New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-06-05
CANDIDATES Ar The CONVENTIONS.

CANDIDATES AT HE CONVENTIONS.
II "a sometimes said that under the two
thirds rule "A candidate who goes into the Con-
vention with only majority of the votes is
almost ccrt2in 10 BE slaughtered after the first
ballot. This is a mistake. Twice within re-
cent years the Democracy have set aside their
original favoTtes and given the nomination 10
q man vino was not named at all on the first
ballot: but for about the space of generation
Qeaving aside these two exceptional caseS) 1t
has invariably happened that the candidate
who showed the highest poll at the opening Of
the Convention carried off the pIize OF The
Democratic nomination at the cnd.
In the Convention of 1915 the number of
votes necessary to a choice was 10, and the
first ballot stood, Cass, 125; Woodbury., 50
Buchanan, %. On the second Mr.. Cass hji
1873; on the third he had 1876; and on the
fourth he WIS nominated with 119. In 1907
Mr.. Cass led the liss with III, Mr. buchanan
coming next with 93, and the contest con-
timed with no material change until the jJth
ballot, when Franklin Pierce appeared for the
first time, having II votes. The whole num-
Der OF votes was 2SS. On the 4Sth ballot
Pierce had %; Cas-, 73; Buchanan,
%; Douglas (vho started with 2J),
SO. ana Marcy (who started with 20,
90. Pierce was nominated OH the Ash
ballot. getting all the votes except Il. In 1896
Mr.. Buchanan led al the opening with I'D
votes, against piercc's %, Douglass 80, and
Casss :, the whole number east being 296.
There were u ballots On this occasion, IN The
course of which MIR. Picrccs strength soon ran
itself ont, while Buchanan ard Douglas almost
steadily gained. Mr.. Douglas at last with
drew. the figures on the lG.h ballot standing,
Buchanan les, Douglas 12l, Cas- g. In 1850
the position OF the Democracy was peculiar.
The first meeting of the Convention held at
Charleston WAS failure, and after 81 iru'tlesS
ballots. il which Sir. Douglas Gistanced all
his competitors. his vote starting at 11Ji2 and
running I'D TO 81 (Which was 30 less tmn the
requisite numbcr), the Convention adjourned to
| Baltimore. When il rcassembled Mr.. Douglas
had 173la votes on the first ballot and ISLE
On the second, and WAS then declared nOmi-
mated, The secession of many of the Southern
delegates rendering it impossible for any one
to obtain two-ihrds OF all the delegates
authorized to vote. In the Democratic Con-
ven.i0n Of 1864 Gen. Mcclellan began with
ia votes, f. II. Seymour having 80 and
| Horatio Seymour II, but before the result was
declared enough of the delegates changed their
votes to give Mcclellan 202l2 and so n0mi-
nate him. In 1868 occurred the second OF the
! exceptional cases to which we have referred.
| Mr.. Seymour got no votes at all until
the fourth ballot, and then had only 9,
after which he was dropped until the
last the Convention finally going for him
on The 22d ballot in the manner of q STAN
pedc. The fortunes Of the other candidates
were curious At the beginning the count
was pendletOn, 1885, Andrew Johnson, 50;
| Hancock, $751;; Hendricks, 2l2 whole number
of votes 3l7. Mr. PcndictOn ran up slowly
10 1861, and on the 18th ballot had gone
| down again to JGI2 where he Was dropped.
Hancock began t. gain after tie 10Th, aud
eliminated in the / Sih with 144l2. Hendricks
| gained fast and almost uninteuuptcdly. and
| Andrew johnson lost with almost equal
! rapidlty. The figures on the DIST ballot were,
! Hancock, 1851 Hendricks. 132. In 1872
| the Democracy had only TO accept the nomi-
nation of the Liberal Republicans. In 1892
when Pierce was nominated, and in 1868
when Seymour was nominated it will be OBJ
served that none OF the other Democratic can
! didat,s succeeded in obtaining ut any time IA
/ bare majority. III tNttg 'dAf NiiiCC 1890
where any one has secured half the number
! of votes cast he has carried off the nomination,
| and in every such case also the successful
one has been tho candidate who led on tlic
( li,st ballot.
| If we look at the record Of the opposite
| marty during the same period we shall find
| that although il has not always accepted the
! candidate who made ihe best score mt the start,
! il has never taken one who beGan lower than
/ the second place. In the Wing Convention Of
/ 1913 the competitors were Taylor, with Ill
votes on the first ballot, Clay with ~, Scott
| with AZ and Webster with %. Their relative
positions remained the same until the fourth
! ballot, when Clay fell below Scott, and Taylor
was nominated by III votes. 40 the opening
! Of the Whig Convention Of 1852 Fillmore had
1873 delegates, Scott 13l, and Webster 20.
| AT the second ballot two OF Fi'lmorc's men
went over to Scott, and the leaders ran neck
and meek for a long time. Scott secured
decided advantage, however, on tho 36th
ballst, and WIS nominated on the sd by l59
votes to FIllnorc's 10. At the first National
Convention of TIL" Republican party Q956) Free
lcOnt Tas To'niDat"d With OILY one ballot. At
the Ce.ly e,t iea 0i $50. where he fotai number
OF votes was ACC, the inst ballot stood, Sew