, 1874-08-04
SELECTION OF CoE1REssn1EN. i;

erous rascalu poHalbllities.
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SELECTION OF CoN1REssMEN.
Tho Conservative rarty In Virginia have re-
vtvod tho anciont aud honorable ru1o. 30 general
In tho botsor days OF tile Ropublio Of recognize
ing no candidate for Congress- who Blpll' seek by
personal canvasB to hayu biinsolf nominated. |
The resolution, adopted In June last, was as /
follows:
Tint On nctlsa canvass for the nomination by H.
ptrans fur Congressional onura In greatly to be dep
rccatcl, and should DO liscounenancoI.
On July AZ, ox.Gov. Gilbert q. Walker aud
COL John II. Guy addresscd q largo meeting at
Richmond as candidates seeking Tho Conaorya-
two nomination for Congress-; atd, next day,
tho State Executive Committee iHs,1ct card
robuking both gantlonlon, and aga1n mproasing
upon tlo public the iulecorum Of any sucll at-
tempt to forcstall tho popular Judgment.
Thomas Nhitohcad, an asprant for Con-
Erossionas honovs in The Sixth Virginia Dlatrict
has, III like manner, drawn upon hinasoif tho
discipline Of tue Suite Committee. Throughout
tho Stato generally tho regulation ia accoptoa.
AB result. delegates to nominating conventions
III that State 70 unplelged and uninstrucsol, aud
they ese FREQ to make tho boss choice possible.
Tho Executive Committee OF tho sumo party III
tho stato Of Georgia havo isauosl cortain rcgu-
lutions for the coming campaign, ono Of which
is aa follows:
ThMt wo Suggest that tho peraons1 attendance by
aspirants for cougrcas upon primaries and county
meetings for thc parposs Of controlling their acton,
aud upon Congressional District mcunga for tho puy-
poao Of elcctioneering for tic nomination. Ia disre
specful to the delegates and unbecuming tho dguits
| Of tho o1lce sought.
Tlis was tho principle which governed all
nominations for Congress III tho Southern Staten
haforo tho W.T. and the result was that that sco-
tlon was always represented by men Of ability
aud information whose personal character "as
beyond roproach. Tho man who WIS suspected
| Of having bought tho yotos Of dologate, or Of
having packed tocal convention, would,
| despite hiB nomiuadon, been rotoctod
by tho people, and his further resi-
! dcnce IN that noighborhood would become
exceedingly uncomfortable. Thore was timo
when this samo rule prevailed III a'l parts OF Tho
Union, and it was owine to tho general departure
from this practico that soats in tho Senate have
been made articles Of merchandise, and TINT
nominations for Representatives havo become ~
much commodity as wheat. oats. or potatoes.
L lowering Of tho genoral character Of Congress-,
ulators, gamblors and dishonest mon, have fol-
loved. Fifty yenrs ago 0akes Ames would huya
boon expelled from Congress upon the frat hint
! OF m effort to interest mombers In Crol;t Mo.
biNor, In 1879 there wose not votes enough 10
cxpel him for the actual hribery Of dozen
members, nor yotoB enough to censure those
! who had acoDptea tho bribes.
Contrast this OLD AID honorable practice, wlaiel
ia to be revived In Virginia and Georgia, with the
proceedings of tue Convention which met al
uurlbut for Congress, when the question oi
who should bo nominated depended Oh the qucs
tion who would pay tho most for this Or tha
delegation. AL over Iowa, Wisconsin. Mime
sofa, Indiana, aud Illinois. tic Congrosaiona
incumbents aro marshalug their hired haul
Of oalco-hollora to pack conventions mud per
. ] petuato themselves III Congress- Never, per
haps, in tho history Of tho country las tho eau
J. vaeB Tor nominations for Cougroas beou 10 meal
and degrading aH among tho political majorit,
, this ycar. Tho uso OF money received sort o
, legitimacy in Kansaa. because tue Republic
, I'll party in Congress- refused to dis
countcnance it. It's auccess tAcro has mad
, its uae general aud now no perpol
dare venture to Beok nominnt1on who laB 10
the means, md who will not pledgo himsolf, t
| pay literally for tho "exponacs Of tho nomi
, nation, md eyon moro liborally for tho OF
pepsas Of the election. Tho office noycr sock
; the individual nowadays. That being IN homo,
: able principle, aud its observance conducive
tho public interest, it is no longer recognized
thero being uo money in It, 1t is discarded fro1
tlo code Of moaorn politics.
4 Tho proceedings In Virginia and Georgin Al
q crediablo to those who Aayo begun them. The
: Indicate that though those pooplo may have bee
Q Robcla, they nevertheless place upon the ollco
n member OF tho Copgrosa Of the Uuitod State
d dignity and an louor wholly ignored anon
y those Of their countsymen who have not paaae
. through the process OF reconstruction.
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J. SHALL VIE HAVE MORE BMALL sTATEg
70 One OF tho Bchomou devised for uron,otit
8 the power Of tho Nepuhlcan party IL tho aami
l. aion o. States Of scantily-peopled Torritori
l. Which GRO surpassed to be sure to aand tho eigI
n liud Of Representatives and Senators to wnsl
sr iugton. During tho Inst Hesslon Of Congress
i A.. 1ro,uo IN admit Hn1rBffn and M
% Mexico. Fortunately, neither bill pasHod Il