Rensselaer Republican, Volume 13, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 February 1881 — Political Conventions [ARTICLE]

Political Conventions

! ' ‘'.'Editor. 1 I ■ JL-3B fmm-m i. Klaine i« to b« Secretary *»: MftS In Qarfeld’* ftblatt. Uhl fei * '- • r ' r "™ Ott the Burllngto i railroad In Town ttic >m>« is reported to be as high aa the top « f the trains. The Vincennes Sun say* Stanley M aft freer* |s like an unfounded rumor bo<siim> Ire tacks cnrtflrmarhm. Wr a majority of onijr .three vote* the I einocrats of Tennessee elertvd t -hr United State* SeuaUir. This ia a cheering evitlon a of the coming dissolution ®f a Solid Knuth. T» r Hobart Jovma: taa auspended pul Pnition. The machine brake down to lire a licence of the proprietor Mr. ft cl ley. and all the subscribers being to arrears, and nomey not available k*r. Kelley dl-coutinuea publication #» the Journo!. He ia now route agent « n the Lake Shore ra^road. ' Ueporta from all quarters indicate a pvnerul breaking up of the long and ► v»re wilder. Many of the large cities have Leeu.inuudated for several o.iys by the high waters, and muth tarusge bos resulted. Bridges harre Urn wnvlred away by tLe th>ods and inilned ccnimuiiicatlou im|<e»led. The lasses froiu this cause will foot up into the Million*. »

The Indianapolis Journal of Tues- < *y bears futelq.«ue« of the death at it Wot Springs Arkansas last Sunday i ight. of Hoif. Ff-rnado Wood of New York. He was in his seventietli year. For sum. liiue he has been in failing health. • Ouly a few daya since he was •■•lively engage 1 in tlie performance of ills duties In Congress, of wliich body he lias keen, an active member lor marly Iweuty five years. Tire Louisville Courier J( urnal says Mr. Conger called Mr. Hulchius a liar in a committee room lire other day an I tire latter called tire former a scoundrel, and that paper observes tnat the two roughs are from Michigan and New Y»rk re*peetive!y. Yes they have sadly degenerated since going South. Association will! southkrn Brigadier (jeirernl brigands has j. wonderfully demoralising elect up* Hu a tiiitu.. - -■ . . .

• The bill of Mr. Cummins providing Mew hipping[KNit nsa punishaientcame tip for consideration last Monday In tne legislature. Many laughable suggestion* w vre indulged in by way of amendment. But on vote it was ordered engrossed without amendment, and will come up for further action tn u few dai s. There is a strong reutiment in the assembly favorable li> the passage *>f the bill. \V# hope it may become a law. ■ The folks wf G'KKiiand and Kentland r’e straining hard to get up a little sensation over the supitosed discovery i f coal in the north part of Benton. Now, if such reports came from the Fowler papers, we should not be so much surprised, for they are uccusfnmed to j.ire credence to unfounded rumcr*. IL is too bad that our friends over in the south, part of Nevrton should hav caught the infection, but everything hat been so dull over tlrere all w uur th «t we are not surprised at tliem endeuvering to ereate a sensation. reliable reports say the coal fields have been .‘•railed” and our New. ten brothers es the quill humbugged.

Tit# old nsmo, they think will lure to be laid «si Jo. It will ba the Mlll9 ► arty, but is to be rechristened. It is proposed that repnreutatltes of the iSiecback party meet iu Chicago some time subsequent to March 4th, to reorganize the party and give It a new name. '‘People’s Party” is nuggested ns the proper appellation . A platform of broad dimensions is to be erected u|»on whiih the representatives of ,< ireen hack ism. Woman’s rights, Pro l hibitinn, «scc.. can have a footing. If Ihe Dt nn-crutic party would pack its baggage ami hastep iu steps it might succeed in being included iu the uew movement The old thing for-o,ice should avoid acting in tfaw character of an after-clap. Tlit recent telegram of Jav Gould to the Governor of Arkansas ordering him r> prevent the Legislature of the HUte from enacting auy laws vshioli ’ be (Ueuld) deemed illiberal toward the railroads, ww as eeol a piece of impudence as tlio great monopolist bus perpetrated. If Mr. Ouidd wants favorable railroad legrslation bo certainly take* a very obnoxious and high-handed way of geting it, Yet lie is so puffed up by his own importance as a railrdad and telegraph consolidator that he thinks he is boss of the legislation of (he whole country. }fr. Gould should remember that people do stone thinking for themselves, •nil are not quite ready to vacate their i/ri viiegee LouUvile Courier-Journal.

Senator Voorheee has the investigating rage again. He wants to investigate Cnlanol W. W. Dudley this time, as to his management of the U- 8. Marshad’s office fiir.the district of I diana. Mr. Vouchees once sj>ent 40,000 dollars of the peoples money iu investigation, with no riault but to prove D. W, Voor hees an inveterate duuee. One virtue in hi* investigations is that lie investigates nothing but objects es I uritr, and this be will find to be true iu the case of Mr. Dudley. About the •nly charge Daniel will be able to substantiate against him will be that i.e s a stalwart Republican, aud that lie was iu the foremost rank# of his pail.v ill the last campaign doing with ah bis might what he could to wipe cut live seeming Democratic majority in Indiana, a stigma that made l:er a reproach and the laughing st'H-k among her sister s'atss. t’nlofiel Dotiley is deserving of tlis giatitude.uf e ery citix*»n fur his in- 1 liefatigible etforta aid his powerful iiilluence laat fall in securing fair and non vet election iu Indiana. Of the one thing Vuorboen will fiutl Mr. Dudley ctnfueuly -&uilty.

PilH Thb Republican. Tire suevesa of a political party depend* much upoa the bold its nominating caucuses hav* upon the affectiou* of its urembats. The writer desire* the eontimial *• in cere of the Republican party in the future, while *s now ft advocates good measures. I as a 'meinlier of tbs Natinual Republican Party have an interest as an honest man that the methods of party management shall conform as nearly m may be to my standard of bouesly. I believe the United States is a Nat ion of People and with the maxutn of Liucolu in view: “This is a government of the people and by the people,” I will suggest iu skeleton form a few thoughts a* to tire conventions of a party which professes the eeuiiiuent last aforesaid.

RATIONAL COKVENTIOX. Tire number of delegates should correspond exactly with lire number of yor.grereiiinn. Each congressional district should choose its own delegates and if instruction* are given, let each delegate be instructed separately by his party associates in kit own die trict. A convention iu every congressional district in the Uuilad Jdlnte* should be held on tire same day for the purpose, with other things, of se- : lecting a delegate to tire National coni venlion. In the National convention let each | delegate be a manly unit, and vote 4* a unit for the bast candidate. Tire plan of voting by slates in National conventions, by counties in state, Hud by townships in county convention* is productive of evil and should be discarded. BTATX AS l) DISTRICT CO* VENTIONR. The number may be fixed as so ( many from each county to be selected I from the several precincts under the direction of the couaty committee, all on the same day throughout tire whole state or district, Let the del gates meet and vote under the same rules as in National eonventious.

COUNTY CONVENTIONS. Let there be t’eleg ites from each ward of cities and towns and each road district in the rural portions of the couutry, selected in tire people’s own swset way, but all at the same time. ' ARGUMENT. Voters are accustomed to show their preferenoeg in their voting precincts and at all the polling places. Why not choose delegates to aonveutions in the saois convenient places? If all conventions were held at the same time it would prevent collusion and combinations in favor of crafty candidates. Delegates thus chosen would or could represent the then current opiuion of the voting inaHses. Caudidate* thus nominted would receive the endorsement of the party “wheelers” and none other could succeed as well. Tire tinreof selecting delegates should approximate as nearly os practical the day of the general convention, so that the current sentiment of the people may be known and acted upon. Our method ofunminaton should al. ways express as near as, practicable-the will of these who are expected to vote for tho uominee. Eacii convention represents a jwlitical unit judged in a territorial as well as a partisan sense- Every delegate should have a right to speak and vote ss a unit iu the con ventiou. Thus iu con vention we get a choice of men, and at the election, of measures.

■ CONCLUSION, In an inquiry it is almost every thing to be onee in the right road. 1 would not have taken the pains to digest, norths time to write the above observations, and übove all, I would not venture to have them printed were I not conviueed that methods of politics suffer more from stagnation than from agitalioa. Oar National convention at Chicago in 1830, appointed a committee to report as to the be.-t method of holding tiist party’s convention in 1884, 'and the committee have given notice that on March 6, 1831, it will meet to devise the wisest plans. Though all my views may be .wrong yet the way is clear for others to right them and the cause of true politics will not suffer by a fair discussiou i.f the method of naming partisan candidate . I have not disposed my thoughes in a manner to stand the test of captious criticism, aud I ask only a careful and to rgiving examination by those who may have influence iu ordering conventions ib the party whose candidates expect my support. Tlie occasion and my own humble ■tatiarr constrain me to say in the language of Burke that I venture these suggestions "not armed at all points fl>r battle hut dressed to visit those who are willing to give a peaceful entrace to truth.” The battle for human right* is not yet complete uutii every human being in our government can enjoy an equal right to form opinions and express them upon the men and measures selected to serve tua body politic. X.