The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-06-26
The ~. Louis Convention and the
TWO-Thirds Rule.

The NJ, Louis Convention aud the
TwO-Thirds Rule.
One reason why the country is SO much
at sea in regard tothe coping man at St.
Louis, Is because Of the pTesciptive two
thirds rule that obtains in the Democrat
ic party, requiring the nominee to receive
two.,hirds Of the electoral vote repre-
sented in the Convention. This rule was
adopted as far back as 1882, at the hold
ing Of the first nominating convention,
and despite defeats entailed. upon the
party in consequence Of it still keeps its
place as an indispensable requirement to
a Democratic Presidential nominee. II
was owing to this rule that the party had
no candidate for Vice President in 1910,
no one being able to command two
thirds vote, andit was also owing 70 this
rule that Polk was nominated instead Of
Cass or Van Buren, in 1914.
Van Buren, got even with both Cas-. and
the party in 1913, by running rs the Free
Soil candidate, and receiving $4,000
votes in the State Of New. York, thereby
giving the State to Gen. Taylor, the
Wing candidate, and clecling him Presi-
dent. ti '
Stephen A. Douglas, when he was a can
dilate in 1856, before the Democratic
Convention at Cincinnati, gave wa! as
soon as Mr.. Buchanan had received
majority Of the votes, thereby declining
to recognize the democratic character OF
the rule, or rather thereby expressing an
opinion that it was an anti.democratic
rule. But when in 1850 Douglas had re-
ceived fair and square majority OF The
votes in the Charleston Convention, the
Southern Democrats would notSive way
and let him have the nomination, but ad-
journed the Convention to Baltimore and
then seeded from it and nominated John
c. Breckenridge Of rebel memory.
The rule has therefore twice brought
defeat upon the party and yet they ad.
here to it. It is IN oligarchic rule, as
any onecan see, and ought to be abolished.
No doubfit would have been abolished
4ong ago save for the fact that it suited
the South so we'll and made the Northern
Democratic leaders so subservient to the
slavery interest. The South by the aid
Of the two-thirds rule could always die
tate the candidate. They thereby. die.
tated the choice Of Polk and Pierce, and
thereby indirectly elected Lincoln in
1860. .t--r
This same rule is to be applied once
more, at 81. Louis this week. It is hard
to tell who, or how many, il will kill of.
Tilden, Hancock and Thurman are the
prominent candidates, but no body has
figured out n two.tllirds vote for
any Of them IA yet. The New
York World OF last Friday puts
Tildens vote ut 29l aud that OF Hem
bricks at ITO. The 10 votes Of West
Virginia are given 10 Hendricks in this
calculation, and We are not sure but the
c,timatei is correct. While there are said
to he 8 hard money men. in the delegation
yet we suspect that they would willingly
conpromi,e with the other 7 on Hen.
bricks, who, as all the world knows, is
neither flesh nor fsl, on this or any other
question. Aside from the money qnes.
ton. the Democracy Of West Virginia
would undoubtedly prefer Thurman, and
40 strong is this preference that it will |
not sunrise use TO see them yielding even
tho money question to ii, Very many OF
them have not forgotten that Thurman
wa, , s.cAssfon symna,Lizer during the
war and sucb !, record ma that ike The
,,,n,Io ~ ohnr;,v covors ,rv on,n,i,v NJ
T.'I,. " |
Th" ;Odio,,;or. from g. Loni, at mi.
,,.i,;.n ".S ,hS. n. T;iIon viii h. Tho
80" "'T ~, SI'''' ..,. ta"o.1.1 :" liz, hv
,%s M",S NJ, IVY !. ~, ~ - Ii. ro1I
~. .,S !. Wv" y, ,..a, nv hn p vats.
I"SaaS :, !. w., oonSdon,Is n,o.I;o,0I
,%st So viii roIl .Nt vo,e. vorv eSrly IN
,ha vo,;rg i notion ,br &C., h.,lot Ia
~