significant of the trend of the times was the in- troduction of a bill for the incorporation of political parties. 67 In amending the general primary law the legislature, besides doing away with the fifteen per cent clause, pro- vided for a substitution of the open for the closed primary, abolished party enrollment, and provided for a single ballot for all parties. The next legislature, in spite of the Democratic governor's veto, readopted party enrollment in a modified form with- out, however, returning to the closed primary. The pro- vision is as follows: "When a duly registered and qualified voter shall ask for a ballot as before provided, the inspector shall enter his name upon the list together with the name of the party the ballot of which is requested, and the number of the ballot given to the voter." 68 The law as it now stands does not prevent a Democrat from voting in a Republican primary or vice versa, but it affords a public record of all so voting. The law makes enrollment an accompaniment of voting rather than a prerequisite and qualification for voting. Corrupt Practice Legislation. The local acts of 1901 prohibited electioneering at the polling place or within one hundred feet thereof, drinking or treating in the polling place, repeating, and the soliciting, receiving, or offering of a bribe of money, or the promise of money, place, or position in exchange for votes. With some minor changes, elaborations, and specifications these prohibitions have been repeated in all subsequent direct primary legislation. The public act of 1907 in addition made it unlawful for a state officer to circulate petitions for any one but himself or to solicit votes for any candidate for governor, lieutenant- governor, or United States senator. This act also provided that saloons should be closed on primary election days. The act of 1909 enumerated in great detail corrupt prac- tices in primary elections. Besides penalizing the various forms of direct and indirect bribery, repeating, treating, 66 Public Acts, 1913, No. 392. 67 Detroit News, February 21, 1913. 68 Public Acts, 1915, No. 313. 7O PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [506 and electioneering in or near the polls, the law prohibited payment in any manner for "any campaign work, elec- tioneering, [or] soliciting votes, ... it being the intent of this clause to prohibit the prevailing practice of candidates hiring with money and promises of positions, etc., workers on primary day and prior thereto." 69 The law prohibited the public posting by any candidate for nomination of "any campaign card, banner, hand bill, poster, lithograph, half- tone engraving, photograph or other likeness of himself, or other advertising matter used" for the advancement of his candidacy. 70 The law specified that campaign cards or other advertising matter except postal cards and letters must not be larger than two and one fourth inches in width by four inches in length, and that this advertising matter should contain no likeness of the candidate larger than one and one half inches in width by two inches in height. Campaign advertising is absolutely prohibited "in or upon any magazine, program, bill of fare, ticket for any ball or other entertainment, or upon or in any other substance or publication whatsoever, except in a daily, weekly, or monthly newspaper which has been regularly and bona fide published and circulated for at least three months before such advertisement is to be inserted therein." The act provided that the type used in the body of political adver- tising should not be larger than that used in the editorial section of the paper, and that charges for political adver- tising should not be higher than for non-political. 71 The corrupt practice act of 1913, 72 without repealing the provisions just noted, added a number of detailed regu- lations as to the use of money in primary campaigns. The law limits primary campaign expenses to twenty-five per cent of one year's compensation. Candidates for governor and lieutenant-governor, however, may spend a sum not to exceed fifty per cent of one year's salary. No candidate is to be restricted to an expenditure less than one hundred 69 Public Acts, 1909, No. 381. 70 Ibid. 71 Ibid. 72 Public Acts, 1913, No. 109. 507] DIRECT PRIMARY LEGISLATION 71 dollars. Expenditures are permitted only for certain speci- fied purposes. 73 To aid in the enforcement of these provisions as to ex- penditure the law provides that, within ten days after the primary election, every candidate shall file with the county clerk of the county in which he resides a detailed statement, sworn to before a notary, setting forth each item of con- tribution and expenditure, the date of each receipt, the names of persons from whom money was received or to whom it was disbursed, and the objects of expenditures, together with a statement of unpaid debts and obligations. The law provides that these statements shall be open to public inspection, and that failure to file shall disqualify for the holding of the office to which the candidate has been elected and shall render him liable to criminal prosecution. As to contributions, the law makes provision for publicity as above stated and also imposes restrictions on contribu- tions. No one not a candidate or a member of a political committeee is authorized to accept a contribution for campaign expenses. Contributions are to be given and entered in the accounts only in the name of the person by whom the contributions were actually furnished. No candidate is permitted to disburse money received from an anonymous source. Contributions from any one acting for a corporation are prohibited. The law seeks also to prohibit the intimidation of em- ployees by their employers. It is unlawful for employers to enclose in pay envelopes any political notices containing threats, expressed or implied, intending to influence the political opinions of the employees, and to post in any factory or place of business within ninety days of any elec- tion or primary any placards containing a threat or notice that in case a certain ticket or candidate shall be nominated or elected work will cease, the establishment be closed, or the wages reduced. The law requires that political advertisements in news- papers shall be marked paid, and prohibits the giving or 73 See below, page 144. 72 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [508 receiving of payment for editorial support. Finally the law penalizes the making of false statements reflecting on a candidate's character, and prohibits the soliciting of dona- tions from candidates by religious, charitable, or other organizations. The penalties provided by the law are adequate: a maximum fine of one thousand dollars or a maximum imprisonment of two years, or both. On the whole, the corrupt practice laws of Michigan seem now fairly complete and effective. Although the political assessment of office-holders is not expressly prohibited, the provisions in regard to bribery might be construed to prohibit such contributions. Corrupt practice legislation is a comparatively recent development in Michigan. Prior to 1909 the provisions were few and did not reach the real evils. Appearing at the end of twelve years of experimentation with direct primaries, the detailed law of 1913 seems to show an appreciation of the inadequacy of mere machinery to produce good nomi- nations, and also a realization of the power of those financial influences which, having perverted and discredited the convention system of nomination, seemed about to do the same with the direct primary system. Summary. Since 1900 the Michigan legislature has passed more than thirty acts, original and amendatory, having to do with direct nominations. From 1901 to 1905 the legislation was entirely local; from 1905 to 1909 it was both local and general but optional with the parties and with the localities; since 1909 it has been general and mandatory. Legislation has been halting and half-hearted. The history of it illustrates the strength, the slowness, and the sureness of the action of well-defined public opinion, stim- ulated by newspapers, on a reluctant legislature which has been usually dominated, at least in respect to this legislation, by leaders who were hostile to any legislative interference with their organization activities. Among the influences which led to the formation of this public opinion none was stronger than the evidence of the selfish control 509] DIRECT PRIMARY LEGISLATION 73 of the convention system by men of wealth and by cor- porations. It was not so much that the convention system worked badly; for it had long worked badly. But it now became apparently an effective instrument for an undemo- cratic and sinister domination, and the struggle between the forces which sought to control it developed into a public scandal. The best politicians and thinking people in general were not dissatisfied with conventions per se; but they felt that, as a means of popular expression, the con- vention had become incoherent and ineffectual, that it had been perverted from its true ends, and that it had become subject to influences which were antagonistic to the public welfare. It has been charged that the public demand for direct primaries was originally a newspaper demand, ad- vanced largely through motives of self-interest. The news- papers naturally had much to do with creating public opinion on the subject, but how far they were disinterested it is impossible to say. The movement for direct nominations started within the majority party. After the beginning of the movement, strong Democratic endorsements seem to have had slight effect on the course of events. Democratic influence in the legislature was practically nil; and in the legislature of 1905, which passed the first general law, there was not a single Democratic member. In the course of debates and newspaper discussions laws of other States were occasion- ally cited, and among these the Minnesota law was most frequently mentioned. Michigan's direct primary legislation, as it now stands, is still far from finality. The most thoughtful politicians are not satisfied with it. They say that it occupies a half-way position and must either return to the old system or advance to a more simple and effective means of popular expression. In the past the various laws have been experiments; and they have been experiments undertaken by a party which as represented by its managers has not at heart believed in the principle underlying the laws. The direct primary acts have been not only experiments; they have also been 74 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [510 sops. This legislation has exhibited a hesitancy out of all proportion to any danger that might result from it, and some of it has revealed downright insincerity. Not only has lawmaking been affected by the desire to save as much as possible of the old system, but the party managers, trained in the methods of the old system, have participated in the drafting of the new laws. The Repub- lican state central committee, or chiefly its chairman and secretary, played an important, perhaps a decisive, part in the enactment of primary laws and especially the law of 1905. 74 In 1915 the Republican state central committee appointed a subcommittee on revision of the primary law. The report of this subcommitteee was adopted in full 75 and presented to the legislature in the form of a petition; but, owing partly to temporary political exigencies, 76 it was not enacted into law. The influence of party managers on legislation has probably been greater in this field than in any other. It has been constant, active, and sometimes very direct and effective. Not always reactionary, it has been, nevertheless, generally unscientific and opportunistic. Opportunism has marked the course of direct primary legislation. Its early defeats in the legislature were partly occasioned by factional antagonisms growing out of the personality and the policies of Governor Pingree. The forty per cent clause in the law of 1905 was probably de- signed to protect the machine candidate for governor in 1906. The presidential primary bill of 1912, the act for the election of state central committees in 1913, and the revision of the general law in 1915 were all influenced more or less by Republican factional fights. The legislation shows many defects and inconsistencies. Difficult to explain are certain differences in the acts passed for Wayne and Kent counties in 1903. The Wayne act provided for a single ballot, the Kent act for separate ballots. In Kent independent candidates could be nominated; in Wayne there was no method provided for their nomination. 74 Detroit Tribune, February 17, May 29, 1903, April 6, 24, 27, 1905. 75 Detroit Free Press, December 30, 1914. 76 A factional fight in Detroit. 5Il] DIRECT PRIMARY LEGISLATION 75 In Wayne, township officers might be nominated directly; in Kent they could not be. In the latter county the candi- dates selected the party committees; in the former, they did not. The opinions rendered by the attorney-general reveal numerous shortcomings and ambiguities in the laws. For example, in the law of 1909 there was no provision for the filling of vacancies among nominees for the legislature. 77 In 1910, where the county commissioner of schools was elected in the fall, direct primaries applied to his office; where he was elected in the spring they did not apply. 78 Circuit judges are nominated in the direct primaries; supreme court judges are not. The history of direct primaries in Kent County is a record of legislative blundering. The law of 1901 applied only to the city of Grand Rapids; the law of 1903 applied to the whole county; from 1905 to 1909 there were two laws applying to the county. On account of overlapping local and general acts the city of Grand Rapids had a congressional primary on September 4, 1906, and a county primary just a week later. 79 Since the legisla- ture, in the amending act of 1907, absentmindedly omitted to reenact the provision for the direct nomination of city officers, the city of Grand Rapids, which was the first to have direct primaries, had to nominate in 1908 under the old system. 80 At the present time, when the principle of direct nomination has been finally accepted, all state officers elected in the spring, including supreme court judges and regents of the University, all elective state administrative officers except governor and lieutenant-governor, and all township and village officers 81 are still nominated by the old method, a method which is also used in its entirety for the selection of delegates to national conventions, 82 and in a modified form for the drafting of party platforms. 77 Report of Attorney-General, 1911, p. 193. 78 Report of Attorney-General, 1911, p. 73. 79 Report of Attorney-General, 1906, p. 99. 80 Ellis v. Boer, 150 Mich. 453 (December, 1907) ; Dykstra v. Holden, 151 Mich. 293 (1908). 81 Report of Attorney-General, 1910, pp. 167, 191. 82 Report of Attorney-General, 1908, p. 165. 76 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [512 Besides the general retention of the delegate conventions of the old regime, Michigan, as a matter of party politics rather than of principle, adhered up to 1909 pretty faithfully to the doctrine that the adoption of direct nominations should be subject to local and party option. In practice the doctrine proved of little value, as the people were over- whelmingly in favor of direct nominations. The State has experimented with party enrollment, the forty per cent provision, the fifteen per cent provision, the second election, and the blanket ballot, and has either partially or wholly abandoned them; but, on the other hand, has shown little inclination to try the preferential vote. 83 Throughout this legislation at least one consistent prin- ciple has been maintained: that the conduct of direct primary elections should be removed from the control of the party organizations. Yet, in legal theory, the direct primary is a party, not a public affair. Said the state supreme court in 1908 : "A primary election is not an election to public office. It is merely the selection of candidates for office by the members of a political party in a manner having the form of an election." 84 Accordingly, when the direct primaries fail to nominate or when a vacancy occurs in the party ticket, the appropriate party committee is uniformly empowered by the primary laws to fill the vacancy. The direct primary is a method of nomination, not of election. 83 It was recommended, however, by Governor Ferris in 1913 (House Journal, 1913, pp. 27-29). The above discussion does not take into account recommendations and enactments during the legislative session of 1917. 84 Line v. Board of Election Canvassers, 154 Mich. 331 (1908). CHAPTER IV THE COMMITTEE SYSTEM UNDER DIRECT PRIMARIES The regulation of party committees has been a subordinate consideration in direct primary legislation, but legislation has affected these committees directly and indirectly. Ward and Township Committees. With the passing of most of the old committee-controlled primaries, the ward and the township committees lost much of their importance in the nominating process, and their regulation by law has been unnecessary. The only acts making provision for the selection of ward and township committees are those relating to Wayne County. The number of committeemen is still determined by party usage, but the term of office is legally fixed at two years. 1 County and City Committees. For the election and or- ganization of other local committees the legislature has made greater provision and has tried various methods. The first direct primary act that for Grand Rapids in 1901 provided that the candidates nominated for city and district offices should name the chairmen and the secretaries of their respective committees. The Kent and Muskegon acts of 1903 provided that the candidates should name the county committees and the county chairmen and that the com- mittees should name the secretaries. The Alpena acts of 1905 and 1907 prescribed that the city and county com- mittees and their chairmen should be elected in the direct primary, that the chairman of the city committee should be vice-chairman of the county committee, and that each committee should choose its own secretary and treasurer. The Wayne acts of 1903 and 1905 provided for the election of county and city committees. The stipulations of the 1 Public Acts, 1913, No. 91. 77 78 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [514 general act of 1909, which as amended in 1911 are still in force, are that the county committee shall be chosen by the county convention, and that the candidates for county offices shall name the chairman and the secretary of the committee. 2 The term of the county committeemen is legally fixed at two years. There are at present no pro- visions in the general laws for the election of city committees. District Committees. Up to 1909 the only legal provision for the appointment of district committees was found in the above-mentioned local acts, which in general adopted the same method for district as for county and city committees. Since 1909 these committees may be chosen in two ways: (i) they may be appointed by the candidate, or (2) in the absence of such appointment, they may be composed of the county committeemen residing in the district. In the case of districts comprising more than one county the county committeemen residing in the counties or parts of counties are empowered to choose the district committee. In practice the candidate has generally selected his committee, although his private secretary usually acts as chairman or secretary of the committee and takes charge of the cam- paign. In 1911 the above provisions applying to district committees were extended to judicial circuit committees. Functions of the Committees. These provisions for the naming of the local party officials are a logical result of the design and tendency of the direct primary to transfer the center of power in the party organization from the party managers to the candidates. Under the old system the convention delegates were formally and theoretically closer to the people than were the candidates, and were therefore the logical men to choose the party officials. Under the new system the candidate himself is directly commissioned by the electorate. The direct primary laws have in theory reversed the relation in local politics of the candidate and the party manager. What is true in theory, however, is only partly true in practice. In the districts the committee 1 There is no provision for filling vacancies in these offices (Report of Attorney-General, 1914, p. 745). 515] COMMITTEE SYSTEM UNDER DIRECT PRIMARIES 79 is largely honorary, and its officers, directly responsible to the candidate, are rather in the position of friends or em- ployees than of managers. But this, as we have seen, was generally the case in the districts under the convention system. There has been, apparently, no great change. In the counties the situation is somewhat different, owing to the fact that there are several candidates instead of one and the county committee still has in connection with the county conventions some duties apart from campaign management. Under the old system the county committee called con- ventions and primaries, attended to the preliminaries of conventions, and certified delegates to other conventions and candidates to the election commissioners. In exercising these functions the committee was doing its fundamental duty, that of keeping the party organization alive in the county. The direct primary has shorn the committee of these formal functions. The biennial resuscitation of the party is now performed by the law. Nevertheless, if can- didates do not file petitions for the primary, the organization may lapse. Accordingly the committee is finding some new functions, and some old ones enlarged. We have seen that under the convention system the county committee had much to do with the slating of nominations prior to the convention. Where there are brisk contests the county committee at present has probably a diminished power over nominations; but when political conditions are apa- thetic and nominations are not eagerly sought, county com- mittees have circulated petitions for candidates and, whenever and wherever the procedure has been legally possible, have in informal conferences agreed upon certain candidates to be written in on the ballots. 3 One Repub- 3 Detroit News, July 21, 1912, August 21, 1914; Kalamazoo Gazette- Telegraph, June 29, July 27, 1916; Detroit Free Press, August i, 1916. Delegates to county conventions are supposed to be elected in the pri- mary. The following quotation throws light on how the "people" do it: "A mass- meeting of the Republicans of Marshall was held last evening at the office of C. C. Cortright, and delegates were selected to guide the voter in casting his ballot for delegates to the county conven- tion, Sept. ii. ... Only two were present from the first ward 80 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [516 lican county chairman informs me that in 1912 and 1914 the committee had found it difficult to induce men to run for office and "had to hustle around and file petitions for them." This has been done, however, more by Democrats than by Republicans; for where there is a good chance of election, as appeared to be the case in 1916, candidates are willing to circulate their own petitions and are sometimes embarrassingly numerous. In strong Republican counties the Democratic committee- men have to bestir themselves and take the initiative or they are likely to have no candidates at all. In some counties both Republican and Democratic committees meet prior to the primary, pick out candidates, and circulate petitions for them. When the committee does not actually circulate petitions, it in many cases attempts to influence strong men to enter and weak ones to withdraw. The com- mittee usually tries to arrange an equitable distribution of nominations among the different townships and cities in the county. This practice which appears to be on the in- crease of leaving the circulation of petitions to the county committee or to other party leaders and of obviating con- tests by conferences and understandings prior to the primary, may make the direct primary a practical nullity. It means that nominations which were formerly made in public conventions are now often made in secret con- ferences. It seems to be generally agreed that the appointment of the officers of the committee by the candidates, as far as the local candidates are concerned, has worked well. On account of the number of county candidates, all of whom participate in the selection of the officers, the latter are likely to be real leaders and managers rather than sub- ordinates and assistants, harmonizing differences among the candidates and acting as a unifying factor in the campaign. In presidential years, however, the appointment of the and one each from the third and fourth, but the second, as usual, was well represented, and more were present than enough to fill the ward's quota of delegates" (Moon-Journal [Battle Creek], August 24, 1916). See also ibid., August 18, 23, 25, 1916. 517] COMMITTEE SYSTEM UNDER DIRECT PRIMARIES 8 1 county chairmen takes place at least six weeks too late. The county chairmen who are in office in July are disin- clined to organize their counties for the presidential contest because in September new chairmen will be appointed. To supply an effective local organization the Republican party in 1916 organized a strong "Hughes-for- President" club in every county to assume the management of the cam- paign. In the county committees as a whole there appear to be less activity and interest than formerly. County chairmen complain that it is hard to get the committees together. The spirit of the free lance, which has infected candidates, has apparently touched the committeemen. They feel less strongly their responsibility to the organiza- tion and entertain little fear of its powers of discipline. In personnel the committees have improved, the Democratic committees especially being stronger than they were a decade ago. What is true of the State as a whole, however, does not appear to be true of Wayne County, for in that county, owing to circumstances which I shall mention later, the committees have deteriorated in personnel and in- fluence. A prominent Detroit Republican expressed him- self to me about as follows: "Candidates have no confidence in the county committee, for the committeemen are all grafters. They are there simply to get money from the candidates and put it in their own pockets." 4 The new functions imposed on the county committees by the direct primary laws are of a more or less routine nature and not generally important. Such is the duty of apportioning delegates to county delegate conventions. If there is a vacancy from any cause after the selection of a candidate, or if there is no selection at the primary election, the county committee may fill the vacancy; but it may not name the candidate when there has simply been a failure to file nomination petitions. 6 The State Central Committees. A law providing for the 4 In fairness to the committee, however, it might be said that the man expressing the opinion was in factional opposition to the committee. 6 Report of Attorney-General, 1911, p. 69. 6 82 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [518 direct election and organization of the state central com- mittees was enacted in 1913, but on account of an opinion of the attorney-general it did not go into effect. 6 The legislature of 1915 enacted a law which legalized the method of selection by state conventions. The committee is to be selected at the first state convention in the odd years, and is to consist of a chairman and two members from each congressional district, the latter to be nominated by the district delegates to the state convention. The committee shall select its secretary and treasurer and fill its own vacancies. 7 In 1908 the Michigan Republican Editorial Association requested that it have two members at large on the Republican state central committee. The committee thereupon recommended that its membership be increased by two members to be nominated by the association and elected by the state convention, and this plan was adopted by the state convention without opposition. 8 The Re- publican state convention in 1914 voted to increase the membership of the committee by the election of two addi- tional members at large. The two elected were from Detroit and Grand Rapids. The membership of the com- mittee is now thirty. 9 In the constitution of the Demo- cratic state committee there has been no change. It has twenty-six members. In the Republican state committee the same men held the 6 This law (Public Acts, 1913, No. 395) provided that each political party should have a state central committee consisting of two members from each congressional district, a chairman, and a secretary. The district members should be selected in the August primary in the same manner as is provided by law for the nomination of candidates for representatives in Congress; the state central committee so chosen should elect its own chairman and secretary, and members of the com- mittee should hold office for two years and should fill all vacancies in their number. The Republican state convention in the spring of 1913 adopted this plank: "We believe in a changed method of selecting political state central committees and national committeemen; to the end that party managers shall be brought closer to the rank and file of the party membership" (Detroit News, February 12, 1913). See above, page 68, and note. 7 Public Acts, 1915, No. 231. 8 Detroit Free Press, May 12, 13, 1908; Grand Rapids Herald, February 15, 1907, May 13, 1908. 9 Detroit News, October I, 1914. 519] COMMITTEE SYSTEM UNDER DIRECT PRIMARIES 83 offices of chairman and secretary from 1900 to 1910. 10 With the nomination of Osborn in 1910, his personal selec- tion, W. F. Knox, became head of the committee, the first upper-peninsula man to act in that capacity. Paul H. King became secretary. In 1912 the Taft men controlled the state convention, and A. J. Groesbeck, a Detroit lawyer, was chosen chairman and Charles S. Pierce secretary. 11 In 1914 when Osborn again obtained the nomination, this time over Groesbeck himself, the latter resigned the chair- manship and was succeeded by Gilman M. Dame, Osborn's close friend and primary campaign manager, and D. E. Alward again became secretary. Without legal enactment, therefore, the tendency in the Republican party seems to have been for the candidate for governor to name either the chairman or the secretary of the state committee; and this tendency, although it existed under the convention system, has been much stronger under direct nominations. 12 During the primary campaign the candidate for governor puts his interests in the hands of a manager, who improvises an organization and for several months makes a careful study of the attitude of the public and of men of influence toward his candidate. It is natural that the candidate after his nomination should wish to retain in his service a man of experience and of proved loyalty. It would seem that the party could have no serious objections to the appointment of such a man, for its first interest lies in the efficient conduct of the campaign and in the election of its candidate for governor. But objections come from those who distrust any plan which appears to make the candidate independent of the organization and therefore to weaken the 10 G. J. Diekema, chairman, and D. E. Alward, secretary. 11 According to a newspaper report of the state central committee meeting in 1912, Mr. Musselman, the nominee for governor, wanted the committee to appoint his primary campaign manager, Major Loomis, secretary; but the committee, to secure harmony, selected a representative of the defeated candidate. Precedent was urged by some as an argument for the appointment of Loomis (Detroit Free Press, August 31, 1912). 12 Under the new law the first Republican state convention in 1916 elected John D. Mangum of Marquette chairman, and reelected Alward secretary. 84 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [520 organization. On the other hand, as happened in 1912, when the primary campaign has engendered strong factional feeling there may be an inclination to give the defeated faction, in order to unify the party, a hand in the manage- ment of the campaign. In the Democratic party there has been no occasion for the appearance of this problem, for there have been no contests for the gubernatorial nomina- tion. Since 1904 the minority party has had four different chairmen and one secretary. 13 In 1910 the Republican state committee had a field secretary who was also manager of the speakers' bureau. 14 Since 1904 the membership of executive committees has varied from five to nine. Since 1904 five men have served as Republican treasurer. They have been wealthy and, except since 1914, residents of Detroit. 15 The Democratic treasurers have been more constant. Since 1904 there have been two, and one of these has served since 1908. 16 After 1904 Detroit in appearance lost its preeminence in the officialdom of the party organizations, only one chair- man since that date residing in the city; but at the present time 17 the two national committeemen are Detroit men and the city is apparently regaining, especially in the Democratic party, a position corresponding to its voting power. The reason for its lack of influence may be found in the fact that the gubernatorial candidate has usually named the state chairman, and since 1904 not a single Republican or De- mocratic candidate for governor has resided in Detroit. As to the secretary, recent Republican practice has been to select a man who has had secretarial experience at Lansing or Washington. At the same time the direct primary has made the Detroit leaders smaller figures in state politics, for they can no longer, prior to the naming of a gubernatorial 13 Chairmen: E. O. Wood, 1904-1906; John T. Winship, 1906-1908; E. C. Shields, 1908-1916; A. E. Stevenson, 1916 ; A. R. Canfield, secretary, 1904 . 14 Detroit News, October 6, 1910. "Treasurers: Homer Warren, 1904-1906; Paul F. Bagley, 1906- 1908; Charles Moore, 1908-1910; Frederick M. Alger, 1910-1914; Fred W. Green, 1914 . 18 Treasurers: J. W. Flynn, 1904-1906; H. E. Thomas, 1908 . 17 September I, 1916. 52 1 ] COMMITTEE SYSTEM UNDER DIRECT PRIMARIES 85 candidate, trade and pull wires with a solid delegation of two hundred pawns. Moreover, practical politics in Detroit is on about the same moral plane as it was a decade ago, although outside the city it has vastly improved. It may well be that, consciously or unconsciously, the majority outside of Detroit demand managers who accord with their own standards and methods. 18 But it is always difficult to find the real location of party authority; and, as we shall see later, Detroiters still possess much of the substance of power. Direct primary legislation has regulated to some extent the duties of the state central committees, in some cases recognizing and legalizing old duties. 19 Under the law of 1905 the state committees for the first time set the date of county conventions. 20 The laws have provided that the state committees should set the date and place of state conventions, but the date of the conventions and the calls for them are subject to definite time limitations. 21 In the Taft-Roosevelt contest in 1912 the Republican state central committee occupied a pivotal and critical position. Mr. Knox, the chairman of the committee, was a Roosevelt man and held an office in the Chicago head- quarters of the Roosevelt movement. Secretary King and the majority of the committee were for Taft. The control of the state convention depended on the seating of Taft delegates and the exclusion of Roosevelt contesting delegations. Shortly before the convention the secretary called a meeting of the committee to fix the temporary roll 18 In an interview in the summer of 1915 Mr. Charles Moore of Detroit, who managed Republican campaigns in the nineties, empha- sized the difference in political methods in Detroit and in the State outside and a resulting lack of coordination in campaign management between the two regions. See also Detroit Free Press, February 23, 1916. 19 As, for example, the apportionment of delegates among the coun- ties. 20 Public Acts, 1905, No. 181. 11 For example, the state convention must be held within forty days after the primary but not less than ten days after the official state canvass, and the call for it must be issued at least thirty days prior to the first Wednesday in September. 86 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [522 of the convention 22 and to name a temporary chairman in place of a Roosevelt man whom Knox had named for that position. As a result of bitter struggles in the primaries and county conventions there were a number of contests, including one of decisive importance from Wayne County. The central committee arranged a temporary roll which admitted Taft delegates to the floor and the secretary issued tickets to these delegates, instructing the sergeant-at-arms to exclude from the hall those not having tickets. Many Roosevelt delegates and some Taft delegates were kept from the hall by the police and by national guardsmen who had been sent to the scene by Governor Osborn. The conven- tion, an uncontrollable mob, was called to order simultan- eously by Chairman Knox and Secretary King, both reading the call. When Knox's nominee for temporary chairman reached the platform a Taft man promptly knocked him down. Fist fights occurred both inside and outside the hall. Following their failure to control the temporary organization the Roosevelt men proceeded to hold a convention in the same hall, and elected a contesting delegation to the Chicago convention. 23 The split resulted for a time in two state committees and two chairmen, and there were threats of taking the contest to the courts; but with the organiza- tion of the Progressive party, the Taft men were left in possession of the field. Mr. Knox moved from the State, thereby vacating the chairmanship, and several Roosevelt men on the committee resigned. 22 Detroit News, April 9, 13, June 13, 1912. 23 Proceedings of the Republican National Convention, 1912, pp. 138, 233, 235; Detroit News, April u, 17, 1912. "For the first time in the history of any northern state the militia was called upon to take a hand in the running of a political convention. For the first time in Michigan, at least, policemen in full uniform and with clubs tried to maintain a semblance of order. Policemen with their clubs knocked men off the platform. . . . Within the armory where the convention was held nearly 1000 delegates fought and screamed. Not a man sat down. ... In through the transom over the doors men tried to force their way in, only to be knocked back by sergeants-at-arms. . . . Out- side nearly 500 men, in whose faces the doors had been closed, fought and yelled and sought means of gaining entrance. . . . Motions were made and carried, resolutions were adopted, yet nobody heard a word of what was said " (Grand Rapids Herald, April 12, 1912). 523] COMMITTEE SYSTEM UNDER DIRECT PRIMARIES 87 Now the Roosevelt men contended that the action taken by the state central committee was a violation of at least five party rules: (i) the establishment of a temporary roll was a violation of precedent; (2) the meeting of the com- mittee had been called without ten days' notice; (3) the meeting should have been called by the chairman; (4) the chairman of the committee, and not the committee as a whole, is the director of a state convention; and (5) the central committee, according to the primary law, should have been elected at the second convention. 24 The Taft men on the other hand held that: (i) there weie precedents for the fixing of a temporary roll; (2) the state committee had no rules as to the calling of meetings ; and (3) the com- mittee itself and not the chairman is the director of a state convention. 25 The contention of the Roosevelt men as to the election of the state central committee was justified ; and the second Republican state convention repeated the elec- tion of its central committee and state chairman. On the whole, however, in their version of party usage the Taft men appear to have been correct. 26 However farcical may have been the proceedings of the committee and the organ- ization of the convention, they had at least the merit of regularity. 27 An equally interesting contest of a different nature occurred in the Democratic party after the nomination of Wilson in 1912. National Committeeman Wood and State Chairman Shields had opposed the instructing of the Michigan delegation to the national convention, and in the early balloting at Baltimore the majority of the Michigan delegates had voted for Harmon or Clark. According to report, Mr. Wood and Mr. Shields swung the Michigan delegation to Wilson in accordance with a bargain by which Mr. McCombs agreed that, in case no Democratic senators 24 Detroit News, April 9, 1912. 25 Ibid., April 12, 21, 1912; Proceedings of the Republican National Convention, 1912, p. 233. 26 At a meeting of the Republican state committee in August, 1912, Chairman Groesbeck appointed a subcommittee on rules (Detroit Free Press, August 21, 1912). 27 Files of the Detroit News, interviews, and letters. 88 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [524 were elected from Michigan, Mr. Wilson in the distribution of patronage would regard the national committeeman and state chairman as though they were the two senators from the State, on condition that these two would agree to be fair to all factions in the party. 28 After the Baltimore con- vention Mr. Wood and Mr. Shields retained their places at the head of the party in Michigan, and after the election there were no Democratic senators from the State. The right of the party officials to hand out "plums" was now challenged by the original Wilson men who had worked for the selection of Wilson delegates and who had been opposed by the organization. Interviews which these men secured at Washington appear to have been fruitless. Cabinet members and Governor Ferris endorsed the Baltimore agreement. 29 Nevertheless some of the original Wilson men organized a Progressive Democratic League and at- tempted in 1914 to secure control of the state organization. 80 To fortify itself the state central committee passed two resolutions: (i) that the secretary of the committee should prepare a roll of the convention from lists of delegates returned by county chairmen; and (2) that the state central committeemen should be authorized to preside at the district caucuses which should elect new central com- mitteemen. 31 The insurrectionary movement failed to win much support, and in the state convention came to an inglorious end. The working arrangement since the in- auguration of President Wilson seems to have been about as follows: Within the districts which have elected Demo- crats to Congress patronage has been dispensed by the congressmen, and outside of these districts the national committeeman has acted as an accredited representative of the Michigan Democracy. 32 It will be observed that under 28 Detroit News, July 7, 10, 1912, March 6, 1913, and interviews. 29 Detroit News, March 7, 18, 1913. 30 Ibid., August 7, 1913. 31 Ibid., September 15, 1914. 82 For examples of his activity at Washington, see Detroit News, October 21, 23, 1915; Detroit Free Press, August 9, 1916. The Kala- mazoo postmastership, however, was given to an original Wilson man, who was bitterly opposed by the organization. 525] COMMITTEE SYSTEM UNDER DIRECT PRIMARIES 89 circumstances somewhat similar to those which existed in Cleveland's second term the present administration has followed a different and it would seem a more logical method in the dispensing of patronage. 33 The national committeeman continues to play a more important part in the Democratic party organization than does the state chairman. In 1908 a determined effort in the Democratic party to wrest the leadership of the organization from the Bryan men resolved itself into a contest, which was successful, to depose D. J. Campau, who had been national committeeman since 1892. He was succeeded by Mr. Wood, who after his reelection by popular vote in 1916 resigned. Judge W. F. Connolly of Detroit, the dominating spirit of the party, was chosen to succeed him. 34 Recent Republican national committeemen have, according to custom, been men of wealth. 35 In the Republican national convention in 1912 a resolu- tion was adopted that the national committee be authorized to fill all vacancies in its membership and to declare vacant the seat of any one not supporting the nominees. 36 It was stated in the course of the discussion that there had never been any provision in the Republican party for the recall of members of the national committee. 37 At the meeting of the Democratic national committee in January, 1912, the fact appeared that since 1908 the practice in the Demo- cratic party has been to allow the state committees to fill vacancies on the national committee, but the national committee has power to expel a member after granting him a hearing. 38 The Democratic platform adopted at Balti- more advocated the primary election of national committee- men, and in accordance with the platform a bill for this 33 See above, pages 28-29. 34 Detroit Free Press, May 21, July 7, 1908. In the contest for national committeeman the original Wilson men were again defeated. 35 John W. Blodgett, 1900-1912; Charles B. Warren, 1912 . 36 Cf. G. S. P. Kleeberg, The Formation of the Republican Party as a National Political Organization, p. 199. 37 Proceedings of the Republican National Convention, 1912, pp. 337-443- 38 Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention, 1912, pp. 439-445- 9O PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [526 purpose was introduced into the Michigan legislature by a Democratic member at the request of Mr. Wood. 39 The bill as passed makes no provision for the filling of vacancies. It simply provides that the candidate for national commit- teeman receiving the highest number of votes in the primary "shall be declared to be the candidate and the choice of such political party for the office of national committeeman." 40 39 Letter from Mr. Wood, November 10, 1915. "Public Acts, 1913, No. 392; Public Acts, 1915, No. 151. The Democratic primary contest for national committeeman in 1916 aroused extraordinary interest. CHAPTER V DIRECT NOMINATIONS IN OPERATION Michigan has now had direct nominations for fifteen years, a period of experimentation too short for the estab- lishment of confident conclusions. The politicians who have been framing and applying direct primary laws and conducting party activities under these laws have been men trained in the old methods of nomination, and are in many cases not only unused but hostile to the new order. The biennial agitation of the nomination question, moreover, and the consequent amending of the laws have had the effect that constant tinkering produces on machinery. These circumstances have probably discouraged the par- ticipation of many people in the primaries, and they have certainly colored our sources of information. The difficulty arises also of distinguishing effects produced by details of a law from the effects produced by the whole law. Are certain results produced by the general principle or by the particular method of applying the general principle? Moreover, to increase the difficulty still more, phenomena which appear in the operation of direct nominations and are apparently to be attributed to them may with equal logic be ascribed to local or temporary conditions, to personalities, to issues, or to parallel and related tendencies. In the light of these difficulties a study of direct nominations in opera- tion must of necessity be unsatisfactory as to data and tentative as to conclusions. Conditions at the Polls. Governmental control of the primaries resulted immediately in an improved political atmosphere of the polling place. From the first there has been a conspicuous absence of electioneering, ward heelers, 91 92 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [528 and "strong-arm" methods. 1 Money may have been used, but not so effectively as under the old system. 2 The Prenomination Campaign. The prenomination cam- paign has become more personal, more direct, and more educative, resembling in many respects the regular electoral canvass. Under the old system of nomination, when county conventions were held on different days, skilled managers went from county to county pulling wires in the interests of particular candidates; but the provision of the direct primary law requiring all county conventions of the same party to be held on the same day has done away with this practice. Another provision has made illegal the hiring of personal workers. Candidates as far as possible appeal directly to the voters rather than to the party leaders and party workers. Now, as formerly, the candidates make use of headquarters, political managers and secretaries, literary bureaus, publicity agents, county managers, clubs, and local committees. 3 In 1910 the Republican candidates for governor and United States senator began to furnish plate matter to the newspapers ten months before the primary. 4 Mr. Osborn's manager stated in that year that his chief had a complete working force in every county except three, and that at headquarters five stenographers were busy during the campaign. 5 The candidate for governor or senator must conduct a long and strenuous speaking tour and do most of the speaking himself. In 1910 the primary campaign of the successful Republican candidate for gover- nor lasted for eight months, and during this time, according to a newspaper report, he delivered eight hundred speeches and travelled sixteen thousand miles, most of the distance by automobile. 6 County and district candidates aim to 1 Grand Rapids Herald, March 6, 1901, March 19, 1903. John Patton said in the Republican state judicial convention in 1903: "Where we have tried the new primary, our caucuses are as orderly as a prayer- meeting" (Detroit Tribune, March 7, 1903). 2 Butterfield, p. 20. 8 Detroit News, April 25, May 18, 31, June I, 14, July 7, 13, 15, 19, August 16, 22, 23, 29, October n, 1910, August 16, 1912. 4 Grand Rapids Herald, September 18, 1910. 6 Detroit News, October n, 1910. 6 Detroit Free Press, September 5, 1910. 529] DIRECT NOMINATIONS IN OPERATION 93 get into personal relations with the voters, and in doing so make a considerable expenditure of time and money, an expenditure which was generally unnecessary under the convention system. Preprimary campaigns, of course, take place only in the event of a contested nomination, and occur, therefore, mainly in the Republican party. Accordingly the physical burden which they impose rests more heavily on the candidate in the majority than in the minority party. Expenses of the Primary Campaign. That the financial burden imposed on the candidate is greater under the direct primary is a complaint frequently expressed but appar- ently with only partial justification. One of the objections to the convention system was that under it a poor man could not get a nomination. 7 Although it was reported that Republican governors in the early nineties secured nomina- tion at an expense not exceeding $1000 or $2000, 8 an experienced politician in 1896 estimated that a campaign for a nomination, presumably for the office of governor, would cost approximately $40,000, 9 and the amount spent by each of the Republican candidates in 1900 and 1902 has been commonly estimated at not less than $100,000. 10 Under the new system there have been several sources of expense that were more or less unknown under the old; for example, fees, 11 petitions, 12 advertising, halls, and auto- mobiles. On the other hand secret expenditures were much greater in the old days, taking the form of payment 7 See above, page 53. 8 Detroit News, May 14, 1912. But suggestions were made in 1894 that it would take from $25,000 to $50,000 (Detroit Free Press, April 19, July 10, 1894). 9 Detroit Tribune, January 20, 1896. 10 See above, pages 39, 53- 11 The fee system, however, was never introduced into the general laws. It proved objectionable in Kent County, especially to the candi- dates in the minority party, and the provision regarding it was held void by the supreme court. 12 For circulating petitions candidates pay from three to five cents a name (Grand Rapids Herald, September 18, 1910; Detroit News, April 25, 1910). 94 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [530 for entertainment, 13 for personal workers, and for direct bribery. 14 Up to 1914, figures of expenditure in the direct primary are as unofficial and inaccurate as those for the convention system. In the first state primary campaign in 1906 there were no contests in either party ; but the Republican guber- natorial contests of 1908 and 1910 were extremely close, and probably more expensive than any that have followed. 15 Governor Warner, one of the candidates in 1908, had already declared in a message to the legislature that the direct primary was too expensive both to the candidate and to the public. 16 In 1910 one of the Republican candidates for governor was said to have spent a little over $io,ooo. 17 A writer for the Grand Rapids Herald, however, estimated that each of the three candidates for governor must have spent about $9O,ooo. 18 The actual expenditure was prob- ably somewhere between these figures. In 1912 one of the Republican candidates attempted unsuccessfully to get an agreement with the other to limit the use of money in the primary campaign to $5OOO, 19 and the natural inference is that more than that amount was spent in the campaign. The corrupt practice act passed in I9I3 20 limits the nomination expenses of candidates and requires the filing of sworn financial statements. The law prohibits expen- diture in excess of twenty-five per cent of one year's com- pensation or salary, but provides that candidates for governor and lieutenant-governor may spend fifty per cent. The law requires the filing of statements within ten days 13 "It's this going around from one bar to another and treating that costs," said a Detroit alderman in 1896 (Detroit Tribune, January 20, 1896). A Detroit politician said in an interview in 1898 that the first step in electing a man was to get the endorsement of the ward workers in a saloon meeting. "I make my candidate walk through the ward every night, distributing beer checks to the boys" (ibid., October 23, 1898). 14 See above, page 53. 15 Detroit Free Press, August 19, 1907. 16 Ibid., January 4, 1907. 17 Detroit News, April 19, 1912. 18 Grand Rapids Herald, September 18, 1910. 19 Detroit News, May 14, 1912. 20 Public Acts, 1913, No. 109. See above, page 7off. 53 1] DIRECT NOMINATIONS IN OPERATION 95 after the primary. A congressman expressed the opinion that the limit for congressional candidates, $5000, is too low. If he is correct, $2500 is assuredly too small an amount for a gubernatorial candidate who has to address a body of voters thirteen times as large; for merely to mail one postal card to each of the 221,688 Republicans 21 who voted in 1914 would cost $22i6.88 22 In general in the counties which have come particularly under my observation 23 candidates appear to have filed statements according to the law, but in many cases the statements themselves are incomplete or false. They appear to be most accurate in the rural counties and least reliable in the large cities. They are highly instructive; but unfortunately the law has prescribed no uniform scheme of itemization. In the primary campaign of 1914 the three leading Republican candidates spent the following amounts : Mr. Martindale, $2425?* Mr. Groesbeck, $2i35.o7; 25 and Mr. Osborn, the successful candidate, $i822.46. 26 As the governor's salary is $5000, only one amount was near the legal limit. For the Democratic nomination Governor Ferris had no opposition ; therefore the whole expense borne by the committee self-appointed to secure his renomination was for the circulation of petitions, which cost $102. 50." In the congressional primary in the first district, which is the southern half of the city of Detroit, the expenditures of the six Republican candidates were as follows: $161.36; $651 .89 ; $16 1 ; $2 1 1 .35 ; $i 141 .96 ; $288.04. The Democratic candidate, who was unopposed, spent nothing. 28 The state- ments filed with the clerk of the House of Representatives 21 According to the vote for secretary of state. 22 One of the Republican candidates in 1912 said in a newspaper interview that he had tried to reach every registered voter with printed matter (Detroit News, July 18, 1912). In 1916 one of the Republican candidates charged that some of his opponents were spending $25,000 instead of $2500 (Detroit Free Press, August 3, 1916). 23 Wayne, Washtenaw, Livingston, Ingham, Jackson, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, Kent, and Ionia. 24 Statement in office of Wayne County clerk. 25 Statement in office of Wayne County clerk. 26 Statement in office of Chippewa County clerk. 27 Statement in office of Ingham County clerk. 28 Statements in the office of the clerk of the House of Representatives. 96 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [532 show that the primary expenditure of congressional candi- dates was considerably larger in 1914 than in 1912, partly on account of the larger number of contested nominations in 1914. The average expense of Republican aspirants in 1912 was $287.69, in 1914, $404.77. Those Republicans who had to fight for places on the ticket disbursed in 1912 an average of $417.16, in 1914, $559.87. The successful candidates spent considerably more than the unsuccessful. Compared with their opponents the Democrats, even in contested districts, spent little. No candidate in either year approached the limit of expenditure, which for con- gressional candidates is $5OOO. 29 In studying the expenses of county candidates we have the advantage of possessing data from various counties, although unfortunately for only one campaign, that of 1914. The relation of primary expenditure to party strength is well illustrated by a comparison of Ingham and Washtenaw 29 U. S. Stat. L., v. 37, p. 28. The statements filed with the clerk of the House show the following expenditures of congressional candi- dates in Michigan in the primary contests of 1912 and 1914: 1912" 1914 Total expenses of all candidates $6618.71 $12004.02 Total expenses of all Rep. candidates 6041.66 10119.29 Total expenses of all Dem. candidates 577-O5 1884.73 Average expenses of all candidates 178.88 255.40 Average expenses of Rep. candidates 287.69 404.77 Average expenses of Dem. candidates 36.06 85-67 Number of Rep. contests 5.00 6.00 Number of Dem. contests 2.00 6.00 Number of districts with no contests 6.00 3.00 Average expenses of uncontested candidates 50.99 58.23 b Average expenses of contested candidates 313.88 360.92 Average expenses of Rep. contested candidates. . . 417.16 559-87 Average expenses of Dem. contested candidates. ... 105.55 73-4 Averagfe expenses of successful Rep. candidates in contested districts 543-O8 730.10 Average expenses of successful Dem. candidates in contested districts 65.30 90.48' No statements were filed by candidates in three districts and in the State at large. Presumably there were no contests and no expenses in these districts and in the State at large. b The average was greatly raised by an uncontested Democrat in the thirteenth district who for some reason spent $700. c Omitting the ninth district, in which there were two candidates, one spending $30 and the other nothing. I do not know which was nominated in the primary. 533] DIRECT NOMINATIONS IN OPERATION 97 counties, counties which may be considered typical normal counties of the lower peninsula, being neither predominantly urban nor predominantly rural. They are nearly equal in population and in the salaries of their county officers; but Ingham is strongly Republican, and in Washtenaw the Democrats have a fighting chance. Although the total expenditures for the principal county offices were almost exactly the same in the two counties, in Ingham County, where there were Republican contests, the Republican candidates spent 93 per cent of the total; in Washtenaw County, where there were contests in both parties, the Republicans spent only 45 per cent of the total. 30 In Wayne and Kent counties the expenses of individual can- didates for county offices run high. In 1914 a candidate for county clerk in Wayne County spent $i834.86. 31 Although data for the primary campaigns before 1914 are lacking, it appears that irrespective of legal limitations 30 The following table shows the expenditures in primaries for five county offices in Ingham and Washtenaw counties in 1914:* Office Ingham Washtenw Rep. Dem. Rep. Dem. Sheriff $ H3.00 78.08 186.30 46.35 3-70 39.00 118.91 87.40 96.38 108.15 56.20 5942 21-75 8.80 39.01 16.43 $112.92 116.79 1 1 1 .40 142.76 $ 66.49 207.72 102.95 109.62 93-70 Prosecuting attorney. . . County clerk Register of deeds County treasurer Total. . . . $1014.64 $ 64.24 1014.64 $483.87 $580.48 483.87 Grand total $1078.88 $1064.35 'Statements in county clerks' offices, Ingham and Washtenaw counties. 31 Statement in office of Wayne County clerk. 7 98 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [534 there has been a tendency for expenditures to decrease. A politician states that at the first primary election in his county, that of 1906, he won the Republican nomination against four opponents with an expenditure of $1700, $400 for postage alone ; 32 but in 1914 in the same county the largest amount spent by any of five candidates for sheriff, the most attractive office, was $129. 33 The opinion of this poli- tician is that expenses tend to grow less as the methods and the necessities of primary campaigning become better known. In general, as we have seen, expenditure depends in the first place on the existence of a contest; and, in case of a contest, it bears some relation to the salary of the office sought, and is limited by the wealth of the candidate, by his willingness to spend, and finally by the law and its enforcement. There is a great diversity of opinion with regard to the comparative financial burdens of the conven- tion and the direct nomination system; but the available data indicate that the direct primary is less expensive for state candidates and probably more expensive for county candidates, expenditure for all candidates tending, how- ever, to decrease. A skillful chairman of the Wayne County Republican committee estimated in 1 896 that out of a total expenditure of about $40,000, a candidate, presumably for the office for governor, would spend $5000 for a political manager, $10,000 for paid agents, $2000 for local workers, and $5000 for advertising. 34 In the primary campaign of 1914 Mr. Martindale and Mr. Groesbeck, Detroit candidates for governor, each devoted almost one half of his outlay to advertising; 35 and in general candidates are spending now 32 "I toured every township in the county four times, paying ten dollars a day for a rig, and my opponents did the same. After my nomination the board of supervisors cut the compensation of the office from fees amounting to about $4000.00 a year to a salary of $1500.00." 31 Statement, Calhoun County. In 1914 the nomination for clerk was not contested. M Detroit Tribune, January 20, 1896. 15 Statements, Wayne County. 535] DIRECT NOMINATIONS IN OPERATION 99 much more relatively for printing and advertising and, if they observe the law, nothing for personal workers. In the statements filed by county candidates the contrast between the old and the new becomes still more striking. Their principal disbursements are for newspaper advertising, cuts, and cards, with an occasional payment for automobile hire, printing, postage, and travelling expenses. In the almost total absence of prosecutions for violations of the corrupt practice act it is difficult to make a statement as to the prevalence or the character of expenditures for objects prohibited by law. It is doubtful if city candidates observe very scrupulously the prohibition as to treating, 36 and it is charged also that candidates still employ paid workers. 37 Petitions. The filing of petitions for places on the primary ballot, although an improvement over the fee system, has not proved a satisfactory method of securing and exhibiting popular endorsement, many considering it a worse than useless form. Men who circulate petitions are paid three, four, or five cents a name. Under the circum- stances the petitions contain many duplications and the names of those who are not registered voters. The enroll- ment feature in force until 1913 caused special inconvenience in the circulation and filing of petitions. Experience showed that in the cities about fifty per cent of the names had to be struck off as not being the names of enrolled voters ; in rural districts, about seventy-five per cent of the names on petitions were good. 38 A Republican county chairman charges that the Democratic leaders in his county call voters up over the telephone and ask them if they will sign petitions; when a reply is favorable, the leaders simply write down the name. Arrests have been made in Detroit for forging names on nomination petitions. The Vote in the Primary. The belief that the direct 16 It has been suggested that the spread of local option prohibition tends to make campaign expenses less on account of the impossibility of treating in dry counties. The anti-treating provisions in the corrupt practice law were welcomed by most candidates. 37 See above, page 94. 38 Detroit News, July 9, 1912. IOO PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [536 primary would evoke popular interest and lead to a more general participation in the making of nominations was an influential factor in the establishment of the system. It is the opinion of some that the direct primary has reduced the vote in the general election. If the convention system encouraged and the direct primary system discourages voting in the election, the primary and election returns under the two systems do not afford an equitable basis of comparison. There are some reasons for thinking that the direct primary does affect participation in elections. At this point, however, it appears justifiable to disregard these considerations and also the large number who, although qualified by age, residence, and registration, do not go to the polls. 39 Perhaps logically the stay-at-homes should be REPUBLICAN PRIMARY VOTE IN PERCENTAGES 40 1908 1910 1912 1914 The State 61 86 QO 9^ Seven counties with most foreign-born and illiterates 41 64 I2O I^d IO9 Seven counties with fewest foreign-born and illiterates 42 54. 60 SI 46 Seven counties most predominantly rural 43 Wayne County 44 . . . 68 47 80 81 90 82 60 I^O Kent County 7-1 1 08 76 IDS Detroit: First, second, and seventeenth wards 45 45 86 76 146 Detroit: fifth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh wards 48 48 IOO 83 2O2 Seven controlled precincts 47 4 8 88 77 156 89 See below, pages 166-168. 40 Based on the party vote for secretary of state in the succeeding November election. I am disregarding the vote for 1906 because in that year there was no contest in either party. 41 Alger, Baraga, Cheboygan, Iron, Mackinac, Presque Isle, and Schoolcraft. 42 Calhoun, Hillsdale, Ionia, Lenawee, Livingston, St. Joseph, and Washtenaw. 43 Barry, Clinton, Hillsdale, Lapeer, Livingston, Montcalm, and Van Buren. 44 Wayne County contains the city of Detroit ; Kent County, the city of Grand Rapids. 45 These are the highest class residence wards. 46 These wards contain the highest percentage of foreign-born voters and are conceded to be the worst wards in the city. 47 In these precincts the saloon vote is the largest. 537] DIRECT NOMINATIONS IN OPERATION 101 DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY VOTE IN PERCENTAGES 1908 1910 1912 1914 The State 6 16 25 IQ Seven counties with most foreign-born and illiterates II 18 27 16 Seven counties with fewest foreign-born and illiterates 6 17 2 s ; 33 Seven counties most predominantly rural . . Wayne County 8 7 15 27 27 77 18 22 Kent County Q 12 18 IQ Detroit: First, second, and seventeenth wards 6 22 27 2O Detroit: Fifth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh wards q 4.7 4Q 44- Seven controlled precincts 5 20 22 12 counted in the party membership, but they are passive rather than active members. It simplifies the problem to consider as party members only those who vote, for instance, in the general election for the party candidate for secretary of state. In the local direct primaries prior to 1906 the vote was satisfactory. An able politician estimated the vote at the first direct primary in Detroit in 1903 to be from one hundred to two hundred per cent greater than the vote at the corresponding primaries under the old system. 48 In Grand Rapids the total primary vote showed an increase from 392 1 in 1901 to 7668 in 1902 and 8213 in I9O3- 49 It will be observed in the tables given above that the Republican vote has increased from sixty-one per cent of the party membership in 1908 to ninety-three per cent in 1914, and that the Democratic vote, unstimulated by contests, reached twenty-five per cent in 1912, relapsing to nineteen in 1914. In the seven counties containing the largest number of foreign-born and illiterate voters the Republican vote has been far above the percentage for the State, in the last three primaries exceeding the party membership ; in the seven counties containing the fewest foreign-born and illiterate voters the percentage has been considerably below 48 Simons, p. 138. _ 49 The following table shows the Republican vote in local direct primaries for certain localities: IO2 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [538 that for the State. In the urban counties the vote has generally been heavier than in the rural. In Detroit the vote in the four wards conceded to be the worst in the city has always been markedly heavier than that in the best wards, and in 1914 the Republican vote in the worst wards was over twice the party membership. The light Demo- cratic vote has been much more uniform than the heavy Republican vote. Popular participation, therefore, has in both parties been more general than in the primaries of the old order; but unfortunately the voting in the majority party is quantitatively best where the electorate appears to be qualitatively worst. A comparison of the total primary vote with the total election vote shows that the Locality Date Nomination for Primary Vote Vote in Election Grand Rapids IQOI City clerk 2115 7S64. Grand Rapids IQO-* City clerk 6Q64. 7458 Grand Rapids IQO2 State senator 2428 68OS Wayne County 190 ; County auditor 1^748 15461 Wayne County 1008 County clerk ^6767 4.Q2I1 Fifth district 1 007 Congressman Grand Rapids 92O7 19O^ Kent township .... *6^5 1845 Ionia County 2812 2O4. 1 Ottawa County. . . . 4.8IO 4OQ8 Grand Rapids IQO7 City clerk IO552 8087 Detroit 1008 Mayor 55II4. ^4Q2Q Grand Rapids 1910 Mayor 8165 766 "5 Grand Rapids I9O5 City treasurer 7072 75Q^ Wayne County I OO4. Sheriff 5O4Q6 ^6650 Kent County IQO4. Sheriff I^6ll I7OM Grand Rapids IQO4. Mayor 71^4 6158 Detroit IQO4 Mayor 4.5O4.5 ^5212 Wayne County I OO4. Prosecuting attorney 4.6710 45575 Wayne County IQO5 Sheriff ^4568 22071 Grand Rapids IQOI City clerk 17^7 4067 Grand Rapids IQOI City clerk 1^17 48^2 Wayne County loxn County auditor 764.1 I42QI Grand Rapids I9O5 Judge 1212 4532 Wayne County I9O5 Sheriff 7IOO ^IIO Grand Rapids I9IO Mayor 1428 6674 Grand Rapids Herald, March 6, 1901, October 15, 1902, March 20, 1903, March 16, September 15, 1904, March 16, 1905; Detroit Tribune, March 18, 1903, October 21, 1904, January 19, March 8, 1905; Grand Rapids Herald, March 14, 1906, March 13, 1907, September 2, 1908; Detroit Free Press, October 7, 1908. 539] DIRECT NOMINATIONS IN OPERATION 103 primary vote for the State has averaged since 1906 less than half the election vote. 50 In 1912 the combined Republican and Progressive vote in the primary was forty-nine per cent of their combined vote in the election. The Progressives, however, had no contest in the primary. On the whole it seems fair to suppose that if there had been no Republican split in 1912 the Republicans would have cast in the primary more than forty-nine per cent of their election vote but considerably less than the eighty-six per cent of 1910. In other words the real Republican primary vote as compared with the party membership was less in 1912 than in 1910 or 1914, but the Democratic vote was larger in 1912 than in 1910 or 1914. Many explanations may be offered for these reciprocal fluctuations, but one reason is found in legislative attempts to curb Democratic participation in Republican primaries, an admitted evil and a most difficult and persistent prob- lem. To reduce this evil to a minimum the legislature had provided for party enrollment, but the closed primary made interparty incursions more difficult without completely preventing them. Enrollment frauds were now added to registration frauds. Thus in 1912 in the first precinct of the first ward in Detroit one hundred and forty-six men were enrolled at three addresses with no sleeping quarters at any of them ; and in wards which were strongly Dem- ocratic more Republicans were enrolled than Democrats. 81 In the whole city of Detroit, which at that time had a Democratic mayor, there were 1 1 ,584 enrolled Democrats 60 The following table gives the total primary vote compared with the total election vote in percentages: 1908 1910 1912 1914 Foreign-born and illiterate counties so 86 60 71 Native-born and literate counties 2Q AA 27 16 Rural counties 44. 5^ 4.1 4.1 Wayne -12 58 4.4 76 Kent 4.4. 6l 52 62 State 39 56 40 55 61 Detroit News, August 23, 1912. IO4 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [540 and 46,676 enrolled Republicans. 52 The Republican en- rollment in Kent County in 1906 was 13,273, the party vote in that year being 10,638. Likewise in 1910 the enrollment in the upper peninsula was suspiciously large. 53 On the other hand failure to enroll in some cases prevented voters from participating in the primaries, and in other cases the act of enrollment seems to have exhausted the voter's stock of party interest. Where Democrats had sufficient individual foresight or where they were controlled by skilled manipulators they enrolled as Republicans and voted in the Republican pri- maries. To encourage them to vote in their own primaries the legislature in 1911 amended the law so as to require of each party as a condition precedent to a place on the official ballot a vote in the primary equal to at least fifteen per cent of its membership. The increase in the primary vote of the Democrats in 1912 and the decrease in the vote of their opponents is suggestive of the extent to which the minority party had interfered in the internal affairs of its opponent. The provision, however, was unpopular with Democrats, and enrollment was unpopular with the voters of both parties. Both provisions were repealed in 1913. The motives which inspire men to partisan intermeddling are not always calculated and evil. Where they have had no contests the Democrats have never had, except in 1912, any reason for voting in their own primaries. The news- papers magnify Republican contests until they appear to be much more than merely party fights. When a Republican nomination is practically equivalent to election, as it was in the State and in many counties before 1912, it is not surprising that Democrats should desire to participate in making the nomination. 54 The effect of contests on inter- 52 Detroit News, August 3, 1912; Detroit Free Press, August 26, 1912. 88 It was 58,135 (Detroit News, August 15, 1910). 54 "There is no question but that hundreds of Democrats voted as Republicans, in order to nominate one man and defeat another. It is stated, and authentically we believe, that in a neighboring town more Republican votes were cast for a certain ' native son ' than the commun- ity could ever assemble on election day. The explanation was easy; scarcely a man in town voted as a Democrat, the colors under which he 54i] DIRECT NOMINATIONS IN OPERATION 105 party interference is suggested by a comparison of the primary vote in Ingham and Washtenaw counties. 65 Ingham, it will be recalled, is a Republican county, Wash- tenaw a doubtful county. The returns show that in the campaigns of 1910, 1912, and 1914 the Democratic vote was much larger in Washtenaw than in Ingham, and that the Republican vote in the same campaigns, with the ex- ception of 1912, was considerably larger in Ingham than in Washtenaw. The divergence in the two counties may be explained without reference to interparty interference. But that there are in counties like Ingham many Democrats who vote in the Republican primaries is well known, and the extent of Democratic interference is suggested by the percentages. In 1912 the Republican vote decreased in Ingham County twenty-four per cent and in Washtenaw County fourteen per cent, and the Democratic vote in- creased in Ingham County eight per cent and in Washtenaw County five per cent. This is about what we should expect if more Democrats had been voting as Republicans in Ingham than in Washtenaw. The effect of the repeal of the fifteen per cent and enrollment provisions was to encourage again Democratic participation in Republican primaries. Accordingly in Ingham County the Republican vote in- creased thirty-six per cent in 1914 and the Democratic vote decreased five per cent; in Washtenaw County the Repu fa- will fly next November. In other communities Republicans voted as Democrats to help nominate personal friends. In still other instances . . . voters absolutely refused to go to the primaries because they would not make a declaration of their partisanship" (Moon-Journal [Battle Creek], August 31, 1916). 66 The following table gives in percentages the primary vote as com- pared with the party membership in two counties: Ingham Washtenaw Rep. Dem. Rep. l>em. 1906 18 36 66 42 78 12 10 12 20 15 26 53 57 43 47 14 4 25 30 43 IQ08 . . IQIO. . IQI2 . . I9H IO6 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [542 lican vote increased only four per cent and the Democratic vote actually increased thirteen per cent. On referring again to the table of Republican primary votes on page 100 it will be noted that several counties have cast more votes in the primary than they have in the election. 66 Ordinarily this condition creates a suspicion of Democratic participation; but in 1912 it was caused rather by defection in the election than by an abnormally large vote in the primary. Kent County in 1910 and 1914 had a favorite son who aspired to the governorship, and to whose nomination local pride contributed a vote which con- siderably exceeded the party membership. Chippewa County paid the same compliment even more fulsomely to its favorite son, Mr. Osborn. 57 In 1914 the situation in Wayne County was somewhat more complicated. In that county there were two rival favorite sons. Moreover in many Detroit precincts there has been a deliberate, systematic, and thorough control of the vote, under central direction. Rivalry between the Detroit candidates, together with local pride and self- interest, combined to call out an exceptional vote. But neither of the Detroit candidates won the nomination. The successful candidate, Mr. Osborn, had supported Roosevelt in 1912; and accordingly in 1914 the regular Republican leaders in Detroit quietly swung their vote to the Demo- cratic candidate, who was elected. The primary vote for governor in Wayne County was 47,334; the vote for Osborn in the election was only 21,483. The situation in Detroit appears most clearly in the two most notorious of the con- trolled precincts. In Billy Boushaw's precinct, the first precinct of the first ward, the primary vote for governor was : Republican, 265, Democratic, 12; the election vote was: Republican, I, Democratic, 259. In Frank Kibbler's 66 The same occurred in local direct primaries. See note 49 above. 67 The following table shows the Republican primary vote and the Republican party membership in Chippewa County in 1910 and 1914: Republican Republican Party Year Primary Vote Membership 1910 2740 2329 1914 2913 2257 543] DIRECT NOMINATIONS IN OPERATION IO7 precinct, the first of the second ward, the primary vote was: Republican, 166, Democratic, 2; the election vote was: Republican, 38, Democratic, 147. Both of these precincts gave heavy majorities to the Republican county candidates. 1 n Boushaw's precinct practically all of the two hundred and sixty odd voters not only split their tickets in the election but voted differently in the election and in the primary. What appears at first sight as the independence which we associate with the breaking of partisan ties and the splitting of tickets is in reality the antithesis of independence. 68 Democratic participation in Republican primaries varies according to circumstances, occurring in all counties which are strongly Republican and reaching its maximum in the controlled precincts of Detroit. Party enrollment was not completely effective in reducing it. The fifteen per cent provision in the year in which it was in effect seems to have produced the expected results by increasing the Democratic vote and reducing the Republican. In the absolutely open primary of 1914 Democratic participation was greater than in any previous primary and was responsible for the nomination of a minority candidate unpopular in his own party. The provisions for partial enrollment enacted in 1915 did not eliminate this evil, 69 and party interference is probably greater than under the convention system. Nominations and Nominees. A nominating system deals with human not mathematical factors, and the true test of the machinery is found in the character of its product, the nominee. The fundamental questions appear to be: Are nominations under the direct primary the expression of the public opinion of the party? Are they popular? Is the direct primary an efficient machine for the expression of the popular will, and can the machine be manipulated? Two methods of manipulation have been used in Michigan: participation by Democrats in Republican primaries, and the putting up of dummy candidates to divide the vote of the majority. The first method of manipulation, the pur- 58 See below, page 59 Detroit Free Press, July 30, 1916. See above, page 104, note 54. IO8 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [544 pose of which is to nominate favorite sons or weak or un- popular candidates in the Republican party, has been dis- cussed, and will again be referred to. In Detroit it has been systematically and effectively used. How far the multiplying of candidates is deliberately planned to divide the vote of the majority and how many candidates are dummy candidates is problematical. Minor- ity nominations, however brought about, are contrary to the fundamental principle of the primary and constitute a practical danger. When there have been only two candi- dates the system has lacked decisiveness; but when there have been more than two candidates minority nominations seem to be the general result. In an early direct primary for mayor of Grand Rapids in 1904 the winning Republican received 2483 votes out of 7I34. 60 In the Wayne County primary in 1905 the successful Republican candidate for sheriff polled only 18,513 votes out of 5O,496. 61 In the nomination of Grand Rapids city officers in March, 1907, all but two of the Republican nominees were minority candidates. 62 In the Republican direct primary for gover- nor in 1908 the vote was as follows: Warner, 87,710; Bradley, 86,440; Earle, 26,752. Two years later the suc- cessful candidate in the Republican gubernatorial primary polled 88,270 votes out of 191,328. In the first district congressional primary in Detroit in 1914 there were six Republican candidates, and the nominee received only 4958 votes out of a total of 20,036. In the Republican primary for governor in the same year there were five can- didates; and out of a total vote of 202,175 a vote of 58,405 sufficed to nominate. 63 80 Grand Rapids Herald, March 16, 1905. 81 Detroit Tribune, January 19, 1905. 62 Grand Rapids Herald, March 13, 1907. 63 See also ibid., October 15, 1902. "Gov. Ferris is watching the candidacy of Washington Gardner of Albion. He admits it, and, like other Democrats here, avers that there is a deep-laid plot among the Republicans to get enough 'dry' candidates in early to try to persuade Lieut.-Gov. Luren D. Dickinson, of Charlotte, that he should not run, for the reason that the ' dry ' vote will be cut up to such an extent that Mr. Dickinson cannot possibly win" (Detroit News, December 2, 545] DIRECT NOMINATIONS IN OPERATION ICK) In support of their contention that the function of nomi- nation should be a delegated one, politicians point to the results when no petitions have been filed and the voter is required to write in the name of his choice on the ballot. Thus in 1906, with no candidates for lieutenant-governor, the Democrats voted for 224 different men for the nomina- tion, for 113 in Wayne County alone. 64 In 1910 the Dem- ocrats voted for 312 different persons for lieutenant- governor. 65 In the primary of that year Charles E. Town- send was nominated by the Republicans for the United States Senate and by the Prohibitionists for the state Senate. 66 The selection of delegates to county conventions was even more haphazard and ludicrous. In some pre- cincts in Kent County votes were cast for forty different persons, including non-residents of the State. Some men were elected delegates in two wards and some even by two parties. 67 Nevertheless, these are isolated cases and are possibly more amusing than significant. As to the character of nominees under the new system opinions differ. The large number who hold that nomina- tions have been worse under the direct primary point to the fact that many of the machine politicians who were con- spicuous under the old regime have not been retired from politics under the new. The Republican nominee for gov- ernor in 1908 had served for two terms, and his unpopularity with the rank and file of his party is indicated by the fact that in the election he ran 73,439 votes behind Taft and 66,062 votes behind the state ticket, being elected by the smallest Republican plurality since 1890. A chairman in a rural county thinks that under the direct primary it is the "smooth oily guy" who gets the nomination. A Detroit newspaper writer of long experience declares that the 1915). It was suspected in 1916 that Wesselius entered the primary race as a Sleeper lieutenant, and that Wesselius campaigned only in Kent and Wayne counties, the strongholds of Sleeper's most formidable rivals, Diekema and Leland (Detroit Free Press, August 22, 1916). "Detroit Free Press, June 21, 1906; Official canvass, secretary of state's office. 65 Grand Rapids Herald, September 18, 1910. 68 Ibid. 87 Ibid., September 10, 1910. 110 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [546 system brings out freakish candidates, men with strong personal conceits and hobbies, men who have everything to gain and nothing to lose. A Detroit lawyer who led in the fight for the direct primary a decade ago but whose opinion of it has undergone a change with a demonstration of its workings, observes that young lawyers enter the primary to get their biographies in the papers and their names in the public ear. Frequently such an irresponsible adventurer, aided by luck, is nominated. Thus in Detroit in 1910 Mayor Breitmeyer was accidentally defeated for a Repub- lican renomination by one Owens, called by the Municipal League "a poorly educated lawyer with a poor business." Owens received the votes of Democrats and of disgruntled Republicans who had no idea of nominating him, but who aimed to discredit and embarrass Mayor Breitmeyer by giving his opponent a substantial vote. 68 In the Detroit city primaries in 1912 nine aldermen who were under indict- ment for graft were renominated. In the same year, if certain Democrats had not taken the initiative and circu- lated petitions for Mr. Ferris he would not have been nominated, and the State would have lost the services of an able executive. Hostile critics of direct nominations contend, moreover, that the system is practically unfitted to enlist the services of the best men. A good man dislikes to conduct a personal campaign involving heavy physical and financial burdens and disagreeable controversy, conditions which have no terrors for the young, the corrupt, and the self-seeking. It is urged, furthermore, that the best men do not like to offer themselves or appear to offer themselves for a nomination, as under the direct primary they must do. They prefer to have the nomination thrust upon them. 69 The conven- tion, representing at least in theory the unified sentiment 68 Many voted for Owens as a joke (Detroit News, October 29, 1910). "Procter K. Owens nominated for mayor of Detroit on the Republican ticket. . . . The primary system clearly needs some very sober thinking from the people of this state, when it can be twisted to such ridiculous uses as this" (Editorial, Detroit Free Press, September 8, 1910). 69 Cf. G. Wallas, The Great Society, p. 319. 547] DIRECT NOMINATIONS IN OPERATION III of the party, could deliberately select a man to meet the peculiar exigencies of the time, whereas the direct primary must wait for volunteers. A convention might be bad ; but it does not necessarily follow that its nominations were bad. What one politician said to me, "I have seen a convention of plug-uglies make a splendid nomination," was a truthful statement of what frequently occurred in the workings of party tactics. The convention issued what was at once an invitation and a command of the whole party rather than of a fraction of the party, a call to service and leadership which was as flattering as it was compelling. In the fourth con- gressional district in 1912 the Democrats believed that a well-known candidate with an honorable public record would be able to defeat Congressman Hamilton. Ac- cordingly they asked Judge Yaple, probably the strongest Democrat in the district, to enter the primary campaign. Judge Yaple was old, no longer inclined to seek honors, particularly in rivalry with two young and ambitious fellow- Democrats, and he therefore declined to run. Under the convention system, it is argued, Judge Yaple would have been nominated, and the election returns show that he would probably have been elected. Nevertheless there are many who believe that nomina- tions are better. They maintain that public officials in general are of a higher character, that graft and scandals have become infrequent and many bosses have been retired, and that since the death of Senator McMillan there has been no dominant state machine. In the senatorial primary of 1910 Congressman Townsend, an insurgent, was opposed to Senator Burrows, a reactionary. Townsend was nominated by a decisive majority, carrying even the upper peninsula where under the convention system the mining interests who were favorable to Burrows had ab- solutely dominated the situation. On the whole, however, the balance between the old and the new system as far as the character of nominees is concerned appears to be about even. Under each system there have been nominations 112 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [548 good or bad which could not have been made under the other. Nominees of the direct primary, however, are likely to be of a somewhat different type. Nominations apparently go to younger men, and wealthy candidates seem to be less frequent. To get an important office one must still be a man of means; but since the adoption of the direct primary there have been no millionaire candidates for governor such as scandalized the State in 1900 and 1902. It is a moot question whether the direct primary gives the office- holder an advantage over the non-office-holder. Many voters in the primary vote only for a name; and the in- cumbent of an office obtains an abundance of advertising and has an opportunity to make friends, the prime asset of the office-seeker. On the other hand where the feeling is strong, as it is in many communities, that honors should be passed around, there is likely to be a distinct prejudice against the office-holder. The city candidate is likely to win over the rural candidate, and in general the cities appear to get a larger share of the county nominations than they did under the convention system. Although there are reports in some counties that the farmers are making ob- jections, the system in general does not work out very inequitably. In many counties the county committees attempt to secure a satisfactory apportionment of nomina- tions. In some counties there is among the farmers a prejudice against the city candidate which puts him at a positive disadvantage. Moreover when it becomes known that the farmers are feeling strongly that they ought to have a candidate, some one is likely to offer himself in response to the demand. In certain counties it is a tradition or a custom that the sheriff, the register of deeds, or the clerk should be a man from the country, and city residents do not canvass for these offices. In some parts of the State the racial complexion of nominees in the direct primary constitutes a difficult problem. In the copper country there was said to be in 1910 a triple alliance of three strong groups of foreigners 549] DIRECT NOMINATIONS IN OPERATION the Finns, the Austrians, and the Italians which attempted to parcel out nominations among these races; but such action from the party standpoint would be difficult and from the public standpoint undesirable. It appears to be the general observation that nominations in the upper peninsula are likely to go to the racial group that is nu- merically strongest and that this condition results in dis- satisfaction among the other groups. Newspapers. It is frequently asserted that the direct primary has increased the power of the newspaper to in- fluence nominations. Through the increased use of adver- tising by candidates the direct primary has benefited news- papers financially, and for this reason it has been asserted that the newspapers favor direct nominations. In any event, the advertising and editorial columns are more in- fluential in determining nominations than they were form- erly. Although the direct primary has made the newspaper a more important medium of communication between the candidate and the voter, it has at the same time brought the candidate into closer personal contact with the voter. Where this personal contact is closest, as in local campaigns, the newspaper has least influence; where the personal contact is slight, as in a state contest, newspaper influence is at its maximum. In local campaigns observers have remarked that the press has seemed to lack influence. 70 On the other hand a poll of the Republican newspapers in 1914 as to their choice for governor showed an interesting cor- respondence with the vote cast in the primary. 71 The Effect on Party Organizations. The effect of the direct primary on party committees has been discussed in 70 Butterfield, p. 19. 71 The following table, taken from the Detroit News of July 30, 1914, shows this correspondence: Newspapers Vote in Candidate Favoring Primary Osborn 104 58,405 Martindale 78 47.942 Groesbeck 37 43J37 Gardner 14 Withdrew Ellis 10 22,248 Linton 8 30,443 8 114 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [550 the preceding chapter, where it was shown that in the Republican party the committees find themselves with a diminished power to influence nominations and to manage campaigns. This condition is due partly to statutory provisions and partly to the nature of the system. The subject which will be considered in this section is the general effect of the direct primary on the party organization viewed not as a collection of committees and officials, but as a vote-getting and vote-conserving association whose chief desiderata are solidarity, loyalty, enthusiasm, and discipline. It is possible that in some States the direct primary has strengthened the party organization by reconciling the members of the party to the leadership of those whom they believe to have been fairly chosen, 72 but under Michigan laws it has not had this effect. A member of the Republican state committee says, "There are two things which hurt party organization: civil service 73 and direct primaries." If the direct primary is unpopular among Republican candi- dates, it is anathema to Republican managers. On one indictment they agree: it hurts or weakens the organization. Among those who admit a weakening of the organization are many who look on the result with some satisfaction as being due to the emphasis that is now placed on men rather than parties. At the other extreme are those who fall into the error common to party managers of looking on the party organization as an end in itself. It will not be necessary at this time to consider these divergent opinions. Conventions, in which under the old system party life centered, are still held in Michigan. But with the possible exception of delegate conventions held in presidential years, there are no opportunities for party gatherings the character of which is formal and public enough and the work of which is vital and exciting enough to attract and fire the active workers of the party. It was a function of the convention 71 Proceedings of the National Conference on Practical Reform of Primary Elections, p. 20. Speech of John R. Commons. 7J Cf. H. Croly, The Promise of American Life, p. 334. 55l] DIRECT NOMINATIONS IN OPERATION 115 to fuse party factions into a common loyalty and to animate the mass with partisan enthusiasm. The convention was, besides, a supreme disciplinary court. It provided an opportunity for the compromising of differences, so that, however fierce its factional contests may have been, at the end of its sessions it presented a united front to the enemy. Of course the manipulation or the arbitrary management of conventions might create or intensify factionalism; but a faction rarely made head or attempted to make head against the visible and imposing authority with which a convention spoke. Moreover the convention was potentially a de- liberative body, although it is true that it rarely realized to the full its potentiality. It had many resources. It could bargain with the leaders of factions; it could throw sops to the disgruntled. Above all it could develop party strategy, which consists in nominating a farmer when the opposing party has nominated a city millionaire, or a German when the opposition has ignored the Germans, or a man of talents to measure up to a strong adversary or an unusual emergency, in fact, so to make its nominations as to appeal to the maximum number of elements and interests. The direct primary is unable to do these things or does them blindly, clumsily, and inadequately. The tendency under the convention system was for each party to attempt to seize the unguarded points in the field, but the tendency under the direct primary is for both parties to try to occupy the same space at the same time. The direct primary gives little opportunity for com- promising or smoothing over factional differences, but on the contrary stimulates factionalism. For a period ranging from six months to a year opposing candidates within the party engage in a personal campaign of cumulative intensity culminating only two months before the election. How wide the gap between factions may become is illustrated in speeches made by Mr. Osborn in the primary campaign of 1910. " One thing I do not believe in," he said, " is political assessment of political employes. I am fighting all the 400 employes of the governor. The administration is as- Il6 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [552 sessing all the employes it can control." 74 And he said again: "If I am made governor I will put out of office, so far as possible, all the dishonest and incompetent appointees at present at work." 76 Here within the ranks of a party we find the familiar characteristics of a struggle between parties : a machine consisting of public officials, the assessment of these officials to pay campaign expenses, and a promise or, if you choose, a threat of a redistribution of the spoils. These bitter internal struggles destroy the physical and moral unity of the party, forfeit the loyalty of its followers, sap its financial resources, and give to the opposition a fund of unanswerable campaign arguments. It is like the act of a country torn by civil conflict, with the imminent certainty of a foreign war, which ships the contents of its arsenals and the plans of its fortifications to its future foe. If there were primary contests in both parties, the weaken- ing effect of factionalism would be equally shared. But as it is, the Democrats have never had a contest in a state primary. With a selected candidate they quietly prepare for the general election while the Republicans are spending their resources. 76 In 1908 the close and extremely bitter primary campaign in the Republican party had much to do with the poor showing made by the Republican nominee in the election. 77 As a matter of fact, as we have seen, members of the minority party are much more than com- placent spectators. They participate in the Republican struggles, often with the deliberate intention of nominating the candidate whom they can most easily defeat. The nomination of Osborn in 1914 is one of the most notorious cases. The chances of success are increased when candi- dates are numerous, for then a small body of voters can determine the nominee. Thus in the congressional primary 74 Detroit Free Press, September 3, 1910. 75 Ibid., September 2, 1910. 78 "The Democratic way of doing things, decidedly improper as it seems, gets good results for the party, while the Republican adherence to the law has brought demoralization and defeat" (Editorial, Detroit Free Press, July 26, 1916). See also Gazette-Telegraph (Kalamazoo), July 24, 27, 1916. " Apparently the rule is that the primary is harmful in proportion to the interest taken in it" (Detroit Free Press, April 24, 1916). 553] DIRECT NOMINATIONS IN OPERATION 117 in the first district in 1914 Doremus, the Democratic con- gressman, had no opposition for the nomination, but in the Republican party there were six candidates. It is common knowledge in Detroit that the Democrats practically nominated the man to run against Doremus, insuring the latter's election. In the thirteenth congressional district, however, which is the northern half of the city of Detroit, there were fewer Republican candidates in the primary and the Republican nominee won in the election. As a matter of practical politics the logical outcome would appear to be that the Republican and the Democratic bosses would make terms and by acting together control nominations and elections, assigning to each party an equitable share of the offices. In Detroit where there is a large controlled vote the bipartisan machine, called fa- miliarly the "Vote-Swappers' League," has already de- veloped, although its ramifications, power, and personnel are obscure, and it is impossible to attribute its development to any one cause. There were rumors of bipartisan under- standings as early as 1901 ; and to this phenomenon the foreign voters, the saloon influence, the disappearance of distinctive party principles, and the waning strength of party ties have probably contributed. But the direct primary, whether it is or is not responsible for the phe- nomenon, has clearly provided the machine with a most useful instrument of manipulation. Given a mass of con- trolled voters in a few precincts 78 holding the balance of power in the city, the work of a bipartisan machine is easier under the direct primary than under the convention system. How far the bipartisan arrangement has extended is largely a matter of guess. It has appeared to control pretty thoroughly the nominations and the elections in Wayne County. An old politician asserts that it has existed in other counties and that there has been an attempt to extend it to state offices. 79 78 See below, page 79 In 1916 the Republican and the Democratic leaders were oppos- ing candidates for mayor, and in appearance the two party machines were no longer in agreement. Il8 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [554 The weakening of the Republican organization under direct primaries has been accompanied by a relative strengthening of the Democratic organization. The Demo- cratic state chairman declared in 1915 that his organization was much better than it was ten years ago ; but this improve- ment may be ascribed to the Democratic success in 1912 which followed the Republican split. Democratic victory in 1914, however, can be attributed in great part to the effect of the direct primary on the Republican organization. Contests with their enervating consequences have affected the minority party little. In their absence the Democratic organization has much to do with the making of nomina- tions. With power and responsibility have come interest, activity, and stronger men. With the prevalence of minor- ity candidates in the Republican party the naming of the party managers by these candidates has the effect of putting the party organization in the hands of a minority of the party, and has, moreover, produced a lack of continuity in Republican leadership; in the Democratic party, on the other hand, the absence of contests and factions has fur- nished no cause for the unseating of managers, and con- tinuity in management has contributed to party strength. The direct primary, therefore, acts to some degree as an equalizer of party organizations, shifting its burdens on the stronger party and making the race for office a handicap race. The stimulation and the strength arising from unity, harmony, the saving of financial resources, the development of strategy, secrecy in counsel, and continuity in manage- ment remain in the minority party unimpaired. Recent Working of the Convention System. The question is relevant whether the convention system would, if restored, work as badly as it did a decade ago; but the question has been pretty thoroughly answered. Michigan has retained conventions, some with restricted functions, some with their functions unimpaired. In the Democratic county conven- tion in Wayne County in 1907 the committee on credentials arbitrarily filled vacancies, and a motion in the convention that all Democrats present be declared delegates was 555] DIRECT NOMINATIONS IN OPERATION IIQ carried, although it was a palpably illegal proceeding. 80 Contests growing out of this convention, as well as contests arising in Wayne County in the effort to defeat Mr. Campau for national committeeman, were decided by the state con- vention in the old way, by sheer weight of numbers and control of the organization, with no calm consideration of the equities of the cases. 81 In the former instance both sides were represented by lawyers and were provided with affidavits; but nevertheless the result was a foregone con- clusion. Until 1916 the pure convention system has been used for the selection of delegates to national conventions. The Republican state convention in 1912 the worst in almost every respect in the history of Michigan 82 illus- trates the inherent faults of the convention system, its incapacity to adjudicate vital disputes equitably, and the lack of provision for an impartial preliminary organization and an impartial presiding officer. The absence of these essentials and the impossibility of getting them turned the gathering into a mob and split the party. The prenomination campaign and the primaries which preceded this convention are equally instructive. The active Taft campaign lasted over two months. During this time the Taft managers collected and disbursed, according to the sworn testimony of the man who had charge of the finances, the sum of $i8,935, 83 over ten times the amount spent by the successful Republican candidate for governor in the 1914 primaries. This sum, moreover, was spent almost entirely in five congressional districts. 84 In his tes- timony before the Clapp investigating committee Judge Murfin of Detroit said: "Mr. Warren asked me what I thought would be proper to be expended in Wayne County. I told them they could not spend more than $2500.00 hon- estly. He told me Mr. McKay wanted about $5000.00 in 80 Detroit Free Press, February 24, 1907. 81 Ibid., February 15, 1907, May 21, 1908. 82 See above, page 85 ft. 83 Campaign Contributions, vol. i, pp. 778-779. The Wilson workers spent about $6500 (Detroit News, March 10, 1913). 84 Campaign Contributions, vol. i., p. 782. 120 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [556 this one before he started. Then I said, 'You are going to have a rotten campaign,' and they did." 85 This competent witness declared that the Taft-Roosevelt primaries in Detroit were "absolutely the rottenest and most corrupt that Michigan has ever seen, but one side was just as bad as the other. Our side seemed to be more skillful than the other, and therefore we got the delegates." 86 On account of legislative enactments there was no control except that of party custom. Accordingly the precinct committeeman had charge of the booth and presided over the ballot-boxes. "There was no way by law or any other way of preventing a Republican or Democrat outside of the precinct from voting if he wanted to. The ward committeeman would say, 'You can vote,' or 'You can not vote." 87 When he saw fit to close the polls the committeeman counted the votes and made out the credentials, usually to himself as the delegate. "What they did was simply to barter for these men like so many sheep. They would go to one man and say, 'Here, you run as a Roosevelt delegate; there is so much in it for you.' And this man would say, 'All right.' Some of them took money from both sides." 88 The Wilson-Harmon primaries in Detroit were a repeti- tion of the Taft-Roosevelt primaries. In the former some of the ballot-boxes were kept open for a while and then closed for a while as the precinct committeeman judged expedient. As in the Republican primaries the committee- man usually elected himself a delegate. "They said that this had been the custom for years." 89 In the Democratic primaries payment was made with petty jobs or offices to be given out by Republican city officials. As a matter of fact practically the same machine was engaged in manipu- lating both primaries. Grand Rapids was under direct primaries from 1901 to 1908. In the latter year a decision of the supreme court necessitated a return to the old 85 Campaign Contributions, vol. i, p. 976. 88 Ibid., p. 974. 87 Ibid., p. 978. Testimony of Judge Murfin. 88 Ibid., p. 980. 89 Interview with a Wilson manager. 557] DIRECT NOMINATIONS IN OPERATION 121 system. Immediately following the primaries the Repub- lican city convention passed a unanimous resolution for the reenactment of another direct nomination law. 90 The proposition scarcely needs argument that under the strain of contests the convention system is as unworkable now as it was a decade ago. A return to the convention system, although desired by many politicians, is expected by few and seems hardly within the range of possibilities. As one of them expressed it, "The people like their power too well. They have had a taste of blood, and they won't give it up." If the question of adopting direct nominations were submitted again to a popular referendum it would carry by a large majority. 91 Tendencies, The preceding discussion may now be briefly summarized. Under the direct primary, conditions at and preceding the polling show few of the disorderly, demoralizing, and corrupt features of the convention system. The prenomination campaign is more educational in char- acter and makes a more direct and personal appeal to the voters. For state candidates it is less expensive, for local candidates more expensive; for candidates in general it is more disagreeable and more burdensome. The average vote in the direct primary is better than in the old primaries, and shows a general increase. The participation of Demo- crats in Republican primaries is more serious and more systematic than under the convention system and has de- veloped into an effective means of machine control. In gen- eral, however, means of manipulation are fewer. Minority nominations are frequent, and the character of nominees has not on the whole improved, although it has in some par- ticulars changed. The direct primary tends in a variety of ways to weaken the majority party and to strengthen re- latively the minority party. Although in many important respects it is an improvement and there is little possibility of its abandonment, the direct primary can not yet be 90 Grand Rapids Herald, March 19, 20, 1908. 91 For a sweeping condemnation of the direct primary by an able Republican politician who is also a student and a historian, see C. Moore, History of Michigan, vol. i, pp. 578-579. 122 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [558 considered satisfactory. An indication of its experimental status is found in the absence of any movement to extend it to the important judicial and other state officers elected in the spring. A tendency which we have already noted looks to the control of nominations by the party organization, and we have seen that this control is more common in the Demo- cratic than in the Republican party. It is said that the Republican state leaders attempted to hold a preprimary conference in 1912 for the purpose of agreeing upon a can- didate, but objection was at once made that this proceeding was a violation of the spirit of the direct primary. In Washtenaw County the Democrats have held a mass-con- vention meeting before the primary, with the aim of stirring and unifying the party. They have had a good speaker so as to attract Democrats, and have talked over such party problems as the apportionment of nominations around the county. It is the Republican party, however, which feels most keenly the need for some form of centralized control. In 1914 the Republican state central committee appointed a subcommittee on revision of the primary law. In December the subcommittee made its report, which was adopted in full. 92 This report is of value for the reason that it rep- resents the matured opinion of some of the more studious of the Republican leaders, formed after "state-wide and nation-wide investigations." 93 The committee recognized two "basic causes of complaint": (i) "the persistent par- ticipation of Democrats and other hostile partisans in Republican primaries for the purpose of attempting to nominate weak Republican candidates for office; (2) the lack of opportunity for party counsel under existing primary law." The plan of reform suggested by the report, which was limited to the offices of governor, lieutenant-governor, 92 Detroit Free Press, December 30, 1914. 93 A Petition to the Michigan Legislature, Printed by the Grand Rapids Herald (1914). 559] DIRECT NOMINATIONS IN OPERATION 123 secretary of state, state treasurer, auditor-general, attorney- general, and United States senator, follows: (i) Biennial fall conventions shall be held before instead of after the primary. (2) Delegates to the "preprimary state conven- tion shall be selected at the spring election on petition of from two to four per cent of the party vote. Delegates shall be apportioned by the state and county committees. No county conventions are to intervene." (3) The pre- primary state convention shall meet in June. It will adopt the party platform, select the state central committee, and choose the chairman of the committee. It will then proceed to consider candidates for office. "Here will come the opportunity for party counsel and party argument which is vital to party perpetuity and party perpetuity is vital to a perpetuated democracy." (4) If a candidate receives a majority vote in the convention, his name will be certified to the secretary of state for a place on the primary ballot. If no majority is secured for a candidate, there will be no certification. The veto power on all nominations will rest with the party electorate. (5) The name of the convention nominee will appear in the first place on the primary ballot. Other names may be put on the ballot on petition as at present. No petition shall be circulated until after the preprimary convention. (6) In the primary there shall be separate ballots. When the voter asks for his ballot a record will be made of his party affiliation. Party enroll- ment was considered and discarded because of its previous ' ' unpopularity and impracticability. ' ' The proposition that a candidate who receives a majority of all votes cast shall be declared elected was discarded as of doubtful constitu- tionality. The Democratic and Progressive parties, de- clared the committee, "have almost never yet gone into a state primary in Michigan without some sort of an un- official conference of party leaders preceding the primary." 94 Out of fifty-three legislators-elect who responded to inquiry 94 In 1916 the Democratic state central committee named candidates for governor, lieutenant-governor, and United States senator, who were voted on in the primary. After their nomination all three candidates withdrew, and the committee filled their places. 124 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [560 blanks, fifty-one expressed belief that the primary law should be changed, and thirty-three favored the preprimary idea. Although many party leaders insist that the preprimary convention, legal or extralegal, is inevitable for all parties, others dismiss the idea as adding one more complication to an already complicated situation. They say that, given a legalized preprimary convention, there would be three campaigns where there are now two: one for the convention, one for the primary, and one for the election. This added complication would make conditions intolerable for the candidate. 95 As a means of preventing minority nominations and manipulation by putting up dummy candidates the pref- erential ballot has been suggested. It is not favored by practical politicians. They contend that at a time when the trend in politics is toward simplification the preferential ballot would make the ballot more complicated too complicated for many electors to vote. Accordingly they believe generally that a shorter ballot would lead to better nominations. In 1910 a Republican voter in the first precinct of the first ward in Detroit was asked to weigh the merits of 105 candidates for 27 distinct offices ranging from United States senator and governor to drain commissioner and constable, 96 and this in a precinct where it is said that seventy-five per cent of the voters are assisted in the mark- ing of their ballots. It is generally believed that the legal limitation of primary expenses has effected improvement. Some would go as far as to prohibit by law all expenditure in a primary campaign; others would have the State print at its own expense the arguments of the various candidates. Others maintain that the fundamental difficulty is the same as under the old system. As one county chairman, more 96 The Republican state central committee in 1916 again recorded its approval of the preprimary convention idea (Detroit Free Press, July 21, 1916). 96 Detroit News, August 27, 1910. 56 1 ] DIRECT NOMINATIONS IN OPERATION 125 forceful than cultured, expressed it, "The great trouble is, the high-brows don't vote." Effect of the Direct Primary on Conventions. The laws have taken away functions but have made no direct change in convention organization and procedure. There is natur- ally less interest in conventions. At present, according to a member of the Republican state committee, in order to get delegates to attend a state convention the executive committee has to get a man like Root or Borah to deliver a two-hour speech. County conventions have tended to become cut-and-dried affairs, with the naming of delegates slated in advance and the work of naming the slate entrusted to a committee appointed by the chairman. At county conventions there is an absence of personal workers. The holding of all county conventions on the same day did away with the relay system in the election of delegates by which professional workers would clean up one county and then pass on to the next, and made snap conventions impossible. Bribery has been eliminated, and the convention has probably become more representative. To those who are after office or boodle the present-day party gathering offers few attractions. There is less tension in conventions and there are fewer struggles over credentials and preliminary organization. Instructions and the unit rule products of close-fought contests have become less common in both parties. Conventions tend to become more deliberative in so far as anything is left to deliberate over and there is better order. On the other hand, the attendance of delegates is not so good. Recent Democratic state con- ventions, however, have been unusually well attended, another indication of the rejuvenation of the party. The 1914 convention had delegates present from eighty counties and a total attendance of about twelve hundred. 97 97 Detroit News, September 29, 30, 1914. In 1914, delegates in the Democratic state convention were apportioned in the ratio of one to every one hundred Democratic votes for secretary of state, making the unwieldy total of 1542, of which 239 were from Wayne County (Detroit News, July 14, 1914). The Republican state convention in 1914, based on a decreased party vote, had 1052 delegates. CHAPTER VI CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE The Republican party with its superior financial resources usually had prior to 1914 a more thorough and more efficient campaign organization than had the Democratic party. The Republican organization was at its best in 1896, the Democratic probably in 1890 and I9I4- 1 Before the spring election for the choosing of judicial officials there has been comparatively little campaigning; and in the off years campaigns have been much less vigorous and expensive than in presidential years. Campaign Organization. In the prosecution of cam- paigns the various organizations, state, district, and county, have had to cooperate, although their relations have been determined hardly at all by paper arrangements, but rather by the organizing ability of the various chairmen or secre- taries, by the nature of the campaign national, state, or local, by factions within the party, and by the likes and dislikes of the managers. Coordination and cooperation are effected by advisory committees, by visits, by banquets and smokers, by personal agents and emissaries, and by correspondence. In Wayne County, where the city, county, and congressional committees cover practically the same field, the Republican committees have usually been con- solidated, or have chosen a conference committee which has apportioned the work of the campaign among the three bodies. Thus in 1900 the Republican conference committee decided that the county committee should take charge of speakers, halls, and literature, the city committee of wit- nesses and challengers at primaries and elections and the organization of extra ward and township clubs, and the 1 I have not observed campaign organization in 1916 except such as made itself evident before September I. 126 563] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 127 congressional committee of the organization of the first voters. 2 Soon after the nominating conventions joint meetings of committees and candidates have been held; during the campaign the county chairmen have kept in close touch not only with the candidates but also with the ward and township workers, who may or may not be com- mitteemen; the state chairman confers personally or by letter with the county chairmen and with the district members of the state committee ; and the national committee keeps in touch with state conditions through the national committeeman, the state chairman, or special agents. The nominal manager of the state campaign is the chair- man of the state central committee, but during the nineties, it is said, the secretary and the head of the speakers' bureau were the actual directors of Republican campaigns. The Democratic state chairman in 1890 and 1892 informs me that prior to those years the state chairman had been a figurehead. In recent campaigns the chairman has ap- peared to be the real directing head of the organization, although in both parties the secretaries have been ex- perienced and valued assistants and have been practically in complete charge of the routine work. Besides the executive committee, which acts as a convenient and time- saving representative of the full committee, each party has usually had a speakers' bureau, a literary bureau, a treas- urer, an assistant-secretary, sometimes a finance committee with its own chairman, and sometimes a publicity agent. The state central committee has usually met two or three times during a campaign and the executive committee more often. Prior to 1900 the State League of Republican Clubs assisted to some extent in the work of campaigns. The county committee has organized less formally for campaigns, but politicians have always recognized the vital importance of systematic local organization. The state chairman has usually suggested many details, but the county chairman has been free to reject or modify these suggestions. At present, when the chairman and the secretary of the 2 Detroit Tribune, September 15, 19, 23, 1900. 128 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [564 county committee are selected by the candidates, the latter are taking a more active part in campaign manage- ment, and the committee itself tends to become an honorary rather than a working body. In most cases the officers of the committee, as some of them express it, are the "whole thing." Methods of local campaign management vary from county to county, showing in some cases refreshing and effective originality. A record-breaking Republican majority in Calhoun County in 1894 was attributed to originality in organization; 3 a Republican defeat in Wayne County in 1899 was charged to the unwise selection of new workers. 4 Like the state secretary, the county secretary, who attends to the office work at headquarters, has usually received a monthly stipend during the campaign. In the district campaign, organizations have varied even more than in the counties. In the nineties the senatorial, the congressional, and even the judicial committee often performed important campaign functions. The present tendency, however, is for the county organization to manage the campaign not only of the county candidates but also of the senatorial, representative, judicial, and congressional candidates. 6 In some districts the congressional committee makes on paper an impressive appearance of dignity and strength, but the congressional candidate or his private secretary usually directs the fight. There is little connec- tion between the state and the congressional campaigns and little communication between the two organizations. The township committees have had little to do with campaigns beyond occasionally reporting to the county chairman on local conditions or sending in lists of voters. In many cases a candidate with the help of his friends and his ap- pointees conducts his fight for election independently of the party organization, and in Wayne County campaign management has been assumed at times by political clubs. 8 Detroit Tribune, November 9, 1894. 4 Detroit Free Press, April 4, 1899. 6 Interviews. 565] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 129 Clubs. Campaign clubs large and small have in some campaigns been almost as numerous as the ballot-boxes themselves. Organized early in the campaign and in some cases retaining a semblance of life between campaigns, the club was designed to enlist young men in party service, to stimulate partisanship, to train speakers, and to provide an organization for getting out the vote on election day. The clubs furnished a means for the recognition of racial and economic groups within the party, gave these groups opportunity for expression, and incidentally won their adherence by stirring their pride. In the late eighties and early nineties political clubs were much more numerous and more carefully organized than now and many were ostensibly permanent. 6 As a rule, however, they were organized for a single campaign by the party managers or by the agents of "Leagues." The clubs have held meetings and even distributed literature ; and twenty years ago ward clubs in the large cities were equipped with uniforms, band instruments, banners, torches, and other paraphernalia. In 1892 the Republicans were particularly active in club or- ganization, and in 1896 both parties attempted to enroll their members in these auxiliary organizations. 7 For the campaign of 1916 the Republicans early organ- ized a " Hughes-for-President " or a " Hughes-and-Fair- banks" club in every county in the State. These clubs took over the management of the presidential campaign in the counties, although they were expected to cooperate with the county committees. These clubs seemed neces- sary because the local organizations are not perfected until after the state primary, at least two months too late to do the preliminary work of a presidential contest. In the third congressional district Republican leaders organized a district club at a banquet early in July, and appointed an executive committee for each county to organize county In the spring of 1916, however, it was reported that there were fifty Republican clubs in the State (Detroit Free Press, May 9, 1916). 7 In 1896 the "American Honest Money League" organized about two hundred clubs in Michigan (Detroit Free Press, October 28, 1896). 9 130 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [566 clubs. Besides the executive committees the district club had standing committees on publicity, on speakers, and on arrangements. 8 In 1888 the Michigan Club, a strong Republican asso- ciation with social and political activities, numbering in its membership the leading local and state politicians, seems to have had general charge of the Republican campaign in Wayne County, 9 and in 1892 and 1896 it assisted the local committees. 10 Again, in 1908, 1910, and 1911 the Wayne County Republican Club managed the party fight, 11 and in 1908 the Wayne County Bryan Club took over the direction of the Democratic campaign. 12 In Grand Rapids the Republican Lincoln Club has participated in campaigns. The Business Men's Republican Club of Wayne County spent $291.49 in - I9O4. 13 In 1908 the Wayne County Republican Club began the organization of ward and precinct clubs in March, and in November had one hundred and six clubs with a total membership of 12, 500." College, Afro- American, first voters', women's, and travelling men's clubs have undertaken special phases of campaign work. Although one of the main purposes of the club has been to interest the young voter, this method of recruiting has not been neglected by the regular committees. In 1896 the Republicans held a mass-meeting in Detroit for the first voters, 15 and in 1900 a Republican subcommittee secured the names of all first voters in Detroit, about seven thousand. 16 The party manager has also made it his duty to see that the potential voters of his political faith become qualified by naturalization and registration. Prior to 1894 an alien could vote provided he declared six months before the 8 Detroit Free Press, Mays, 1916; Moon-Journal (Battle Creek), July I, 1916. 9 Detroit Tribune, October 5, 1888. 10 Ibid., October 6, 1892. 11 Detroit Free Press, October 27, November 18, 1908. 2 Ibid., October 18, 1908. 11 Detroit Tribune, January 27, 1905. 14 Detroit Free Press, November 18, 1908. 16 Detroit Tribune, October 8, 1896. 18 Ibid., September 25, 1900. 567] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 131 election his intention to become a citizen. 17 At that time it was commonly charged that the naturalizing officials made it easy for members of their own party to become citizens; 18 and committees and candidates sometimes offered free naturalization to foreigners who would promise to vote the party ticket. 19 A constitutional amendment adopted in 1894 required full naturalization before voting; 20 but this action seems merely to have transferred the interest of the party managers from the declaration of intention to the final papers and the activity of the managers from April to October without lessening much the evils of partisan activity in naturalization. 21 A later law provides that no certificate of naturalization shall be granted less than thirty days before a general election. In the nineties the city com- mittee, working through the ward and precinct organiza- tions, attempted to secure full registration of the party members. 22 At the present time 23 the party managers are much less active in naturalization and registration than formerly. Headquarters. The first step in a campaign is the opening of headquarters. For the general elections both parties have usually had their headquarters at Detroit, and have opened their central offices in presidential years about the first of August, in off years in September. For the spring election, headquarters when established have usually been at Lansing. At headquarters the chairman, the secretary, and the heads of bureaus spend much of their 17 In the light of this law the activity of party managers in naturali- zation is shown by the following figures of naturalization in Detroit in 1886: January, 17; February, 36; March, no; April, 312; May, 106. In 1885, an off year, 290 were naturalized; in 1886, a regular election year, 660 were naturalized up to August 15 (Detroit Tribune, August 15, 1886). On March 31, 1892, 74 declarations of intention were filed in Detroit (ibid., April 2, 1892). 18 Detroit Tribune, August 15, October 29, 1886. 19 Ibid., October 30, 1890, July i, 1892, March 20, 1895, November 15, 1896. 20 Michigan Manual, 1895, p. 454. 21 Detroit Tribune, March 20, 1895, November 14, 15, 1896, October 14, 1900, October 18, 1904. 22 Ibid., October 24, 1886, October 28, 1892, October 7, 1896, Sep- tember 27, 1900; Detroit Free Press, March 4, 1899. 23 September I, 1916. 132 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [568 time, and they are assisted by a force of stenographers and helpers, a force, however, which is smaller now than in the campaigns of the nineties. About a month after the opening of state headquarters the county committees establish their offices, usually at the county-seats. On the relative merits of long and short campaigns poli- ticians entertain different opinions. For state offices the speaking campaign has usually lasted a month or a month and a half ; for county offices about a month ; for city offices a still shorter time; and for township offices there is no formal campaign at all. In general the tendency seems to be toward the short campaign. Lists of Voters. Lists of voters are indispensable to the campaign manager in distributing literature and in getting out the vote, and such lists possess additional value if they show the voters' party affiliations. Between 1906 and 1913 enrollment for the direct primary furnished a list of party members, and some believe that one of the purposes of party enrollment was the providing of these lists. City directories, registration books, and poll-lists are useful; precinct workers and local committeemen send in names; possibly census enumerators 24 and rural and city mail carriers contribute lists of names, although political activity on their part is prohibited by law; and names are secured in other ways which managers refuse to divulge. Most valuable and most difficult to obtain is a list of doubtful voters; but since 1912 party managers have been inclined to look on most voters as doubtful, and some have discon- tinued attempts at classification. One Democratic county chairman possesses typewritten lists of Democrats, Repub- licans, doubtful voters, and first voters, arranged alpha- betically and by rural routes, originally secured twenty years ago by a house-to-house canvass and kept up to date by comparison with the registration books and poll-lists. In 1910 the Republican state committee adopted an expen- sive card index system. 25 24 Detroit Free Press, May 31, 1890. 26 Detroit News, August 21, 1910. 569] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 133 The Campaign Fund. In keeping his war-chest supplied the manager has found not always agreeable but constant and serious employment. In general the national, state, and county organizations have been financially independent but have helped one another when help has been needed and where it has been possible to give it. In general the com- mittees have usually raised all they could and spent all they raised often more. The question of who should solicit contributions has depended on the men and on the circumstances. On the shoulders of the state chairman has generally rested most of the burden of getting the state fund, 26 but he has been assisted by the district members of the state committee, by the treasurer, and sometimes by a special subcommittee on finance. Wayne County has always contributed a major part of the campaign funds of both parties. The treasurer has usually been a wealthy business man or banker of Detroit, selected on account of his business ability, his willingness to contribute, and his financial standing and connections. Aside from soliciting contributions, his duties may be summed up in the words of a Republican treasurer : "I acted the same as the teller in a bank would and when- ever a voucher which was properly endorsed was presented for payment, I paid it." 27 In the counties contributions have usually been solicited by the chairman, assisted by a subcommittee on finance. Prior to 1908, according to a Republican campaign manager of the nineties, the Repub- lican national committee had asked individuals for money but had never circulated "broadcast appeals" within the State; in 1896, for example, Hanna had a special agent in the State raising funds and reporting on conditions. In 1908, however, the national committee solicited funds in the State, and, on account of this "crossing of the wires," the state committee asked for help from the national or- ganization and got it. 28 The state organization, however, had received considerable assistance from the national 26 Detroit Tribune, March 6, 1901. 27 Detroit Free Press, August 29, 1908. 28 Ibid., November 3, 1908. 134 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [570 committee in 1896 and was given a donation of ten thousand dollars in 1900, but in 1904 Michigan financed itself. The Democrats received help in 1892 and 1908 but shifted for themselves in 1912. County committees have frequently contributed to the state and even to the national fund. 29 The principal sources of campaign funds have been the following: assessments levied on candidates and on office- holders, contributions from individuals and from corpora- tions, collections and subscriptions at conventions and public meetings, and donations from party committees and clubs. The assessment of candidates either by formal action or by tacit understanding has been a uniform practice in both parties. Assessments have usually been fixed early in the campaign by committee members in consultation with the candidates. Although assessments were in no way com- pulsory and were not always paid in full, they amounted in many cases to a large part of the emoluments of the office sought, and the obligation of paying the assessment has probably deterred many men of limited means from accept- ing nomination. 30 There has been no invariable rule in either party for the fixing of these assessments. 31 Repub- lican candidates for governor have usually paid at least one thousand dollars and frequently much more; 32 congressional candidates, five hundred dollars; 33 and other candidates on the state ticket from seventy-five to five hundred dollars according to their means and expectations. 34 Democratic assessments have been less fruitful than Republican because Democratic candidates as a rule have not been wealthy men nor have they been hopeful of election. 35 29 Report of the Treasurer, Democratic National Committee, 1912, p. 30. 30 82 Mich. Reports, p. 532. 31 "The candidates were assessed all that the traffic would bear," says an ex-treasurer. 82 Detroit Tribune, August 2, December I, 1900; Detroit Free Press, August 27, 1908. A Democratic campaign manager informs me that the customary assessment of the candidate for governor was $2000. 33 Detroit Tribune, October 5, 1898, August 2, 1900. 34 Statements filed with secretary of state, 1892-1900, and with Wayne County clerk, 1914. " In 1900 the Democratic central committeemen assessed themselves fifty dollars each (Detroit Tribune, August 16, 1900). 57i] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 135 For the county campaign fund, the bulk of which is provided by the assessment of candidates, a definite rate is often fixed by agreement, varying in different counties from seven to ten per cent of the emoluments of the office during the preceding year. 36 In some counties it has been the custom to estimate carefully the total cost of the county campaign and then apportion the burden among the can- didates in proportion to the monetary value of the office sought. 37 Usually the candidate for sheriff has paid the largest assessment; township candidates have rarely been assessed at all. Congressional, senatorial, representative, and judicial candidates have usually made appropriate contributions to the county fund. In Wayne County in 1898 the ten per cent plan was expected to provide the Republicans with a fund of $3890. The Ingham County Republican committee collected in 1914 $2178, of which $1685 came from the candidates. 38 In the counties assess- ments appear in general to be lower than they were early in the nineties but somewhat higher than they were a decade ago. 39 A quarter of a century ago the assessment of office- holders was a recognized and ordinary method of raising 38 Detroit Tribune, October 14, 1898. * 7 This has been the Republican custom in Calhoun County. In Ionia County in 1914 the Republican candidates paid their ten per cent assessment in installments of five, two and one half, and two and one half. 18 The following table shows the assessments paid by various Repub- lican county candidates: Office Wayne, 1898 Kent, 1914 Ingham, 1914 Livingston, 1914 Sheriff 75O *oo 2OO IOO Treasurer 5OO 2OO 1715 TOO Prosecuting Attorney 5OO 280 175 IOO Register of Deeds *5O 75 ^5O Auditor ^50 28 Clerk 35O 2OO 175 5O Court Commissioner *oo 60 25 25 Coroner 120 120 25 "Says a county chairman (1915): "My assessment nine years ago for county clerk was thirty dollars: two years ago it was two hundred dollars." 136 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [572 funds. 40 The system of requisitions extended from the customs collectors and postmasters to the elevator boys and scrub-women. Civil service reform limited to some extent this method of financing but did not prevent voluntary con- tributions; 41 these, of course, continued to be solicited from state, county, and city officials and employes, money from these sources comprising a considerable proportion of the total fund. 42 In 1908 President Roosevelt dismissed one of the most prominent of the local Republican bosses from a customs collectorship for permitting the political assessment of his employes, 43 but during the same year the officials and employes at the state capital paid assessments amount- ing in some cases to two per cent of their salaries. 44 With respect to voluntary contributions from individuals the Republicans have been more fortunate than the Dem- ocrats. Most men of wealth, especially since 1896, have been Republicans, partly because the fiscal policies of the Republican party have appeared to be favorable to business. Individual contributions have been secured by personal solicitation or by letter, and in this work the chairman, the secretary, the treasurer, the finance committee if there is one and the district members of the central committee have cooperated. Campaign contributions, it is needless 40 Dilla, p. 167; H. Welsh, "Campaign Committees: Publicity as a Cure for Corruption," in Forum, vol. xiv, pp. 26-38; Detroit Tribune, September I, 1890, March 3, 1891, October 27, 1892, October 3, 1896; Detroit Free Press, September 17, 1896. 41 22 Stat. L., p. 406; Detroit Tribune, July 25, November 3, 1898; Detroit Free Press, September 18, 1896. As a Democratic politician of Detroit expressed it in 1912: "They come down here to get soft places and it's only reasonable to expect that they should help out on the campaign expenses" (Detroit News, September 12, 1912). A very large number of women contributed to the Ingham County Republican campaign fund in 1914, and the county chairman explained that they were employes at the capitol. 42 Detroit Free Press, March 23, 1899, October 7, 1908; Detroit Tribune, August 24, October 15, 1900, September 20, 1902. 43 Lincoln Avery of Port Huron (Detroit Free Press, October 3, 1908). 44 Ibid., August 27, October 16, 1908. Says one Republican ex- treasurer: "City and county employes were probably not formally assessed. Neither were state employes. But a paper was circulated and they were expected to contribute." Another Republican ex- treasurer says: "State employes have always been assessed a reason- able amount by the state central committee. The city and county office-holders and employes have always been assessed up to the limit." 573] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 137 to say, are not always matters of detached philanthropy or party patriotism. The composition of committees, ap- pointments to honorary party offices, and the making of nominations have often been determined, especially prior to the introduction of direct nominations, by the possibility of securing direct or indirect campaign contributions. A man was sometimes approached and told that if he would accept a nomination his campaign would be financed. In the case of legislative candidates this form of bribery was said to be common, and it was believed that candidates for United States senator ordinarily paid the expenses of legislative candidates. 46 Many contributions, moreover, were made with the ex- pectation of receiving legislative or administrative favors. Nevertheless, twenty-five years ago the sense of party fealty was stronger than it is now, and the obligation to contribute according to one's means was more generally recognized by wealthy men. 46 In 1886 the leader of the Democrats started the campaign fund with a contribution of five thousand dollars, 47 and in the majority party the contributions were larger; 48 but in 1912 and 1914 the largest Republican contribution was one thousand dollars. 49 The party treasury is subject to those influences which affect party strength at the polls. In 1908 the Democrats had great difficulty in getting contributions, but there were three or four times as many contributors to the Republican fund as ever before. 50 Before 1904 the party managers seldom made public appeals for contributions; the small donation was rarely sought or received, and even since 45 The Ingham County grand jury reported in 1908 that the payment by senatorial candidates of the election expenses of candidates for the legislature was a "very common practice" (Lansing State Republican, March 16, 1908). In a conversation which I had with Ex-senator Burrows shortly before his death, he stated that he had never assisted legislative candidates in their campaigns. 46 Detroit Free Press, September 2, 1908. 47 Ibid., August 20, 1886. 48 Ibid., November 3, 1908. 49 Detroit News, October 16, 1912. Statement for 1914 in Ionia County clerk's office. 50 Detroit Free Press, November 3, 1908. 138 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [574 1904 it has been emphasized chiefly by the Democrats. 51 In 1908, an exceptionally good year for the Republicans, the party had about five hundred individual contributions, but in 1914 it had only sixty-three. In that year of topsy- turvy politics the Democrats had more than 1925 contrib- utors, 957 of whom gave one dollar or less. 52 It seems impossible to secure definite information in regard to cor- poration contributions, but it is probable that corporations gave substantial amounts to both parties. The Michigan Central Railroad was in this respect most generous. 63 Prior to 1913 there was no intelligent or effective legis- lation on party finances. The law of 1891 prohibited any contribution of money for any purpose except to defray the expenses of printing and circulating handbills and other papers or to convey sick or infirm electors to the polls, 54 provisions which had the effect, not of preventing other expenditures or contributions for other expenditures, but of forcing the party managers to enter all receipts and dis- bursements under the head of printing and circulating documents. 55 The legislature of 1893 greatly extended the list of permissible expenses, and made it illegal to contribute money for other purposes than to defray these expenses. These laws had little if any effect on contributions. From the presidential campaign of 1904 resulted an aroused public interest in campaign finance, and Democrats and reforming Republicans demanded publicity. At the close of the campaigns of 1904 and 1908 the chairman of the Democratic state committee prepared a statement of receipts and disbursements and sent it to members of the central committee, to contributors, and to candidates; 56 61 Detroit Free Press, August 3, 1906. 62 Statement in Ingham County clerk's office. M Detroit Free Press, September 13, i9o6;.Detroit Tribune, May 29, 1902. 64 Public Acts, 1891, No. 190. 55 Senate Journal, 1893, pp. 49-50. "Free Press, April 12, 1908. In 1908 the Democratic national committee had taken advanced ground, resolving to accept no contri- butions from corporations and none above ten thousand dollars, to publish before the election all above one hundred dollars, and to accept none above one hundred dollars within three days of the election (Democratic National Convention Proceedings, 1908, pp. 368-373). 575] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 139 but in both campaigns the Republicans refused to publish the names of their contributors. In 1912, candidates promised legislation on the subject of campaign finance ; 57 and for the first time in the history of Michigan, party officials published the names of campaign contributors, this action being taken at intervals during the campaign by the Progressives and by the Democrats. 68 The corrupt practice act of I9I3, 59 now in force, provides for the filing of sworn and itemized statements of con- tributions ; prohibits the giving of a campaign contribution to any person not a candidate or a member of a political committee; forbids the giving, accepting, or accounting of any gift in the name of any person not actually supplying the money; makes anonymous contributions unlawful; and declares corporation contributions in any form or in any manner illegal. Contributions are still received from individuals connected with corporations, and it is believed that they have the same intent and effect as when made in the name of the corporation. Michigan legislation has not put any limit to the amount of individual contributions. Money has been raised to some extent by collections and subscriptions at conventions and public meetings, a Dem- ocratic state convention in 1912 subscribing fifteen hundred dollars 60 and a Progressive state convention in 1913 forty-two hundred dollars. 61 Data for estimating the total expenditure in campaigns are from the nature of the case unsatisfactory. It is true that the general election law of 1891 provided that state- ments of expenditure should be filed within twenty days after the election by the chairmen of committees and by candidates, those within the county with the county clerk and those in political divisions larger than counties with the secretary of state. 62 The law was ineffective, although it 87 Detroit News, August 23, 1912. 68 Ibid., October I, 13, 1912. 69 Public Acts, 1913, No. 109. 60 Detroit News, September 27, 1912. 81 Ibid., February 20, 1913. 62 Public Acts, 1891, No. 190. I4O PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [576 was observed, at least formally, by committees and can- didates of the State and the district better than by those of the counties. 63 The meaning of the law with respect to item- ization was not clear, and as a result most of the statements filed give the expenditures in a lump sum. No serious attempt was made to enforce the law or to prosecute those who ignored it; and, as there was little public interest in expenditure, the statements became purely voluntary and in many cases were carelessly drawn and incomplete. 64 The provisions for publicity of expenditure were repealed in I9OI. 65 The corrupt practice act of 1913 restricts the expenditure of candidates to twenty-five per cent of one year's emolu- ments of the office sought, but places no limit on the dis- bursements of committees. It requires every party com- mittee to appoint a treasurer who shall receive, keep, and disburse the campaign fund, and specifically enumerates legitimate objects of expenditure. It prescribes that within twenty days after the general election every treasurer and every candidate shall file with the clerk of the county of residence a sworn and itemized statement of receipts, dis- bursements, and unpaid debts. Although the law appears to make adequate provision for the enforcement of the act, there is widespread doubt as to the completeness and accuracy of the statements. 66 A few politicians favor a plan of state payment of campaign expenses, but there is no general demand in Michigan for this innovation, although 63 At the end of the time limit in 1892 forty-one candidates in Wayne County had obeyed the law, while eighty-nine had not (Detroit Tribune, November 29, 1892). 64 Detroit Free Press, November 22, 1894. Mr. Perry Belmont called this Michigan law "comparatively deficient and ineffective" (North American Review, February, 1905). As to other characterizations of this law see Gregory, Corrupt Use of Money in Politics, p. 15. A newspaper writer estimated in 1894 that some of the statements were cut down to twenty-five per cent of the actual amounts (Detroit Free Press, No- vember 22, 1894). 66 Public Acts, 1901, No. 61. 88 One county secretary thinks that it is impossible to make them accurate. I have not considered it necessary to discuss the federal laws relating to the campaign finances of congressional and senatorial candidates, the first of which was enacted in 1910. Stat. L., vol. 36, p. 83; vol. 37, pt. i, pp. 27-28. 577] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 141 the State has already assumed some functions which form- erly belonged to partisan campaigning; for example, the printing and distribution of ballots. Campaign Expenditure. The provisions of the general election law of 1891 restricting legitimate objects of ex- penditure to the printing and circulating of literature and the conveying of sick and infirm electors to the polls were generally recognized as ridiculous and futile. On the rec- ommendation of Governor Rich who urged that, although it seemed wise to specify for what objects money might be expended, all legitimate objects be permitted the legis- lature of 1893 legalized the following objects of expenditure: office or hall rent, postage, stationery, clerk hire, music at public meetings, speakers, transportation of committee- men, challengers, persons to inspect the registration of voters, the preparation of lists of voters in the election precincts, the printing and circulating of literature, and the conveyance of electors to the polls. 67 A statement of expenditures of the Republican county committee in the Wayne County campaign of 1892 is the most detailed statement available for the early years and is probably fairly typical. 68 About one fourth of the total expenditure of $4322.92 was for printing; the remainder was for the following items, which are arranged in the order of amounts disbursed: postage and mailing circulars and newspapers, rent of halls, detective service, speakers, banners and torches, challengers, office expense, canvassing illegal registrations, equipping clubs, schools of instruction for voters, bands and music, attorneys' fees, receiving re- turns at headquarters, livery-stable bills, stereopticon, and R. L. Polk and Company's directory. A large part of cam- paign expenditure has always been for the payment of work- ers, and for subsidies of various kinds, for cigars, drinks, and other forms of entertainment, and for the outright purchase of votes, items which are not found in formal statements and are naturally difficult to appraise with any degree of accuracy; but in a county like Wayne in 1892 or 1896 it is 67 Public Acts, 1893, No. 202. 68 Detroit Tribune, November 29, 1892. 142 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [578 probable that any one of the three items named would amount to as much as all the others combined. 69 The county committee at that time also spent some money in the naturalization of foreigners and in the payment of salaries. To illustrate the devious ways in which money may be used to influence votes methods which are not acknowledged in sworn statements or newspaper interviews one who helped to manage the Republican campaign in 1896 relates that in that year money from the Republican national committee repaired every Roman Catholic church in Monroe County. It has been the general belief of poli- ticians that the Polish Catholics vote as their priests advise. Moreover a suspicion at times gained currency that money collected for a campaign fund was used by the county com- mittee in the party primaries to perpetuate its own power. 70 There is unfortunately no record of the items of expenditure in the interesting state campaigns of 1892 and i896. 71 In 69 " In close campaigns in doubtful districts, by far the largest part of the funds goes for the direct or indirect purchase of voters" (J. W. Jenks, "Money in Practical Politics," in Century Magazine, vol. 44, p. 942ff). 70 Detroit Tribune, October 27, 1892. 71 A statement of the Republican state central committee in 1898 gives the general objects of expenditure and the amounts disbursed as follows:* Speakers, travelling expenses, hotel bills, etc $3102.89 Literature, printing, and advertising 2435.55 Office expenses 1040.92 Postage 897.00 Telegraph 320.62 Expressage on literature 291.1 1 Telephone 111.22 Total $8199.31 For comparison I add the report of the Democratic state central com- mittee in 1912 : b Advertising and hall rent $41 10.91 Administration expenses 357-4 Printing and engraving 1 167.38 Telegraph 817.94 Speakers 726.39 Supplies 619.64 Postage 560.00 Expressage 358.1 1 Miscellaneous 286.81 Telephone 158.69 Total $12352.69 ' Statement filed with secretary of state. b Detroit News, February 14, 1913. 579] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 143 other reports the items are so general that a comparison of them has little significance. 72 Present-day managers have pretty generally discarded various objects of expenditures considered in the nineties essential to successful campaigning; for example, banners, distribution of newspapers, torches, uniforms, the equip- ment of clubs, buttons, parades, jollifications, ratifications, vehicles on election day, and schools for voters. But on the other hand such items as newspaper advertising, automobile hire, cards, cuts, posters, employment of stenographers, salaries, and films are either new or relatively more im- portant. Changed methods of campaigning have been oc- casioned by legal restrictions, new inventions, rural free delivery, and rising standards of public morality and in- telligence. In the statements of individual candidates the principal items prior to 1900 were assessments, printing, postage, advertising, stationery, and travelling. Individual candi- dates at the present time spend most largely for advertising. 73 In campaigns for petty township and ward offices the chief expenditures have been for cigars and drinks, dispensed customarily after the election; and in the rare instances when the township committee handles any money its ex- penditures are for canvasses, challengers, and conveyances on election day. 72 Preliminary to the 1915 election of supreme court justices and university regents apparently the only campaign material that the Republicans used was 192 pages of boiler-plate. 73 Fairly typical in its items, although exceptionally large in its totals, is the statement of a Republican candidate for probate judge in Wayne County in 1914: advertising, $815.95; postage, $308; printing, $232.07 ; stationery, $41 ; assessment to city committee, $25 ; distributing cards, $13; banners, $10.30; hall rent, $10; cuts, $6; photographs, $3-75; addressing envelopes, $2; making a total of $1467.07. This account in its distribution of expenditures does not differ much except as to banners and flags from the statement of a Republican candidate for sheriff sixteen years before, who spent for printing and advertising $1000; for an assessment to the county committee, $800; for banners and flags, $600; for bills and posting, $120; and for miscellaneous, $300; a total of $2820 (Detroit Tribune, November 29, 1898). A Republican candidate for county treasurer, however, in the same cam- paign spent out of a total of $1603.38 little if anything for banners and flags(ibid., November 17, 1898). 144 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [580 According to the corrupt practice act of 1913, candidates for nomination or for election and political committees are permitted to make no disbursements except for travelling expenses and incidental personal expenses, for printing, stationery, advertising, postage, expressage, freight, tele- graph, telephone, and public messenger service, for dissemi- nation of printed information, for political meetings, dem- onstrations, and conventions, for the rent, maintenance, and furnishing of offices, for the payment of clerks, type- writers, stenographers, janitors, and messengers, for the employment of the legal number of challengers, for the payment of public speakers and musicians and their travel- ling expenses, for copying and classifying election registers or poll lists, investigating the right of persons so listed or registered to vote and conducting proceedings to purge the registers and lists and prevent improper or unlawful regis- tration or voting, for making canvasses of voters, for con- veying infirm or disabled voters to and from the polls, and for the employment of counsel. While a large number of statements of expenditure were filed between 1891 and 1901 and a number have been published officially or unofficially since 1901, it is neverthe- less extremely difficult to reach any conclusion as to totals of expenditure. Taking the statements of committees at their face value, we see that the Republican state committee spent more in 1896 than in any subsequent campaign, and that the Democrats disbursed more than twice as much in 1892 as in any campaign since that time. 74 According to 74 The expenditures of the state committees, as far as I have been able to secure them from official and unofficial sources, were as follows: Year Republican Democratic 1892 $40,641.32 $46,286.92 1893 2,l66.0O 1894 19,677.48 10,330.00 1895 1,665.62 1896 60,332.28' 6,775.00" 1897 2,6OO.OO 1898 8,199.31 igOO 38,715.14 1901 974-34 1902 20,000.00 1904 40,000.00 58 1 ] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 145 the statements the Wayne County Republican committee spent its maximum in 1894, the Democratic committee in i892. 75 The expenditures of individual candidates were larger in the nineties. A successful candidate for the supreme bench of the State in 1892 spent $4048.25 in addi- tion to an expenditure by his committee of $7844.95. A Republican candidate for sheriff in Wayne County in 1894 spent $8185.05. The Republican candidate for governor in 1896 reports that he spent $4356, and the candidate in 1900, $4657.80; the Democratic candidate for governor in 1894 admitted that he invested $3534.54 in the venture, and an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for state treasurer in 1892 disbursed $5000. Congressional candidates in 1892 and 1894 spent as high as $4000. These are extreme, not average, expenditures; but the most extravagant candidates spend no such amounts nowadays. The Republican candi- date for sheriff in Wayne County in 1914 spent $451.49; the most prodigal congressional candidate in 1912 spent only $2720.57 and in 1914 only $2329.50; the average ex- penditure of Republican congressional candidates was in 1912 $1138.63 and in 1914 $942.24. 76 To estimate the total amount spent by all candidates and committees would be a hopeless task. A newspaper writer, however, estimated in 1892 that the total amount 1908 30,000.00 12,624.40 1910 5,000.00 1912 50-60,000.00 12,352.69 1914 8,331.03 19,889.72 1915 1,104.38 35 2 -oo * The Gold Democrats spent $14,598.48. b The Populist central committee spent $896.31 and the Union Silver central committee, $1123.30. According to A. J. Lacey, the Democratic treasurer in 1912, the Democrats spent $10,600 in 1904 and $7500 in 1908 (Detroit News, October 13, 1912). In his opinion the Republicans spent more than $90,000 in 1914 and at least that amount in 1908 (ibid.). The Republi- can figures for 1902, 1904, 1908, and 1912 are those furnished by men who were in charge of the finances in those years. 76 The Republican expenditure in 1894 was $5280.34 and the Demo- cratic in 1892, $5492.92. In 1896 the Kent County Republican com- mittee spent $6400. 78 The expenditures in 1914 of the county committees and the five principal county candidates in the two typical counties which I have cited before are given in the following table: 10 146 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [582 spent by candidates and committees in Wayne County was about $52,000, of which about half had been reported in sworn statements, 77 an expenditure of about one dollar for every man who voted in the county in that election. In 1914 the expenditure in Calhoun County by Republican, Democratic, and Progressive candidates was less than fifty cents per vote. A comparison, therefore, of the reported expenditures, with a consideration of the fact that understatement was more general in the nineties than now and that secret expenditure was much greater at that time, warrants the conclusion that on the whole, campaign expenditure is much less at the present time, and this in spite of the fact that there has been an increase in population and in cost of living and a decrease in the number of those newspapers which formerly circulated an immense amount of ex parte campaign argument. This .decrease in expenditure is due, in the first place, obviously to the fact that committees have not had the money to spend, contributions having in general been less. Publicity of campaign contributions and the prohibition of corporation gifts have tended to curtail campaign finances. Of like effect has been the general decline in partisanship; a more sober and discriminating public sentiment has made useless various methods of cam- paigning which were as expensive as they were picturesque ; secret expenditure and graft have diminished; financial operations have become more business-like, more efficient, and less wasteful ; and in the opinion of some the passing of the money question and the decline of the tariff as political Office Ingham Washtenaw Rep. Dem. Rep. Dem. County commissioner Sheriff $1,961.59 306.49 255-00 276.56 418.25 343-42 $1, 12I.I6 287.IO 88.48 88.il 365-07 133.82 $1,484.25 6CK).OO 160.65 298.41 276.60 293-95 $819.34 511.27 154.30 247-53 258.45 247.85 Prosecuting attorney Clerk Register of deeds Treasurer 77 Detroit Tribune, November 29, 1892. 583] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 147 issues rob the Republicans of revenue-raising weapons. After eliminating waste and corruption, however, it is not certain that a further decrease in campaign expenditure is desirable ; for if campaigns are educative the cost which they entail may be looked upon as a good rather than as an evil. Accounting. The party organization, especially in the counties, formerly exercised an extremely loose supervision over its finances. Prior to 1913 the legal requirements for publicity did not necessitate exactitude in accounting; and as the party and its candidates looked chiefly for results and paid slight heed to the means used to achieve these results, most persons in and out of the organization were indifferent to questions of financial control. 78 Cash con- tributions were handed to the chairman or to other party workers, and lack of responsibility as well as the large amounts handled furnished ample opportunity for graft. Occasionally charges of misuse of funds reached the news- papers. Candidates and committeemen were the victims of various kinds of appeals, such as those of church and charitable societies for subscriptions, of the Michigan Re- publican Newspaper Association for assistance, of the Progressive Colored Voters' League for the wherewithal to swing the vote of the negroes, or of one of the "boys" for ten or fifteen dollars to assist in delivering votes. 79 When money was being used freely many of these boys lived on the subsidies which they secured from the politicians. The corrupt practice act of 1913 not only made illegal the demoralizing practice of hiring personal workers, but also expressly prohibited solicitation by religious, charitable, or social organizations of any donation, any purchase of tickets, or any similar requests made of candidates for nomi- nation or election. Waste in expenditure is known to have been enormous. Accounting, such as it was, was more careful in presidential than in off-year campaigns. The state committee always had a treasurer and usually a bookkeeper. "My accounts "Detroit Tribune, March 19, 1896. 79 Ibid., February 6, March 28, 1891; Detroit News, October 18, 1910. 148 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [584 were kept as carefully as the books of a bank," declares a Republican ex-treasurer. "Even money for postage was paid out on voucher." Since 1904 financial management has greatly improved; and in this respect the effect of the corrupt practice act of 1913 as exhibited in the campaign of 1914 has been marked, the financial statements of the two central committees, especially that of the Democratic, giving evidence of precise and conscientious accounting and reporting. In this campaign both committees had expert bookkeepers. The county committees have frequently dispensed with a treasurer and have rarely employed a bookkeeper. But in county and state organizations alike the trend is toward more careful accounting, more economical expenditure, and greater observance of the law. It is needless to say that the financial operations of party organizations have yielded deficits rather than surpluses, and the cancelling of debts has been one of the recognized responsibilities of the chair- man. 80 Even at the end of the 1912 campaign, after having spent about sixty thousand dollars, the Republicans had a deficit of seven thousand dollars. 81 Sometimes a com- mittee with a surplus has turned over its balance to a less fortunate committee of the same community; for even in the days of frenzied finance, campaigns were sometimes closed with a substantial balance. 82 80 Detroit Tribune, March 6, 1901. The figures which follow are derived from newspaper reports which are greatly exaggerated and admittedly worthless as to specific cases, but which are, nevertheless, suggestive of the general condition. The Democratic victory in 1890, according to these reports, cost Chairman Campau $28,000, and in other campaigns he is said to have paid bills amounting to many thousands. After one campaign Senator McMillan is reported to have paid bills for the Republicans aggregating $27,000, and in 1901 a Tribune re- porter estimated that politics had cost the senator approximately $400,000. A former private secretary of the senator considers this estimate ridiculously exaggerated. 81 Detroit Free Press, December 30, 1914. 82 At the end of the 1896 campaign the Republicans had a surplus of $3000 (Detroit Tribune, November 20, 1896). They began the 1910 contest with a balance of about $1600 (Detroit News, October 9, 1910). After the April election in 1915 the Republicans had a balance of $645.62, and the Democrats one of $975 (Detroit Free Press, May 17, 1916), but at the opening of the 1916 campaign the Republican com- mittee was in debt about $4000 (ibid., May 4, 1916). 585] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 149 Speaking, A most important feature of political cam- paigns has been public speaking, and in this the Republicans of Michigan have easily surpassed the Democrats. With respect to this feature the 1896 campaign was epochal, enlisting a greater number of speakers than any subsequent contest and introducing into politics many young men who have since attained high office. 83 In that campaign the speaking was not only quantitatively exceptional but qualitatively of a high order. In a presidential campaign speaking has usually begun in September and in a state campaign about the first of October, reaching its maximum intensity during the final week. The purpose of speaking is not so much to convince and convert unbelievers as to hold the party members in line, harmonize local differences, and arouse partisan enthusiasm. The speaker is not so much an advocate as an ambassador. Managers usually avail themselves of three classes of speakers: candidates, local volunteers, and speakers from other States. Many local "spellbinders" have been brought out by party clubs; 84 some confine their activity to a ward, a city, a county, or a district, and others stump the whole State. Clubs with headquarters in Detroit, like the Republican Michigan Club, offer speakers to the party committees. 85 The Re- publican state committee has had a speakers' bureau which has taken charge of the securing and scheduling of speakers for the state campaign; 86 in Wayne the Republican county committee has sometimes had a committee on speakers; 87 and in other counties the chairman or the secretary has usually made arrangements for meetings. The scheduling of speakers has never been an easy task, influenced as it is by local social, religious, racial, and economic conditions; and assignments made by the state committee have often been displeasing to county or city politicians. 83 One of the United States senators and a congressman in 1915 were men who began campaign speaking in 1896. 84 Detroit Tribune, January 12, 1888, October 6, 1898. 86 Ibid., September 22, 1898; Detroit Free Press, November 18, 1908. 89 Detroit Free Press, September 10, 1896; Detroit Tribune, Septem- ber 1 8, 1894. 87 Detroit Tribune, October I, 1896, November 3, 1898. I5O PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [586 The state committee has rarely rejected speakers sent by the national committee, 88 although in a recent campaign the Republican managers received with no special en- thusiasm an unlucky assortment of "lame ducks" from States which had gone Democratic. Differences are adjusted and conflicts avoided by conferences or corre- spondence, in the first place between the national and the state managers and in the second place between the state and the county managers. If not consulted beforehand, the county is notified when a speaker is scheduled to appear within the county, and the local organization is expected to provide hall, advertising, and entertainment. The national committee has usually arranged the itineraries of especially distinguished speakers like Bryan, Roosevelt, Taft, or Wilson, often after a report from the state chairman as to the places where he desired the speaker to stop; and the state committee has paid expenses within the State. 89 In the campaign of 1896 the Republicans had two hundred and twenty speakers, one hundred and twenty furnished by the state committee and one hundred by the national committee. 90 Twelve years later the Republicans had only fifty speakers, few of whom came from outside the State; 91 and yet in that campaign, which was comparatively quiet, four hundred and twenty-four Republican meetings were held in Wayne County under the auspices of the county organization. 92 In 1912 the Republicans had about the same number of speakers as in 1908 and probably even fewer from outside. 93 Candidates for office, unless without means or outside their own candidacies, have usually spoken without pay, 94 and often in addition have defrayed their own travelling 88 In 1896 the Republican state committee rejected at least one man, a resident of Michigan, whom Hanna proposed to assign to the State. 89 Detroit Tribune, August 26, September 6, 1900. 90 Detroit Free Press, November 3, 18, 1908. 91 Ibid., August 25, November 3, 1908. 92 Ibid., November 18, 1908. 93 Detroit News, October 30, 1912. 94 Detroit Free Press, September 15, 1896. For an exception see ibid., August 27, 1908. 587] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 151 expenses. Paid speakers, more often Republican than Democratic, have received from ten to fifteen dollars a night and expenses. 95 Bryan's tour of the State in 1900 is said to have cost seven hundred dollars, 96 and Governor John- son's expenses in 1912 totalled five hundred dollars; 97 but if we may believe the newspapers a special train through the State in 1896 cost the Gold Democrats five thousand dollars. 98 In general, expenditure for speakers appears to have steadily decreased. According to its treasurer the Democratic state organization in 1912 did not have a single paid speaker in the field. 99 Public speaking has apparently lost much of its popularity and effectiveness. Automobiles have introduced a kind of "pop-gun" campaigning, in which a large number of in- formal, quiet, outdoor gatherings have taken the place of the great rousing rallies of former electoral struggles. Nowadays the candidate or the stump speaker seeks out the voter, who has become more sophisticated, less partisan, and less amenable to mass influences. The decline of campaign speaking may be attributed to a variety of in- fluences; namely, the apparent absence in recent campaigns of clear-cut party principles ; the growth of independence in politics, with a disinclination on the part of the voter to be dictated to; the rise of socialism, providing intellectual satis- faction to many who formerly attended party meetings; the direct primary with its somewhat wearisome and con- fusing speaking campaign; new means of transportation, with a multiplying of small meetings; the increase of counter- attractions ; and finally the completeness and attractiveness of the modern newspaper and magazine as a medium of political instruction. There has been a marked tendency for newspapers to become independent in politics; 100 ac- cordingly as a medium of instruction they appear to be 95 Detroit Free Press, August 27, November 3, 1908. Cf. ibid., July 21, 1916. 96 Detroit Tribune, October 2, 1900. 97 Detroit News, September 10, 1912. 98 Detroit Tribune, November II, 1896. 99 Detroit News, October 13, 1912. 100 See above, page 14. 152 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [588 safer and more adequate, at the same time ceasing editori- ally or in their news columns to urge the voter to attend particular meetings. Demonstrations. Consonant with recent tendencies, the more spectacular methods of campaigning barbecues, pole-raisings, ratifications, and jollifications have passed to the limbo of things political. 101 In the campaign of 1892 pole-raisings were numerous and were encouraged by the state central committees; 102 but in 1896 they were com- paratively infrequent and in 1898 had become a rarity. In 1892 and to a lesser degree in 1896 important meetings and rallies were preceded by parades of loyal partisans, especially of the party clubs, many being mounted, uni- formed, and equipped with torch-lights, emblems, and transparencies. According to a Tribune report, probably exaggerated, one parade in Detroit in 1896 cost fifty-five thousand dollars. 103 By 1904, however, the torch-light as a political argument had apparently joined the hickory pole and the roast ox; 104 and party parades are now rarely employed. Ratification meetings, held usually under the auspices of party clubs and having for their purpose the public endorse- ment of the nominees by the rank and file of the party, were almost universal in 1888 and 1892, but after 1896 little is heard of them. 105 After-election ratifications, taking the form of jollifications or "blow-outs," were celebrations of victory characterized by long and incongruous processions, humorous transparencies, red fire, Roman candles, and ear-splitting noise. Michigan saw and heard many Demo- cratic jollifications in 1892 ; but the Republicans in 1896 and afterward held scarcely any of these collective outbursts of partisan jubilation. 106 101 A barbecue was planned for the great Roosevelt rally at Battle Creek, in 1916. 02 Detroit Tribune, October 21, 1892. 103 Ibid., November 10, 1896. 104 For a notice of one, see Grand Rapids Herald, October 21, 1904. See also Detroit Free Press, November 3, 1908. As is well known, the parade and the torch-light were again in evidence in 1916. 106 There were not many in 1896 (Detroit Free Press July 23, 29, 1896). 106 For an account of a jollification in 1900, see Grand Rapids Herald, November 13, 1900. 589] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 153 Literature. The management of the literary side of the campaign has been much like that of the forensic. Most of the committees, even some of the county committees, have prepared printed material, and the national com- mittee has sent great quantities of literature to the state com- mittee, which through its publicity agent, literary bureau, or secretaries, has redistributed it among the county com- mittees and clubs. Literature has often been sent to the States and then mailed out from campaign headquarters under congressional frank. 107 Occasionally the national committee has sent literature directly to county committees. Probably more literature was distributed in 1896 than in any other campaign; and at the end of that campaign the Republicans, having a surplus, discussed the advisability of continuing their propaganda between campaigns, but they did not do so. 108 Like other features of campaigning there are no adequate statistics in regard to the amount of documentary material used; but near the end of the cam- paign of 1898 the Republican state chairman said that he was sending out eighteen thousand pieces of mail daily. 109 The kinds of printed matter used in campaigns are various; and there is a difference of opinion as to their effectiveness, most politicians agreeing, however, that excerpts from the Congressional Record, used extensively in the nineties, are of little value. Lithographs of the can- didates are still considered necessary; but buttons, which were handed out literally by the bushel in 1896, are now used to a less extent, although thousands of them have been dis- tributed in recent campaigns. Bill-board advertising is a new and popular means of appeal, and every county com- mittee uses hundred of posters as well as other forms of outdoor advertising. Individual candidates mail their personal cards, or have them handed to the voters; and some believe that an attractive circular or a personally signed letter sent directly to the voters is most effective. 107 Detroit Free Press, October 14, 1890, September 19, 1896; Detroit Tribune, October 6, 1902. 108 Detroit Tribune, November 20, 1896. 109 Ibid., October 24, 1898. 154 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [590 To those who can not or will not read the political cartoon makes a powerful appeal. Campaign literature is either sent through the mail or is distributed from house to house. In 1908 the Republican organization in Detroit had from one to ten men in every precinct distributing literature. Newspapers. The most popular form of printed material at the present time, but one which was scarcely used at all twenty years ago, is newspaper advertising. The corrupt practice act of 1913 prohibits the publishing of any paid political matter unless it carries a statement that it is a paid advertisement, and also prohibits payment for editorial advocacy. Previous to this enactment the party managers often bought copies of newspapers and mailed them to the voters, sent in subscriptions to party newspapers in the name of doubtful voters, furnished large quantities of boiler-plate free, 110 and in some cases probably assisted newspapers by direct money subsidies. In return the newspaper devoted its columns to party service, made no charge for political notices and advertising, 111 and sent out sample copies during the campaign. Early in the nineties there were many recognized party organs, and newspapers in general were much closer to the party organizations than they are now. Campaign managers clearly perceived the power of the newspaper. "The local party newspaper is the campaigning strength of the party," said a circular of the Republican national committee in 1892; and a Repub- lican editor who later became governor declared in 1894 that "the party newspaper ... is to-day the greatest weapon with which political battles are waged." 112 In 1888 the Michigan Republican Editorial League was organized; in 1893 the Associated Democratic Press of Michigan. 113 With the shattering of party ties in 1 896 newspapers became more independent, and party organs have now practically disappeared. 114 Newspaper men are said to be less active 110 Michigan Press Association Bulletin, 1895, p. 35. 111 Ibid. 112 Mr. Chase S. Osborn (Detroit Tribune, April 12, 1894). 113 Ibid., April 12, 1888; Detroit Free Press, March I, 1893. 114 See above, page 14. 59 1 ] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 155 in the party organizations than formerly ; and although political advertising in newspapers is on the increase, there are some who believe that its effectiveness may be destroyed by the editorial policy of the paper in which it appears. Social Campaigning. After all, speeches and literature, while indispensable, have their limitations; and elections are carried by more intimate and less intellectual methods. Politicians agree that where their use is possible nothing can take the place of the personal conversation and the hand- shake. The pen is mighty, but it is not so strong as the campaign cigar. It would be ridiculous to attempt a def- inite estimate of the amount spent in electioneering treat- ing. In Detroit the activities of many candidates consisted and still consist of a journey from one saloon to another. 115 Activities of Candidates. Candidates now are probably no more active in campaigns than formerly, but they are more likely to take a hand in the management of the cam- paign. What a particular candidate will do in a campaign, however, is determined by considerations peculiar to the man, the time, and the locality. As a matter of fact a state campaign is conducted chiefly "on" the head of the ticket, and he is expected to carry the other candidates along with him. In the counties one candidate is about as important to the party as another. "I have to work the hardest," says a county chairman, "for the candidate that I like the least." In the counties the chairman keeps in close touch with the candidates during the campaign; his usual plan is to distribute the candidates about the county and keep them moving from one part to another, meeting the voters personally and appearing on the platform at the big meetings. There is usually at least one social gathering early in the campaign, a picnic, banquet, or smoker, at- tended by the committees, the candidates, and the party workers. The city candidate naturally electioneers more strenu- ously than does the rural. In the last four weeks of the 1908 campaign in Detroit a candidate for mayor addressed 115 W. Macauley, Reclaiming the Ballot, pp. 7-26. 156 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [592 fifty meetings aggregating fifty thousand people, and attended about one hundred dances, church fairs, and socials. This was considered the most strenuous campaign ever made for mayor of Detroit. 116 Workers. During the campaign the manager makes systematic provision for keeping in touch with changes in public opinion. For this purpose he supplements his corps of talkers with a corps of listeners and gatherers of informa- tion who send in reports as to the general drift of opinion, the attitude of the public toward particular candidates, and the probable vote in their districts. The state chairman keeps himself informed of local conditions through district members of the central committee and by means of corre- spondence and conferences with the county organizations; and in the past he has had the county, township, ward, and precinct organizations undertake systematic and com- prehensive canvasses by house-to-house visitation or by the use of postal cards. Formal canvasses were most used in 1896. In that year the Republican state committee made three canvasses of the State, two of the aggregate vote and one of the disaffected vote. 117 In the last canvass, which was considered the most valuable, the central committee received reports from eighteen hundred precincts, which included the names of Democrats who purposed voting for McKinley and of Republicans who inclined toward Bryan. Mr. Campau, who in 1890 was Democratic state chairman, says that he personally visited during that campaign sixty- two counties, in some cases going to different parts of the county. Formal canvasses or polls, however, are expensive and are not now generally believed to be worth the cost. On this account they, like many other campaign practices, have fallen into disuse; but with their abandonment the chairman has not relaxed his efforts to apprehend and follow the drift of public opinion. A good campaign manager usually feels popular opinion by a kind of instinct; but to assist him there is often a special school-district and precinct 118 Detroit Free Press, November I, 1908. 117 Detroit Tribune, October 30, 1896. 593] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 157 organization which is sometimes secret and often wholly outside the county committee. The chief qualifications of precinct workers are knowledge of the political game, ability to make friends, shrewdness, and dependability. They have to be watched closely, for occasionally one sells himself to the other party. In Washtenaw County in 1914 the Democratic organization of workers consisted of about five men in each school-district and ward ; the Republicans had one man in each school-district, appointed by the township committeemen, and twenty-five men in each ward. Another county chairman appointed from one to five men in each township and ward, half talkers and half listeners. 118 Getting out the Vote. The final and perhaps the most important task of this extra organization of workers is to get out the vote on election day; and for this purpose the organization is further strengthened and carefully in- structed. The members of the Michigan Club and of the lesser Republican clubs were expected to work at the polls. 119 Watchers were stationed at the polls with lists of names, which they checked off as fast as the voters cast their ballots. In 1890 the Democratic state chairman's plan for getting out the vote involved the subdivision of coun- ties down to districts comprising not more than two sec- tions of land, each district to be in charge of a good Democrat who would personally see all fellow-partisans in his district and induce them to vote early, and would bring in with teams those not checked off by one o'clock. 120 In 1892, according to a newspaper estimate, the Wayne County Democratic committee had two men in each pre- cinct to get out the vote; in 1901, when the Republicans were unusually well organized for the local campaign, they had in Detroit eight hundred volunteer workers or about seven men in every precinct; 121 and in 1908 the Wayne 118 A Detroit manager of considerable experience believes that mail carriers are the most valuable reporters of public sentiment. 119 Detroit Tribune, February 23, November 3, 1888, October 3, 1890. 120 Ibid., October 21, 1890. 121 Ibid., March 31, 1901. 158 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [594 County Republican Club had five hundred and twenty-five workers at the polls. 122 The plans of the Republican state chairman in 1910 embraced the following details : the organization of precinct "Get out the Vote" clubs, the organization of the State down to four workers in each precinct, and the signing of cards by voters pledging themselves to bring one voter to the polls. 123 Nevertheless, as early as 1896 the use of local workers to get out the vote seems to have declined ; 124 and at the present time in many counties there is no organ- ization at all for that purpose. In Detroit the election-day organizations are made up largely of the candidates' personal machines. Parties in Michigan, on account of their discrepancy in numbers, have not made much effort to get absentee voters home to vote. County chairmen, cooperating with college clubs, have sometimes paid the travelling expenses of students; and a law enacted in 1915 makes it possible for voters in the military service, members of the legislature in attendance at the capitol, commercial travellers, and students to vote by mail. 125 The corrupt practice act of 1913 made the payment of election day workers unlawful. 128 Delivering the Vote. Many of these workers have been paid and are still paid, not for getting out the vote but for delivering the vote. Indeed, payments to get voters to the polls or to hand out cards on election day constituted an evil chiefly because in many cases the payment was simply a bribe to secure the worker's influence and not his legitimate services. When campaign money was plentiful it attracted many "strikers" and "heelers," petty precinct workers, saloon hangers-on, and loafers, who claimed that they could deliver a number of votes and who asked payment for per- 122 Detroit Free Press, November 18, 1908. 123 Detroit News, October II, 1910. 124 Ibid., January 20, 1896. 125 Public Acts, 1915, No. 270. 126 In Kent County, however, Democrats assert that an item of $848.68 charged in the 1914 Republican statement to "the distribution of posters, literature, and banners," was in reality paid to personal workers. 595] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 159 forming this patriotic duty. They were willing to sell their influence to either side or to both sides. A Grand Rapids politician believes that in that city there are from three hundred to five hundred men who receive money for de- livering votes, each receiving twenty or twenty-five dollars for his services. The rural and semiurban counties of the lower peninsula have been pretty free from this species of graft; but in Detroit and to a less extent in Grand Rapids and in the upper peninsula there are not only many strikes on the part of men who have no power to influence votes, but there are many voters actually controlled by saloon- keepers or other petty politicians. 127 I have already shown how the controlled vote in Detroit is used in the primary to nominate weak candidates in the opposition party and to aid in electoral manipulation. A recent writer in the Detroit News 128 estimates that one hundred of the two hundred and three precincts are con- trolled more or less completely, and that twenty or thirty of them are crooked precincts ; that is, that they are delivered for money. The secretary of the Detroit Civic League, Mr. Pliny W. Marsh, states more conservatively that "there are supposed to be forty such controlled precincts." 129 The chief controlling influences are the saloons, of which there are in Detroit nearly fourteen hundred; and it is the general opinion of politicians that every saloon will swing on an average ten votes, making a total controlled vote of about fourteen thousand. A Detroit city official makes the interesting computation that a man's reelection depends on three factors in about the following ratio: personal popu- larity, fifty per cent; control of the precincts, thirty per cent; and efficiency, twenty per cent. Accepting the above estimate of the controlled vote as a fair one, it will 127 The hurtful influence of the saloon in elections was recognized in the first ballot act of 1889, which provided that elections should not be held in saloons and that no liquors should be brought into the polling- place. Later laws have provided that saloons shall be closed on elec- tion days. 128 January 3, 1916. 129 Government by Controlled Precincts, Pamphlet published by Detroit Citizens' League. Cf. Detroit Free Press, July 25, 1916. l6o PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [596 be seen that it is large enough to hold the balance of power in most city, county, and district elections and in some state elections. 130 From the fact that vote control is exercised through the saloon may be inferred the social character of the controlled districts. Many of them are river precincts, dominated by the saloon and the cheap lodging-house and populated by a mass of itinerant dock and ship laborers and others, who are "floaters" in a double sense. The most notorious of the river precincts is Billy Boushaw's, the first precinct of the first ward, in which practically every vote was controlled in the primary and the election of I9I4. 131 Boushaw runs a saloon and a lodging-house, which together form a sort of quasi-charitable institution for floaters, who are frankly and gratefully willing to vote as Boushaw wants them to. The third, fifth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh wards, with the largest controlled vote, are likewise the wards with the most foreign-born and illiterate voters. The ninth ward, for example, which the secretary of the Civic League classes with the wards which are "pretty nearly hopeless," had in 1910 out of 6639 males of voting age 2016 illiterates and only 883 native whites of native parentage. It is worth remembering also that 50.2 per cent, or a little over one- half, of the males of voting age in Detroit are foreign-born, and of these 12.4 per cent are illiterate. In the upper peninsula, where the foreign-born and the illiterate are numerous, there has been a pretty thorough control exercised by the mining interests and the saloons. According to a Democratic politician of good standing, representatives of the mining interests told the Democrats in 1908 that they would like to deliver the foreign vote to Hemans, the Democratic candidate for governor, and to Taft; but they were afraid that if they tried to do so the whole vote would go to Hemans and Bryan, since the voters were too ignorant to split their tickets. Although it is true that at times the controlled precincts 180 Detroit News, January 5, 1916. 131 See above, page 106. 597] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE l6l vote for different candidates and to some extent neutralize one another, they are in most cases pretty thoroughly unified and throw their entire strength to one side. Prob- ably the chief unifying factor is the Royal Ark, an organ- ization of retail liquor dealers, which appoints ward captains and endorses candidates. 132 In the price paid for the precinct the saloon license is usually an item ; in addition there may be a money payment or a petty job. 133 The chief Democratic politician and reputed leader of the bipartisan combination is a judge of the Recorder's Court, a man eminently respectable in private life and in some respects a man of ideals in public life; his chief henchman, the chairman of the Democratic county committee, is a young lawyer who handles an exceptionally large number of criminal cases; and, according to an ex-prosecutor of Wayne County, eighty-eight per cent of the criminals are connected in some way with the saloons. Of course there is nothing formal with respect to the ar- rangements for controlling and delivering the precinct vote. The candidate may frequent the saloons, not necessarily to drink but to make friends and to "set 'em up"; there may be a tacit understanding that favors on election day will be rewarded later; and word may be passed along that .he is "right" and a "good fellow." On election day there are four chief methods of influencing and delivering the vote: friendly persuasion, bribery, assis- tance in marking ballots, and fraud on the part of the election board. Bribery diminished greatly with the adop- tion of the secret ballot, 134 and has since steadily decreased ; but it still persists among the foreign-born, the negroes, the illiterate, and the morally submerged. The buying of votes 132 In the primary campaign of 1916 it endorsed candidates for governor and lieutenant-governor. "The Royal Ark the organized booze ring of Detroit is the most vicious factor in our politics today; not satisfied with Detroit control they want to run the state of Michigan" (Political advertising of F. B. Leland, newspapers, August 28, 1916). 133 Detroit has issued twice as many saloon licenses as the state law permits. 134 For instances of early bribery in Michigan, see Jenks, pp. 945, 947, 949- II 1 62 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [598 in the smaller cities and in the normal counties practically came to an end ten or twelve years ago. Wherever there are many illiterates the assisting of voters in the booth permits the precinct boss to see that the ballots are marked as he wants them marked. In some of the controlled precincts as many as seventy-five per cent of the voters are assisted in marking their ballots, and assisting is now one of the most serious evils in Detroit elections. Prior to 1915 the law provided that any man professing to be illiterate or physically disabled might ask for and receive assistance in marking his ballot by some member of the election board. An improved law passed in 1915 places restrictions on assistance, and prescribes that the assisted voter shall swear either that he cannot read English or that he is physically disabled; that the election officers shall keep a list of the persons assisted, with the reasons for the as- sistance; and that all ballots cast by assisted voters shall be marked for identification, as in the case of a challenged vote. 135 The evil of assisted voting can be minimized by restricting the circumstances under which assistance may be given ; for example, by prohibiting the assisting of any voter not physically disabled, as was proposed by a member of the constitutional convention in 1907, or by insuring the super- vision of the marking of the ballot by a hostile partisan or non-partisan witness. The law has aimed at oversight of assistance by providing that the marking of the ballot should be observed by a challenger of another party. To guard the party's interests at the polls, accordingly, each party, and at times other organizations, have selected chal- lengers, ordinarily one or two for each precinct, the chairman of the party committee providing them with credentials and in some cases assembling them before the election for careful instruction. The challenger's duty was not always simply to check illegal voting, but was also sometimes to bluff and intimidate voters, or by indiscriminate challenging to delay the voting. Bipartisanship in the city of Detroit, however, u * Civic Searchlight (Detroit), May, 1915; Public Acts, 1915, No. 141. 599] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 163 practically made the legal provision for oversight of as- sistance by challengers a dead letter; and the further pro- vision that civic organizations might put challengers in the booths was usually nullified by the refusal of the election board to accept credentials issued by these organizations and by the lack of support on the part of the police. The law of 1915 provides that challengers appointed by civic organ- izations shall present their credentials to the city clerk, who shall send certified copies of the credentials to the election boards. If the police commissioner cooperates in enforcing the new provision it will do much to minimize the evils arising from assistance, as well as other election frauds; if police support is not accorded, civic organization represen- tatives will be excluded from the booths as they have been in the past. A fourth method of delivering the vote is by means of fraud on the part of the election board ; for in the controlled precincts the election board consists very often of the precinct boss and his henchmen. The election board of six members is named at the direct primary, three from each party; and since they count the ballots at the primary as well as at the election they are able by fraud to continue themselves in office almost indefinitely, and the bipartisan character of the boards is of no practical importance. In the general election of 1914 the board in Batty McGraw's precinct, the fourth of the ninth ward, consisted of a saloonkeeper with his two bartenders, another saloonkeeper with his bartender, and a machinist. At the election of 1914 this board practiced apparently every known kind of election-day fraud, including remarking ballots and voting absentees. 136 It is impossible to say to what extent the 13t Government by Controlled Precincts. "Among numerous frauds practiced and of which we had tangible evidence was the changing of marks placed on the ballots by the voter, the marking of ballots for candidates for whom no vote had been cast by the voter, the fraudulent entry of names on the poll-book of men who had not actually voted, the voting of men no longer resident in the city, the illegal marking of bal- lots for the voters by election officers on the ruse that the voter could not himself mark his ballot, and a great variety of others "(Third Annual Report Secretary Detroit Citizens' League, in Civic Searchlight, June, 1 64 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [60O election boards have carried their fraudulent practices, but what happened in McGraw's precinct is typical of what happened in thirty or forty other precincts. Congressman Crampton believes that the defeat of woman suffrage in November, 1912, by the narrow majority of seven hundred and sixty in a total vote of about half a million was due to manipulation by Detroit election boards. 137 A change in the method of selecting election boards has long been demanded and is embodied in a charter amend- ment which was adopted by popular vote at the 1916 pri- mary. This amendment, which was initiated by the Citi- zens' League and formulated by a Citizens' Charter Com- mittee appointed by the mayor, creates a city election commission composed of the city clerk, the corporation counsel, the senior police justice, the recorder, and the president of the civil service commission. This new com- mission will appoint for each election district three regis- trars and three inspectors of elections; the latter must be resident electors " who hold no other public office or em- ployment, and who are of good moral character, able to read fluently and write legibly the English language, who are familiar with the four fundamental rules of arithmetic and who are mentally and physically fit to discharge the duties of their office." 138 The election boards will be chosen by lot from a list of fifteen hundred men. The elec- tion commission will have power to reassign, remove, or prosecute registrars and inspectors, to purge the registration rolls, to change the boundaries of election districts, and to act as a board of city canvassers. The Citizens' League hopes that this charter amendment will abolish the con- trolled precinct; for "it interferes with the activities of the precinct gang by making it impossible for them to know with whom they are to work on election day. ... It aims to prevent frauds being committed instead of permitting them and then attempting to prosecute the guilty parties after- wards." 139 137 Letter of February 8, 1916. 138 Charter Amendment, Sec. III. 139 Civic Searchlight, July, August, 1916. 6OI] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 165 Since the enactment of the first secret ballot act in 1889 conditions surrounding the casting and counting of the ballots have vastly improved. Prior to that law a large amount of party activity was concentrated at the polls. Tickets were printed by the party and distributed at the polls by its workers, votes were bought openly and delivered in full sight of the buyer, and often bogus Republican tickets were circulated by Democrats, or vice versa. 140 The first election after the law was passed was much quieter and more orderly than preceding elections; 141 and the law of 1891, prescribing that ballots should be printed at state expense, brought further improvement. The decline in partisanship, many indications of which have been noted, asserts itself in an increasing number of split tickets. In controlled precincts ticket-splitting may be an evidence of vote-trading, of dependence rather than independence; but outside of these precincts it is in general a sign of healthy discrimination and independent judgment. The attitude of party organizations themselves toward ticket-splitting has changed. In 1888 a Democratic poli- tician in Detroit offered a one hundred dollar silk banner to the ward club polling in its ward the largest number of straight Democratic votes; 142 but in 1912 a Republican county chairman openly told men gathered in public meet- ings how to split their tickets so as to vote for Roosevelt presidential electors and the Republican county candidates ; and what was done openly by this chairman was done under cover by other chairmen. Even the Republican state chairman in 1912 declared that he paid little attention to Taft in that campaign but worked for the election of the state ticket. Twenty years ago Governor Pingree, boasting of his independence in voting and preaching it as a civic duty, was a political freak; but today the public men are numerous who frankly admit that they usually scratch their party ticket. In 1896 the Democratic state chairman com- 140 Detroit Free Press, November 2, 1886, November 5, 1888; De- troit Tribune, November i, 1886. 141 Detroit Free Press, November 5, 1890. 142 Ibid., November 5, 1888. 1 66 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [6O2 puted the number of doubtful voters in Michigan as "close to" fifty thousand; 143 in 1908 about seventy-five thousand voted for the Republican candidate for president and the Democratic candidate for governor; in 1912 there was an extraordinary number of split tickets; and now some poli- ticians make the broad assertion that all voters are doubtful. The Vote. Has the decline in partisanship and in organ- ization resulted in a numerical decrease in the vote? It must be admitted that failure to go to the. polls is not necessarily a neglect of civic duty. The average voter, whether he goes to the polls or not, is indifferent to a large number of names on the ballot, and if he is ignorant of the candidates it is not certain that he discharges his obligations better by voting than by staying at home. A decrease in the vote, moreover, may represent the large number of ignorant or indifferent voters who, in a time of more effective party organizations, voted according to the general drift of opinion or the behests of a party manager rather than according to their own reasoned wills. Furthermore, the stay-at-home vote may be a deliberate, organized, and legitimate method of aiding or injuring a candidate, and may defeat a candidate as it did in 1890. It is not certain, however, that there has been any decrease. There are some influences the effect of which should be to increase the vote; for example, the urbanization of the State, putting a larger proportion of the voters within easy reach of the polling place, and, similar in effect, better roads and the use of automobiles. A definite conclusion, however, is practically out of the question. Prior to 1900 the census reports do not include statistics of the number of potential voters; that is, males over twenty-one, excluding aliens. A comparison between 1900 and 1910 is of little value because 1900 was a presidential year and 1910 an off year, and a year of Republican apathy besides; so the fact that eighty-three per cent of the potential voters went to the polls in 1900 and only fifty per cent in 1910 is not prima facie evidence of much significance. Moreover, the 143 Detroit Tribune, October i, 1896. 603] CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE 167 weather has a marked effect on voting, especially in the rural districts. Nevertheless a comparison of the vote in certain counties and groups of counties is not difficult and yields some suggestive results. PERCENTAGE OF MALES OF VOTING AGE, EXCLUDING ALIENS, VOTING IN THE ELECTIONS OF 1900 AND iQio. 144 1900 1910 Foreign-born and illiterate counties' 84.2 50.2 Native-born and literate counties 6 85.3 57.1 Rural counties 85.4 53.2 Kent County 4 92.8 42.9 Wayne County 6 77.2 45.8 Good wards in Detroit' 47- + Bad wards in Detroit 8 46. + The State 83.5 49.9 *Alger, Baraga, Iron, Mackinac, Cheboygan, Presque Isle, and Schoolcraft. These seven counties had the largest percentage of for- eign-born and illiterate. b Calhoun, Hillsdale, Ionia, Lenawee, Livingston, St. Joseph, and Washtenaw. These seven counties had the smallest percentage of foreign-born and illiterate. c Barry, Clinton, Hillsdale, Lapeer, Livingston, Montcalm, and Van Buren. d Containing the city of Grand Rapids. e Containing the city of Detroit. f The first, second, and seventeenth. g The fifth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh. The percentage voting was higher both in 1900 and in 1910 in the seven counties having fewest foreign-born and illiterates than in the seven counties having the largest number of those persons. The seven counties most pre- dominantly rural had a markedly higher percentage in both elections than had Wayne County, which is the most urban. Kent County, which is also largely urban, outran the rural counties in 1900 but fell behind them in 1910. Altogether the comparison shows that, in these two elections at least, the farmers voted better than the city residents and the literate better than the illiterate. It will be noted also that in 1910 the four worst wards in Detroit cast forty-six per cent of their potential vote. The two best wards, the first and the second, cast only forty-three per cent; but the 144 Cf. W. C. Hamm, "A Study of Presidential Votes," in Political Science Quarterly, vol. xvi, p. 59. 1 68 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [604 seventeenth ward, a district inhabited by men who have given their names to automobiles and who are supposed to be especially remiss in their civic duties, cast fifty-six per cent of its vote and raised the percentage for the three good wards to forty-seven per cent, slightly better than the vote in the bad wards. In six counties, selected on account of their low percentage of foreign-born, their slow growth, and the presumably constant ratio of voters to total population, the highest percentage voting in twelve census years from 1854 to 1910 was in i884, 146 when the percentages were so high that they suggest underenumeration by the census-takers. With the exception of 1890, the year of a close gubernatorial contest, the percentages have always been lower in off years than in presidential years. The lowest percentages were in 1910. 146 On the whole, then, although it is possible that voting in the State is not so general as in the past, the figures which have been presented do not support the common assertion, which casual observation often appears to warrant, that the best citizens do not vote in elections as faithfully as do the worst. 144 The presidential elections of 1888, 1892, and 1896 are not included in the comparison. In 1896 the vote was exceptionally heavy. 148 The following table gives the percentage of the total population in selected counties voting in the census years from 1854 to 1910: Allegan Barry Calhoun Kalamazoo Kent Washtenaw 1854 20 10 17 17 17 17 1860 21 21 22 21 20 22 1864 18 19 20 20 19 21 1870 M H 15 15 14 17 1874 15 15 14 18 14 19 1880 22 24 23 23 22 23 1884 31 37 36 35 34 36 1890 2O 21 19 22 21 21 1894 16 22 16 18 16 22 1900 23 28 25 25 25 22 1904 19 26 21 23 20 22 1910 12 18 13 14 II 19 CHAPTER VII CONCLUSIONS Although the great national party organizations continue quadrennially to persist and to function with apparently almost undiminished vitality, an examination of party activities in Michigan and within its lesser political sub- divisions reveals striking and significant changes. Legislation. Legislation affecting party organizations has passed through five phases: (i) the recognition of the party, implied or expressed in the first primary and ballot laws; (2) the control of elections, the enforcement of secrecy in voting, and governmental assumption of certain party functions at the polls, such as the printing and distribution of ballots; (3) the regulation of various features of the cus- tomary nomination procedure; (4) an awakening to the failure of regulation, and the establishment of a direct method of nomination, including a considerable simpli- fication of procedure, individual initiative in candidacy, governmental supervision of voting, and detailed legal safeguards which are not only included in the primary laws themselves but are also included in special comprehensive corrupt practice acts, all having the purpose of intro- ducing popular control of the parties, on the one hand by means of democratic machinery and on the other hand through the elimination of undemocratic influences; and (5) the cessation of wholesale reforms, the appearance of some signs of reaction, 1 and the beginning of an era char- acterized by the absence of propaganda, denunciation, and excitement, and by the amending and perfecting of old laws, especially of corrupt practice laws, these changes showing on the whole a purpose to encourage the inde- pendence and the free expression of the electorate. 1 See above, page 68. 169 I7O PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [606 During the period, therefore, there has been a steady legislative trend toward governmental control of the party, toward the democratizing of the organization, toward the simplification of party processes, and toward the emancipa- tion of the voter from dependence on the party organization. Besides these laws having to do specifically with nomina- tion and election processes, statutes have been enacted which provide, under limitations which need not be explained here, for commission government in cities and non-partisan municipal elections, for various non-partisan or bipartisan boards, and for the initiative, the referendum, and the recall. The laws to which I have referred had to meet in the process of enactment many difficulties not encountered by ordinary legislation, especially complications arising from the activity of party leaders. To one engaged in drafting an election or a nomination bill a purely objective point of view was impossible; a legislative enactment was looked upon as a factor in the next campaign, as a weapon to use against other parties, or as a piece of machinery to manipu- late. The law of 1891 for the choosing of presidential electors by districts, the anti-fusion act of 1 894, the pres- idential primary law of 1912, and the central committee act of 1913 illustrate this lack of detachment and objectivity. In a class of legislation which seems peculiarly appropriate for preliminary investigation by a commission of experts no commission was ever appointed, and possibly no experts are to be found. The influence of outside leaders on members of the legislature has been opportunistic and unscientific. Moreover laws relating to party organiza- tions have encountered special difficulty in enforcement ; for those who administer the laws are often closely affiliated with those who break them. It appears to be accepted that the act of voting should be secret ; 2 that election machineiy should be controlled by the government; that party finance should be given publicity; that corporations should as far as possible be divorced from party management; that with regard to the election of *Cf. Croly, p. 341. 607] CONCLUSIONS 171 certain officials, for example, judicial, educational, and municipal officers, partisanship should as far as possible be eliminated; and that in general, independence should be encouraged. On the other hand it is still unsettled whether nominations should be direct or indirect ; whether, if direct, the primary should be open or closed ; what officers should be elected and what appointed; to what extent the financial operations of parties should be restricted; and, most fundamental of all, whether the tendency toward the weakening of state party organizations should be assisted or opposed. Furthermore the question how and to what extent nominating methods influence the type and quality of candidates, and whether means may not be devised to induce a better class of men to offer themselves for office, seems a proper subject for legislative discussion ; but this subject, admittedly a delicate one, is seldom if ever mentioned. It is not surprising, therefore, that the results of legislation have been in some respects unexpected and in many respects disappointing. The sophistication and clarification of the public mind, the growing understanding of the place of the party in government, and the awakening civic conscience which this legislation tardily reflected found wholly inadequate ex- pression in internal party reform. In a few cases, it is true, local party organizations attempted to put into effect the principle of direct nominations prior to its adoption by the legislature ; but in general those agencies which are supposed to make public opinion articulate revealed in their structure and practice a most feeble reaction to the prevailing public opinion. Oligarchical Tendencies. 3 This lack ot response to public opinion is largely explained by the tendency of a party to adopt or develop an oligarchical and conservative type of organization. Hardly . one of those features which we commonly associate with the flexibility, the responsibility, and the checks of popular government could have been * Compare a suggestive discussion of oligarchical tendencies within political parties in R. Michels, Political Parties. PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [608 found in the party organizations prior to their legislative reconstruction. They had generally nothing in the nature of a constitution; except with respect to their nominees they paid slight heed to the idea of rotation in office ; control of the primaries and of conventions by office-holders and commit- teemen led to cooptation and long terms ; 4 there was almost no attempt to establish separation of powers ; there were no two-chambered bodies; there was rarely any method of securing popular control by means of initiative, referendum, recall, publicity, submission of official reports, or even removals; party practice rested largely on mass-action and tended, therefore, to necessitate and magnify leadership, and at the same time by means of the unit rule, slates, instructions, the power of the chairman and of committees, and other methods, it effectually stifled individual action; the principle of regularity was a principle of conservatism and tended to preserve the status quo ; party revenues were derived from a few ; the chief check on misgovernment and usurpation, a bolt or an electoral defeat, was imposed on the party from without, was uncertain in effect, and con- stituted at the best a negative and illogical corrective; and, finally, every important selection in the organization was indirect, from one to three times removed from the people, and the personnel of the conventions which performed the selecting function was unrepresentative. The Democratic organization was in most respects as oligarchical as the Republican; and the rare differences which appear in the two organizations were due to the con- trasting philosophies of the two parties, to their difference in numerical strength, or to adventitious circumstances. The minor parties have been more democratic in their internal affairs than have the major parties; their conven- tions have been characterized by a more representative 4 One man dominated the Democratic state organization from 1892 to 1908; and in the Republican organization the chairman and the secretary held office continuously from 1900 to 1910. See above, page 89 and note. 609] CONCLUSIONS 173 membership, 6 greater freedom of individual expression, fewer instructions and fewer slates, less evidence of manipulation and management, and more deliberation and decorum; but these conditions have arisen from the fact that these parties have not attracted professional politicians, wire-pullers, and moneyed men, and have attracted political amateurs with a burning desire for individual utterance. Their conventions, moreover, have been small and in many cases mass conventions. Sometimes, however, conditions in the minor parties resulted from avowed attempts to introduce voluntarily more democratic methods. Their committee systems have been constituted exactly or almost exactly like those of the major parties. 6 It is true that the party primaries under the discredited convention system of nomination were in theory as demo- cratic as the New England town-meeting; but in practice they more nearly resembled an eighteenth century election at Old Sarum. Moreover such campaign features as clubs, barbecues, pole-raisings, rallies, ratifications, and jolli- fications, which have now partly or wholly disappeared, were on the surface evidences of local initiative and popular participation; but in fact they were seldom spontaneous, were often shams, and were usually planned and engineered by the party managers. In the place of what may be termed the natural oli- garchic organization of the party the direct primary laws have introduced artificial democratic machinery. Although they have not deposed the professional manager, they have taken from him his most prized powers and have made him the appointee of the candidate, thus reversing the former relation. Since the candidate is simply a self- assertive individual who steps out of the ranks and gathers around him a following which is one of several factions and often merely a minority of the party membership, his con- 5 In the Peoples', Prohibition, and Socialist parties women have appeared in conventions and committees; in the Prohibition party clergymen have been active; and in Progressive conventions doctors were conspicuous, three classes seldom taking a noticeable part in the work of major party organizations. 6 With the exception of the Socialist Labor party. 174 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [6lO trol is ephemeral and decentralizing and encourages in- subordination. From the point of view of the politician who had under the convention system of nomination op- portunity for secret counsel and for the development of strategic policy, direct nominations are haphazard, in- efficient, and anarchic. Recent legislation has done away with the town-meeting type of self-government by localities and with mass action, and has set up in its place a direct democracy of petitions and ballots. Where there are few contests for nominations, as in the Democratic and minor parties, oligarchical management tends to persist, char- acterized by centralized control of nominations, permanency of tenure of party officials, slight popular participation in the primaries, and the advantages of efficient and tactical management. 7 In the majority party, on the other hand, the people have their way, obtaining results that often dis- satisfy themselves and disgust the politician. The direct primary will not achieve its democratizing purpose if it is capable of yielding in the major parties to the oligarchical tendencies which have appeared heretofore in every party organization. To make impossible the de- velopment of oligarchy it would seem necessary not only to impose new machinery on the party, but also to remove those conditions out of which oligarchical control naturally grows. Among these conditions are human nature and the personal, feudalistic ties of friendship, charity, mutual aid, and patronage; social heterogeneity; the adaptation of party machinery to a variety of political subdivisions; the indifference of the masses to party functions; the multi- plicity of offices; financial resources contributed and spent by a few; and the practical demands of strategy and efficient management. Legislation has greatly restricted the power of those who contribute and spend the party revenue; it ignores for the higher offices political subdivisions like wards, townships, and counties; and it has considerably increased the interest of the rank and file of the party. In so far as it has done 7 See above, page 12 iff. 6ll] CONCLUSIONS 175 these things it has apparently removed some of the root causes of oligarchy. The increasing number of small financial contributions, for example, is an indication of the democratic counter-tendency. But, on the other hand, legislation has not yet grappled with human nature or the personal feudalistic ties; social heterogeneity due to immi- gration and urbanization seems to be increasing rather than decreasing; the ballot is becoming longer rather than shorter; and as long as parties are fighting organizations they tend to develop arrangements best adapted to tactical and efficient management. Where the party is a truly responsible agent in govern- ment the correct theory seems to be that the act of nomi- nation is not only an act of tentative appointment to public office, an appointment subject to popular confirmation, but is also an act of quasi-legislation : the selecting of that which shall be a voice and an embodiment of party principles. Nomination, therefore, viewed from the standpoint of an insider, one who is immediately concerned with party welfare, is a commissioning not so much to do certain things as to represent certain things and to make a particular appeal. In the past a man of commanding personality has sometimes captured a party and impressed his own ideas upon it, and wealthy candidates have bought nominations; but when making their nominations consistently with the logic of party government leaders have preferred a man who could at once speak without the embarrassment of a contra- dictory past that which party traditions and party strategy seemed to demand. The party, when directed by able generals, has usually preferred a conforming man, a regular, sometimes a silent man. Under these conditions the act of nomination is a final act of party policy, the rerooting of an old organization in new electoral soil. A candidate is expected not only to capture an office, but to repair and strengthen the party structure without altering its founda- tions. Moreover, as has been pointed out, the act of nomi- nation is a move on the political battlefield, and is con- ditioned not only by the traditions and the internal re- 176 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [6 1 2 quirements of the party but by the manoeuvres of its enemy. Accordingly government by parties appears to suggest that nomination should not be spontaneous and popular but should be a delegated and specialized function. The work of organization, nomination, and management has demanded and developed specialists with their own dis- tinctive methods, codes of honor, terminology, and short- comings. The present tendency, however, is to drive specialization out of this field, in contrast with the trend in other fields and in other departments of politics toward increasing specialization. The party organization secured its strength, unity, and efficiency at the price of popular control. Recent legislation, in stressing popular control, sacrifices unity and efficiency. The problem of party organ- ization, therefore, if parties are to be preserved, is the problem of reconciling democracy with efficiency. The short ballot in state and local elections will, by doing away with the multiplicity of offices, remove one of the root causes of strong centralized party organization, and in this respect it is strictly in line with other recent legislative tendencies. The numerous elective offices in the State, counties, and cities have been used, like the appointive offices, to reward the party workers ; and the fact that in the case of the elective officers the appointment has been made before the election has been a negligible check on the party leaders, because in most cases the head of the ticket is the only candidate whose subjection to popular criticism and confirmation is anything more than an empty form. 8 These various elective state and county offices have had no necessary relation to the objective realization of party purposes, but have been used to keep a working organization alive and to give it local rooting. If these offices are made appointive instead of elective they may be used somewhat more effectively as rewards, and may stimulate more fealty and industry within the organization, since the payment 8 The Socialists recognize the real location of the appointing power, and carry party government to its logical conclusion when they require their candidates to deposit their resignations with the party officials. 613] CONCLUSIONS 177 will not be made until after the work is done ; but in general their usefulness to the party will be little affected. If the party, however, is deprived by a merit system of the power to give these offices, its resources will necessarily suffer. The short ballot, moreover, in magnifying the importance and the attractiveness of a few elective offices will be likely to encourage contests and factions, to make discriminating voting and the splitting of tickets easier and more common, and to encourage to become candidates a class of men who will adopt non-partisan standards of appointment and in other respects act independently of the party managers. There are in spite of democratizing legislation many in- dications in Michigan of the continued existence or the recrudescence of oligarchical organization ; and the purpose of this legislation, however valid that purpose may be, will be defeated if the machinery which it sets up can be so manipulated as to prevent public opinion from securing faithful expression in nominations and elections. With more complicated machinery, more legal prohibitions and penalties, more publicity, a generally higher standard of political morality, and greater independence on the part of newspapers and of the electorate, methods of control and manipulation have changed. Under the old regime there was more downright buying and selling of votes and influence, more intimidation, more use of force, more deft resort to the apathy of the intelligent and to the pliability of the ignorant, more crude appeals to shibboleths and to personal and party loyalty. The success of the manager under the old system may find a partial explanation in the psychology of the crowd; for every convention was a crowd. The direct primary, however, has separated the crowd into individuals, who must be acted upon more subtly by methods which deceive the intellect rather than by those which arouse the emotions. The politicians have had too short a time to adapt themselves to changed machinery; but the new methods of control and manipulation show themselves with some clearness in Detroit. In view of the 12 178 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [614 fact that the control of the vote in Detroit is largely based on personal allegiance, it is significant that the movement against this control is accompanied by a movement for non-partisan city elections. Theoretically, non-partisan- ship does not necessarily imply the destruction of the feudalistic element which lies at the base of the control and manipulation of votes, and in practice it may even accen- tuate the influence of that element. Nevertheless, the adoption of the machinery of non-partisanship presumes a frank and intelligent facing of facts, a recognition and an employment of the forces which actually determine elec- tions, and a state of mind on the part of the public which in its essence is hostile to all kinds of blind and unreasoning allegiance, personal as well as partisan. Popular Attitude Toward Parties. Public opinion has not only criticised the internal arrangements and functioning of the party, but has also with growing boldness questioned the right of the party itself to exist. Formerly it seems to have been widely felt that the party was an end as well as a means, and that it was something to which a citizen owed obligations. Conditions under which the politicians and many of the voters of a quarter of a century ago cast their first ballots tended to raise partisanship to a level with religion and to make it synonymous with patriotism. The habit of calling to the aid of the party a past which was unchanging and was rich in emotional appeal was fruitful in unifying and disciplining effects. With the passing of Civil War tradition the time became ripe for an under- standing of the true place of the party and of the realities of its organization. In 1891 the Democratic Free Press declared editorially: "The prohibition which the Governor urges on ticket- peddling outside the booths is pretty near the line of undue interference with the freedom of the voter, but we think, on the whole, it may be a justifiable interference." 9 In 1894 the Republican Tribune delivered this editorial pro- nouncement: "The bolter is essentially a political free- 9 January 15, 1891. 615] CONCLUSIONS 179 booter. . . . Men treat party affiliation too lightly. It is a sentiment as honorable as patriotism, and its preservation is scarcely less important. . . . There is no difference in kind between the person who, if he is defeated at the polls, secedes from the government, and him who, having got the worst of it in a convention, bolts." 10 On the eve of the 1896 campaign this same paper declared: "We should say that the first test of a Republican aspirant for office was not the test of his belief in regard to the tariff or in regard to silver, but the test of his unwavering determination to support the ticket nominated, whether it included himself or not." 11 Even as late as 1903 a member of the legislature said : "The Colby bill seeks to dictate the machinery of party organization. . . . An unwarranted interference in non- governmental functions." 12 Statements such as these sound strangely foreign today, for public opinion and legislation, the first phase of which was to recognize parties, are now in their present phase attempting to induce the voter not to recognize them. Growth of Independence. Independence, the mental atti- tude which dominates public opinion and legislation, may manifest itself in doubtfulness, in a disinclination to confess allegiance to a party, in the splitting of tickets, in bolting, third-party movements, and local independent parties, or in apathy and indifference to party activities. The passing of tradition, the secret ballot, the abuses of oligarchical control and popular understanding of these abuses, the corrupt influence of corporations, federal civil service reform, the direct primary, the disappearance of party issues, the stressing of efficiency and business administra- tions, the supplanting in political discussion of constitu- tional and governmental questions by social and economic questions, 13 each of these has contributed to the increase of independence. Of similar effect have been specific events, such as the epochal campaign of 1896 with its "September 18, 1894. 11 March 28, 1896. 12 Detroit Tribune, April 9, 1903. 18 Cf. Haynes, pp. 472-475. ISO PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [6 1 6 breaking of old allegiances, the fusions of that and subse- quent campaigns with disregard of party lines and cheap- ening of party names, the formation of the Progressive party in 1912, and such recent movements as those for socialism, trade unionism, prohibition, and woman suffrage, forming strong organizations outside of the old parties and engrossing the enthusiasm, loyalty, and resources of many voters. Practically all forms of independence have become in- creasingly evident in Michigan politics. Nowadays a can- didate's record as a strict party man appears to be of little importance. 14 Legislation has assisted independence by providing for blank spaces on the ballot on which the names of indepen- dent candidates might be written or pasted, for the use of the direct primary by new parties or by independent or- ganizations, for non-partisan boards, for the admission to the polls of challengers appointed by civic organizations, and for non-partisan elections in cities having the commission or manager form of government. For a considerable time most villages and some townships have in their elections disregarded party distinctions, and in cities other than those with commission or manager charters and in various judicial circuits the voters have at times ignored party lines. Citizens' parties first became conspicuous in local elections about 1900. In 1906, with no legalized non-partisan machinery, out of fifty-seven elected mayors twelve were non-partisan. 15 In 1907 there were two parties in the Grand Rapids primary, the Liberal and the Church, a division not uncommon in city and village elections, along moral rather than political lines. 16 The disadvantages of the party-column ballot were pointed out by the attorney- general in i895; 17 ten years later the office-column ballot was advocated by newspapers, municipal reformers, and members of the legislature; 18 and in 1913 this method of 14 See above, page 165. 16 Detroit Free Press, April 4, 1906. 16 Grand Rapids Herald, March II, 1907. 17 Report, 1895, P- 158. Detroit Tribune, March n, May 2, 5, 1905. 617] CONCLUSIONS l8l encouraging independence was recommended by Governor Ferris. The growth of independence, with the retention and legal- ization of party organizations , complicates nomination . The closed primary would seem incompatible with the existence of a large number of independent voters, for it practically excludes them from any part in the nominating process; and, as a matter of fact, the absolutely closed primary has been abandoned in Michigan. On the other hand, under the open primary there are two evident results : The candi- dates in bidding for the independent vote emphasize their own independence, and the voters in crossing and recrossing party lines tend to obliterate those lines. Weakening of Party Organizations. Among the many symptoms of a decline in strength of party organizations are factionalism; decreasing campaign expenditure; fewer party clubs, speakers and gatherings; disappearance of party organs, bipartisan combinations, and vote-trading; insubordination, indifferent committees, fewer workers, and a general lack of unity, loyalty, and enthusiasm. As a matter of fact the government of the State is not true party government. Caught, therefore, between legislation which saps its vitality and cripples its action and an independent opinion which either ignores it or seeks openly to destroy it, the party can get little support from the fact that, considered purely as a state organization, it is based on artificial dis- tinctions and serves few useful purposes in legislation or administration. The initiative and the referendum, which have been adopted in Michigan, are non-partisan devices, and are a confession that the party organization has been found an inadequate agency for the embodiment of opinion into law. The effect of these devices on party organizations cannot fail to be weakening. 19 Parties are originally created by issues; and the strength of party organizations depends to a considerable degree on the differentiation of party tenets. The state party organization as such derives 19 J. D. Barnett, The Operation of the Initiative, Referendum and Recall in Oregon, pp. 185-186. 1 82 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [6 1 8 little strength from the advocacy of characteristic ideas growing out of state conditions, and the disappearance or confusion of national issues is an additional and important cause for the weakening of state party organizations. Among the benefits which accrued from strong party organizations not the least was their service in helping to make politically homogeneous the heterogeneous elements of the population which have resulted from immigration and from industrial and social differentiation. In Michigan the parties have represented vertical divisions; they have in general cut athwart races, religions, and economic classes, and they have led various groups to some measure of cooper- ation and common feeling. The heterogeneous character of city populations, unaided by other influences, would probably have developed the strong oligarchical type of party organization; 20 and this type of organization was the one best fitted to deal with city populations. The managers not only drew the foreign-born into the ordinary political activities but also guided them through the intricacies of naturalization, 21 registration, and voting. 22 Reform legis- lation and independence emphasize the individual candidate at the expense of the organization ; but fixing the attention on an individual brings into relief not so much his past record and political opinions as those things which we asso- ciate more closely with personality, race, religion, and economic and social classification. If party organizations crumble, new groupings may appear based on more personal elements and on horizontal cleavages. These considera- tions throw light on the significance of bipartisanship and vote-swapping and on those personal machines which have to a great extent in Detroit taken the place of the party organizations. Under the convention system the demands of party strategy in the making of nominations tended to distribute candidates around the county or State, or in the case of a 20 F. J. Goodnow, Municipal Government, pp. 379-380. 21 See above, page 130. 12 See above, page 143. 619] CONCLUSIONS 183 district to alternate the nominations from one county in the district to another. The result was to accentuate the evils of the district system, for the problem which the con- vention faced was to nominate a resident of a particular subdivision of the district. In nominating a particular state officer the convention did not look for the most available man in the State, but merely for the most available man in the upper peninsula or in Wayne County. Under the direct primary the system of sectional candidacy is to some extent done away with ; and in place of the appeal to a section there is likely to be an appeal to the dominant race or economic class in the district, and hence a tendency to accelerate the crystallization of personal, racial, and class groups. While this tendency is diametrically opposed to homogeneity as well as to strong organization, it does at least obviate one of the reasons for the existence of inferior candidates. Minor Changes and Tendencies. A survey of the last quarter of a century reveals in primaries and campaigns a less excitable, more orderly, more self-controlled, and at the same time a more individualistic and apparently more alert citizen body than existed in previous years. The pic- turesque element has largely vanished, and conditions in- cident to nominations and elections are no longer demoral- izing. To compensate for the diminished educational features of the electoral campaign the prenomination cam- paign has become more educational. In answer to the contention that weak organization and independence cause public indifference and a decrease in voting, a careful comparison of the returns shows that in the primaries the vote has increased, and in the election no decrease is clearly apparent. Further Legislation. Experimentation has shown the in- adequacy of mere machinery to make effective a priori principles, and it has also shown the danger that in some cases the remedy may be worse than the disease. The system of legislative regulation will need the continued application of corrective and remedial provisions. If the 184 PARTY ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN [620 present tendencies are to be accepted, the primary should be open ; the office-column ballot should be substituted for the party-column; the provisions prohibiting fusion should be repealed; the merit system should be inaugurated for state and municipal employes; and the short ballot should be adopted. The most interesting and most difficult inquiry is that which concerns itself with the quality of candidates. In addition to the nominating system there are other influences which affect the quality of candidacies; for example, the appurtenances of the office sought, its powers, respon- sibilities, compensation, tenure, and public estimation; and if party organizations continue to lose strength, these factors must assume in the future greater relative importance than they have had in the past. To create in the electorate a social feeling which shall take the place of partisanship and inspire an active and intelligent partici- pation in nominations and elections, to educate the voter to view his ballot with an impersonal, objective, impartial mind, these are tasks which are fundamental to thorough- going reform; but for their performance something more is required than the devising of machinery or the imposing of penalties. INDEX Absentee voting, 158. Accounting, campaign, 147-148. Advertising, campaign, 143, 153, 154- Alpena County, direct primary in, 61, 63-65, 77. Alward, D. E., 83. American Protective Association, 12-13. Ann Arbor, 38. Assessment of office-holders, 72, 115, 116, 135-136; of candi- dates, 134-135- Assisted voting, 124, 161-163. Associated Democratic Press of Michigan, 154. Ballot, in the primaries, 36; in the direct primary, 63 ff., 69, 76; short, 124, 176-177, 184; marking of, 161-164; party- column, 180-181, 184; office- column, 180-181, 184. Battle Creek, 56. Beck v. Board, 484 ff . Bipartisanship, 117, 162-164. Bliss, A. T., 59. Boushaw, Billy, 160. Bradley, J. B., 108. Breitmeyer, Mayor, no. Bribery. See Corruption. Bryan, W. J., 18, 150, 160. Burrows, Senator, in. Calhoun County, 128, 135, 146. Campaign finance, 133 ff. Campaign fund, sources of, 134 ff.; publicity of, 138 ff.; expenditure of, 141 ff.; accounting for, 147- 148. Campaign management, 84, 126 ff. Campaign of 1896, 149, 152, 153. Campaigns, primary, 92; election, 126 ff.; management of, 126 ff. ; length of, 132; finances of, 134 ff.; speaking in, 149-152; dem- onstrations in, 153; social ele- ment in, 155. Campau, D. J., 18, 89, 119, 148 (note), 156. Candidates, dummy, 52, 107, 108, 124; relation to party manager, 78-81, 83, 92; primary cam- paign of, 92-93; primary ex- penses of, 93-99; character of, 107-113, 184; assessment of, 134-135; campaign expenses of, 145; as speakers, 149-150; cam- paign activities of, 153-156. Canvasses, 156. Cass County, 64. Catholics, 12-13, 142. Chairman, temporary, 45 ff., 86- 87. Challengers, 162-163. Chandler, Zachariah, 15, 16. Chippewa County, 106. City committee, organization of, 29-30; under direct primary, 77-78; in campaigns, 126-127. Civil service reform, 114, 136, 184. Clark, Champ, 87. Clubs, 81, 128-130, 149, 157. Colby, Representative, 57. Committee on credentials, 46 ff . Committee on permanent organ- ization, 50-51. Committees, general features of, 22-24; ward, 25; township, 25; county, 25-27; state central, 27-28; congressional district, 29; senatorial district, 29; repre- sentative district, 29; judicial circuit, 29; city, 29-30; in conventions, 43, 46, 50-51; under the direct primary, 59, 63, 64, 66, 76 ff.; in campaigns, 126 ff., 150, 156. See also State central committee, Town- ship committee, etc. Congressional district committee, 29, 78, 126-128. Congressional districts, in con- ventions, 43. Connolly, W. F., 89. Contested delegations, in con- ventions, 47-50, 118-119; the courts and, 48-50, 86; in 1912, 85-87. Contributions in direct primary, 185 1 86 INDEX [622 71; in campaigns, 136, 138-139, 147. Controlled precincts, 100-101, 106-107, Ir 7 159-^64. Conventions, legislation affecting, 30; number of, 39-40; county, 40-42, 85; state, 42-44, 85-87; committees in, 43, 46, 50-51; district, 44; preliminary organ- ization of, 45-50, 86-87; control of, 45 ff., 85; delegates to, 50; order of business in, 51; con- ditions in, 51 ff., 86, 118, 119; corruption in, 52-54; and direct primary legislation, 56, 58, 62- 63, 66, 72-76, 85, 92; and nominations, 110-112; under direct primary, 114, 118-125. See also County convention, State convention, etc. Corporations, 54, 139, 146. Corrupt practice acts, 39, 53, 66, 68-69, 94, 99, 139, 144, H7, 154, 158. Corruption in primaries, 39; in conventions, 52-54; under direct primary, 81, 92, 99, 125; in campaigns, 139-142, 146-147, 158-164. County committee, organization of, 25-27; officers of, 25-26, 78, 80-81, 127-128; chairman of, 26-27, ?8, 80-8 1 ; under direct primary, 77-80; in cam- paigns, 126-129, I3 2 , 134, 148, 150. County convention, call for, 40- 41; delegates to, 41; voting in, 41; under the direct primary, 85, 92, 125. Crampton, L. C., 164. Credentials, committee on, 46, 49; of delegates, 46-50, 118-119, 125; of challengers, 162-163. Dame, G. M., 83. Democratic voting in Republican primaries, 66-67, 69, 103-107, 116-117, 121-122. Democrats, and Populists, 13, 19, 54; and Prohibition party, 14, 54-55; and Silver Republicans, J 9, 54-55; an d direct primary legislation, 73. Demonstrations, 153 ff. Detroit Citizens' League, 159, 164. Detroit, illiteracy in, 1 1 ; primaries in, 34 ff.; corruption in, 53 ff.; and direct primary legislation, 56-58; party officials from, 84- 85; direct primary in, 95, 99, 100-103, 106-110; bipartisan machine in, 117, 161-164, 1 77~ 178; primaries in, 118-120; long ballot in, 124; campaign organ- ization in, 126-127, 130-133; campaigns in, 155, 158-164; vote in, 167-168. Dickinson, Don M., 18. Direct primary, in operation, 91 ff.; campaign, 92-93; expenses, 93-99; petitions, 99; vote in, 99-107; nominations by, 107- 113; and newspapers, 113; and the party organization, 113- 118; and conventions, 118-121, 125; tendencies of, 121-125. Direct primary legislation, history of, 56 ff.; local, 56-66, 72; gen- eral, 61-69, 7 2 ; corrupt prac- tices in, 69-72; revision of, 74; and committees, 77 ff. District committees under direct primary, 78. District conventions, 44. Doremus, Congressman, 117. Dutch, 12. Earle, H. S., 108. Election board, 163-164. Elections, dates of, 24; vote in, 15-16, 166 ff. Expenditures, in direct primary, 70-72, 93-99, 12 1 ; in primaries, 119, 120; limitation of, 124, 140; in campaigns, 138-147. Factionalism, 116. Farmers, 12, 57, 59-60, 112. Farmers' Alliance, 13. Ferris, W. N., 68, 76 (note), 88, 95, 108 (note), no, 181. Finance, campaign, 133 ff. First voters, 130. Ford, Henry, 68 (note). Foreign-born, 10, II, 12, 100, 101, 103, 112, 113, 160, 161, 167, 182. Fusion, 54-55, 65, 184. Germans, 12. Gogebic County, n. Gold Democrats, 13, 19, 151. Grand Rapids, direct primary in, 58, 75, 77, 101, 102, 108, 109, 62 3 ] INDEX I8 7 120, 121 ; clubs in, 130; cam- paigns in, 159; municipal parties in, i 80. Greenback party, 13. Groesbeck, A. J., 83, 87 (note), 95,98, H3 (note). Hamilton, E. L. f ill. Harmon, Judson, 87. Headquarters, campaign, 131-132. Hemans, L. T., 160. Houghton County, n. Illiterates, u, 100, 101, 103, 160, 161, 162, 167. Independent newspapers, 14-15. Independent voting, 107, 151, 165, 171, 179-181. Independents, nomination of, 59, 74, 1 80; enrollment of, 66. Ingham County, direct primary in, 96-97, 105, 106; campaigns in, 135, 146 (note). Instructed delegations, 51, 125. Intimidation, 71. Ionia County, 135. Irish, 12. Jennings v. Board, 21. Judicial circuit committee, 29, 78, 128. Kalamazoo County, 39. Kent County, primaries in, 34; conventions in, 41; direct pri- mary in, 58, 60, 64, 74-75, 77, 100-104, 106; campaigns in, 158 (note); vote in, 167- 168. Keweenaw County, 1 1 . King, Paul H., 83, 85, 86. Knox, W. F., 83, 85, 86. Lansing, 40, 131. League of Michigan Municipali- ties, 60. Literature, campaign, 153-154. McCombs, W. F., 87. McGraw, Batty, 163. McKay, J. D., 119. McMillan, James, 16, 17, 26, ill, 148 (note). Marsh, P. W., 159. Martindale, F. M., 95, 98, 113 (note). Michigan Central Railroad, 54, 138. Michigan Club, 130, 149, 157. Michigan, general conditions in, 9 ff.; population, 9; foreign- born, 10; illiteracy, n; section- alism, II. Michigan Political Science Asso- ciation, 57, 60. Michigan Republican Editorial Association, 82, 154. Michigan Republican Newspaper Association, 147. Monroe County, 142. Murfin, Judge, 119. Muskegon County, 60, 64, 77. National committee, 127, 133, 150, 153- National committeeman, 28-29, 68-69, 82 (note), 87-90, 119, 127. Naturalization, 130-131, 142. Negro, u. Newspapers, 14, 71-73, 82, 113, 151, 154-155. Nominations, convention, 41-44, 52, 100-112; direct primary, 62, 65, 66, 75-76, 79-80, 91 ff., 107-113, 121-124; minority, 108, 118, 124; theory of, 175- 176. Non-partisanship, 31-32, 177-181. Osborn, C. S., 18, 67, 83, 92, 95, 106, 113 (note), 115, 116, 154 (note). Owens, P. K., no. Parades, 152. Parties, economic makeup of, n- 12; racial composition of, 12; third, 13, 14, 19, 172-173; strength of, 14-16, 96-97; tra- ditions of, 15; leadership of, 16-^19; legal status of, 19-22; legislation affecting, 169-171; popular attitude toward, 178 ff. Partisanship, 31, 137, 151, 165, 171, 178, 179- Party enrollment, 34-35, 62, 63, 65, 68, 69, 76, 103-107, 123, 132. Party organizations, legal status of, 19-22; definition of, 21-22; general features of, 22-24; rules of, 23; coordination of, 23, 30, 126 ff., 150, 156; committees and officers of, 25-30; and the direct primary, 76, 113 ff.; i88 INDEX [624 weakening of, 83, 84, 114-118, 121, 181-183; in campaigns, 126 ff.; finances of, 133 ff.; legislation affecting, 169-171, 183; oligarchical tendencies in, 171-177. Patronage, 16, 18, 26, 28-29, 53. 87-89, 176. People v. Hurlbut, 19-20. People's party, 13, 19, 173. Petitions, 80, 81, 93, 99. Pierce, Charles S., 83. Pingree, H. S., 17, 57-58, 74, 165. Platform, 75, 123. Pole-raisings, 152. Polling-place, 91, 92, 165. Precinct primaries, 30, 34. Precincts, organization in, 22, 25, 156-157; controlled, 106 ff., 159-164. Preferential ballot, 68, 76, 124. Preprimary convention, 122-124. Presidential preference primary, 67-68. Primaries, legislation affecting, 30 ff.; call for, 31-32; times of, 3 2 -33; organization of, 33-34, 120; registration for, 34-35; voting in, 35-38; corruption in, 39, 119, 120; expenditures in, 119, 120. Progressive Democratic League, 88. Progressives, 86, 103, 123, 139, 1 80. Prohibition, 14 (note), 99 (note), 1 80. Prohibition party, 14, 173 (and note). Proxies, 50. Publicity of campaign finance, 138 ff- Ratification meetings, 152. Registration, 130-131. Religion in politics, 12-13. Representative district commit- tees, 29. Republican primary plan, 122-124. Republicans, and Populists, 13; and Prohibition party, 14. Rich, Governor, 141. Roosevelt, Theodore, 67-68, 150. Royal Ark, 161. Rural counties, primary vote of, 100-103; graft in, 159; election vote in, 167-168. Saloons, political influence of, 14, 53; and primaries, 32; and elections, 69; and the direct primary, 99, 100 (note); in campaigns, 155, 159, 160-164. Scandinavians, 12. School-districts, organization in, 22, 156, 157. Senatorial district committee, 29. Shields, E. C., 84 (note), 87, 88. Shields v. Jacobs, 20. Short ballot, 124, 176-177, 184. Silver Republicans, 13, 19. Smith, W. A., 18, 68 (note). Social campaigning, 155. Socialism, 151. Socialist Labor party, 173 (note). Socialist party, 173 (and note). Socialists, 176 (note). Speaking, campaign, 149-152. State Association of Farmers' Clubs, 60. State central committee, powers of, 27; composition of, 27, 82; officers of, 27-28, 82-87, 127; chairman of, 27-28, 83-88, 127; and credentials, 46-50, 85, 88; legislation affecting, 68, 81-82; and the direct primary, 122- 124; in campaigns, 127, 133, 138-139. 144, 147, H9-I50, 156. State convention, call for, 42; delegates to, 42-43, 125; com- mittees in, 43, 46, 50-51; nomi- nations, 43-44, 52; temporary chairman of, 45-46, 85-87; credentials in, 46-48, 85-87; contests in, 47-48, 85-87; order of business in, 51; conditions in, 52, 86, 125; selection of state central committee by, 82 ; under the direct primary, 85, 125. State convention of Fremont voters, 60. State Grange, 60. State League of Republican Clubs, 60, 127. Stearns, J. S., 55. Stephenson v. Board of Election Commissioners, 20-21. Taft, W. H., 150, 160, 165. Taft- Roosevelt contest of 1912, 85-87, 119-120. Third parties, 13, 14, 19, 52. Ticket-splitting, 165. Todd, A. M., 54. INDEX 189 Townsend, Charles, 18, 109, in. Township committee, organiza- tion of, 25; under the direct primary, 77; in campaigns, 128, 143, 157- Tuscola County, 64. Unit rule, 51, 125. Upper peninsula, party strength in, 16; attitude of, toward direct primary, 60, 61, 64; enrollment in, 104; nominations in, 112-113; controlled vote in, 160. Urban counties, primary vote of, 1 00-102; election vote of, 167- 168. Vote, in primaries, 36-38; in the direct primary, 99-107; as- sisted, 124; getting out the, 157-158; delivering the, 158- 164; in elections, 166 ff. Vote-Swappers' League, 117. Voters, independent, 107, 151, 165; lists of, 132; doubtful, 132, 166; absentee, 158, 166. Ward committee, 25, 77. Warner, F. M., 64, 94, 108. Washtenaw County, direct pri- mary in, 59, 96-97, 105-106; campaigns in, 146 (note), 157. Wayne County, direct primary in, 57, 59-61, 64, 74-75, 77-78, 100-103, 106, 108, 109; com- mittees in, 81, 126-127; bi- partisan machine in, 117, 161 ff. ; conventions in, 118, 119; campaign organization in, 126- 128; clubs in, 130; campaign finance in, 135, 140 (note), 141, 143 (note), 145, 146; campaigns in, 150, 157; election vote in, 167-168. 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