THE STORY OF THE NONPARTISAN LEAGUE 



county seat and considerable town. His busi- 

 ness was to see that the right man was nomi- 

 nated. To that end he was suppHed with 

 practically illimitable resources, and year in 

 and year out he knew nothing but success. 



Besides money, organization, influence, and 

 passes, he was provided with another great 

 asset in the party loyalty at the bottom of 

 the heart of every average citizen. To keep 

 the control of the state steadily in the hands 

 of the "better elements" he had only to 

 exercise care about the nominations. So long 

 as the old system of conventions remained, 

 his work was of the easiest. All he had to 

 do was to name the delegates to the township 

 or county convention and see that they were 

 of the right stripe, and then the state conven- 

 tions invariably ratified whatever choice had 

 been made for the state in the railroad offices 

 at St. Paul. But the final introduction of 

 the direct primary (under a pressure that had 

 become irresistible from the awakened con- 

 science of the nation) changed all this and 

 thereafter the railroad agent was driven, on 

 a much larger and more difficult field, to 

 manipulate the primaries. One of his chief 

 cares was to see that no pestilent demagogues 

 or vile agitators got into the legislature, and so 

 well was his work done the legislature might 

 accurately be described as a place of registra- 

 tion for the decrees of Mr. James J. Hill, 



100 



