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of them has not been attempted. It may be worth while, 
however, to point out some of the factors in the situation. 
The leading newspapers of the state with one or two notable 
exceptions have been carrying on an increasingly vigorous 
campaign against the primary as it is now constituted. The 
party workers holding positions in the party organization are 
usually found in opposition to the direct primary. It is in- 
teresting to note that Republican and Democratic party lines 
of cleavage furnish no basis whatever for a division of opinion 
on the primary. For example, the initiated measure pro- 
posing its repeal was headed and sponsored by the chairman 
of the Republican county committee of Penobscot County, 
while at the same time the Democratic candidate for governor 
was a staunch advocate of a return to the convention sys- 
tem. Candidates who have met defeat in the primaries and 
believe that their chances would have been better in a con- 
vention often raise their voices against the system. 
The women’s organizations and clubs thruout the state have 
been giving the question very serious consideration, and con- 
stitute a well-recognized element of strength in the movement 
to retain the primiary. There is no clear division of opinion 
between cities and rural towns on the question. At present, 
however, the sentiment for the primary seems dominant in 
those rural sections which strongly supported Governor Brew- 
ster in the last campaign. 
Some of the more prominent leaders of the “Associated In- 
dustries”, including the secretary of the organization, have 
vigorously advocated a return to the delegate convention, while 
the labor organizations seem to look with approval on the 
direct primary. The ultra-conservative elements in general 
would welcome the abolition of the primary as one step toward 
checking or eliminating the progressive measures of the 
Rooseveltian era ; while the strength of the pro-primary senti- 
ment is found in the more independent and liberal elements in 
both parties. 
There is an opinion of considerable weight in the state in 
favor of some compromise between the two systems which 
would restore the delegate convention with its principle of 
representation and make it more responsible to the mass of 
the party by popular election of delegates, while the primary 
as a means of checking up the work of the convention and 
