Chairman Green's New Dodge

CHAIRMAN GREEN'S NEW DODGE

A Prominent Ypsilanti "Anti" Gives His Views

"AN ATTEMPT TO FOOL US"

With a Farce of a Primary Election After Using High Handed Methods at Spring Caucuses

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''Have you seen the circular letter of Chairman Green to the county committee calling them to meet at his office August 4?" was asked a prominent anti-Judson republican Monday.

"Yes, I have read it."

"What have you to say in regard to it?"

"Well, it is a singular letter in a number of respects, but especially in two. The first is that a proposition coming as it were from the headquarters of the 'boss' of Washtenaw county, to adopt a so-called primary election law of the coming election for county officers. Who would have supposed a primary election law, or any semblance of one would be suggested from that source? It has been generally supposed, as well as often asserted, that all the bosses and politicians, as well as most of the office-seeking class, were opposed to such a law, that it was owing to their opposition that the last legislature failed to enact that kind of law. There is no doubt but that this is the fact. Then how does it happen that they now want to put such a law into effect, may be asked. It is plain enough. Look at Detroit. The bosses there have become frightened over the distrust among the voters owing to the 'ripper' legislation and various other corrupt methods resorted to by them in recent years. They now fear overwhelming defeat next fall and are trying to unite the party under a primary election law, which they know all voters favor who are against bossism, thereby hoping for a longer lease of power. The same conditions exist here in Washtenaw county. High-handed methods were used at the spring caucuses by calling from Lansing almost every official appointed from this county to go into the various voting precincts and round up the voters, so that every caucus in the county was packed to the bosses' taste. Men in the pay of the state, mind you, did this dirty work and thus disfranchised virtually the leading taxpayers of the county. Tammany Hall never corrupted the caucuses more openly than was done here last spring, and it is well understood by the junta as well as everybody else, how general the disgust was that this aroused among republican voters. Now they are hedging against the coming storm. They hope to fool enough of the 'antis' by this primary election rigamarole to elect their ticket. For years every move made by this junta has been a trick. Is it to be supposed that now they have all at once become honest?"

"The second point worthy of notice in this specious letter is, that this move is made in order to unite the two factions of the party. I wonder if the chairman thought much of harmony last spring, when he and his little coterie were packing the caucuses in their own selfish interests. That was the time to harmonize the party, and they were distinctly told that if they packed the caucuses then, that not a republican would be elected at the county election in the fall. Political spoils then weighed far more with them than party harmony. Now the voters will try to regain their lost rights and deal corruption and bossism a blow by carrying out the threat made in the spring. But I want to characterize this pretense of substituting a primary election law by decision of the county committee, as unadulterated humbug. No one knows better than the chairman of the committee, that they are utterly powerless to put in force any law that has the least resemblance to a primary election law. The first requisite to such a law is, that all parties shall nominate their officers at the same election. How will he compel the democrats to act with his party? It would be a pretty primary election law where only one party acted. How could the committee restrain democrats from voting with the republicans? It could not be done and the whole thing would be an absurd farce. Supposing a voter should vote at two or a dozen precincts, who could punish him, there being no law on the subject? This letter has a plausible tone designed to catch the unwary, but the voters are not going to be fooled this year. We are going to have in this state a primary election law, and it will protect the voter in all his rights; every restraint will be thrown around the voter so that he cannot be defrauded of his citizenship as he now is by these political sharpers. There is much more that might be said about this last effort of bossism to trick the people, but this is all I will say just now."

"'When the devil was sick,

The devil a monk would be,

When the devil was well

The devil a monk was he.'"