New-York daily tribune., 1862-05-17
NOMINATIONS FOR OrFICE.

never concOcted another scheme for aggran.
dlzing incompetency, medlocrity, intrigue, aud
corruption, 50 perfect as that which is known
in this country as Regular Nominations -
that is, the selection of party candidates for
Office 10y delegated conventions. Take for an
this City in the Federal Congress. Here are
six gentlemen. probably neither worse nor bet
tor tbaa the average that arc bennially ground
out from the same mill; yet there are not to-
day one-6f,eth of the One Hundred Thousand
Legal Voters of our City who can give an &C
curate list even Of their names; and there is
not on. voter of tho Hundred Thousand who,
| if he were asked to select the four Democrats
and two Republicans who would most wOr-
thily represent this City in Congress would
name these six gentlemen. We do not say
that none of them Is fit and worthy, for such
is not the fact; but We do say that the list 10,
as u whole not so good as would have been
chosen by lot had the name of every legal
voter IN our City been inscribed on ticket,
The whole put into bag the same well rhaken,
aud the SIX first fairly drawn from that bag
been declared our Representatives. 10 Congress.
a I'd the fault is entirely in the rotten, rascally
system OF Primary Elections and Regular Nom
luations--a system by which blacklegs thrive,
candidates are robbed aud the public service
is shameftly deiraudcd and degraded.
Everybody knows this-knOws that it ought
to be corrected-but all stand wringiDg their
bauds in utter impotency, saying it can't be
helped. But it can, and must be. There needs
but general resolve to break the mesbes of
the Shiny web that enthrals us, and the work
Is surely done.
But the effort must not be postponed to the
eleventh hour After the old machinery shall
have been adjusted and oiled and set in mo-
ton, resistance will be too late. If George
Washington were to rise from his grave on the
10Th of next October, and undertake to run
for Congress against the two Irregular" candl-
dates in any District, he would be beaten out
they will prove Irresistible. And this is the
way to do il:
Let the more intelligent Union citizens OF
each District be called together at the private
residence of one Of their number to consider
and confer upon tae selection of O fit person
to represent them in the next Congress. Let
them be assembled under Il mutual pledge 10
select the ablest and best man whom they can
prevail on to run, no matter whether LIE hap
pen to sleep in that district or in some other
no matter though he reside at the other end
Of the State. Our wretchcd 81 stem OF confn-
ing the range Of selection to residents of the
district is one ground of our failure No other
country but ours having q representative sys-
ten makes any such absurd e1action; and here
| 1t is q matter of custom only. There ia no
reason under Heaven why any District choos-
ing to avail itself of the talents, experience ard
standing of Millard Fillmore, Hora;o Seymour,
Luther Bradish, Charles OCoror, William NJ.
Evarts David Dudley Field, William Curtis
Noyes or James I. Brady, should not do So,
provided the man Of their choice is wiling
without the least regard to his place of abode
The country needs the services in Congress Of
its very best men-tbose who need not be- told
how to vote and do not want TO steal--aud, to
the end that it may surely obtain such, the
range for selection should be as wide as pos
sible. Ii the SIX fiitest men for Congress in
our city al live in one and the same Ward,
they should be sent; # SIX better men can be
found outside of our City, send these.
We beg our fellow.citizens to think of this
matter and prepars to act upon it. The
| 4 q. t,..tt hat. ba i.fff fO Mt
and strikers as usual, and that they will serve
US as hitherto. Indeed, the old machinery has
been tried SO long that We know just what it
will surn out. Here aad there a good man
gets nominated il spite Of it, but its tendency
10 TO grind out the other sort. In the country,
its operation is less atrocious than here, be-
cause the representation OF d party through its
primary elections is not transparent fiction.
Here il notouously is.
We beg each thoughtful citizen to cast about
for that man who, of all others, he would
choose TO be represented by in Congress;
having made bis choice, let him confer with
his friends and negbbors, and see how far
their choice cOncurs with bis. If they seem to
prefer another as good man, drop your first
preference and 60 in for that other. Then
draw up o requislton, simple and straight
forward, like this
"Ths undersigned unite ia respectfully ceiling -
to stand Us candidate for Reproductive III Congess
irsm this District"
aud circulate it widely for signatures. Refuse
no legal voters name. but be moro anxious to
get the bes. signatures than the greatest num-
of4 NJ IL ted