The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1878-06-07

delegates to the nominating Conventions have
always been elected at township meetings and
not by the clubs: This voice should net now be
denied them. -
1t is the policy Of our party to gather in re-
cruits from the other party. Every one should =
be encouraged to become a Democrat IL adj
mission into the party is refssed % the Kepub-
licans, then we force them to consolidate against
US. Under this treatment they would always
continue to be now, n compact mass alongside
and in our midst, ready and waiting to cast
itself into the arms Of disappointed disaffcc-
ted candidate. and wrest from us the vantage-
ground we have attained. This should be pre-
vented. But neither would it be wise to put it
in the power of the new recruits to control the
action of the party; especially when these re,
cruits are drawn from a party whose capacity
to rum State has been so fully shown. Let
them come into our party, but let US have time
to make good democrats of them.
What has been already said above will equally
apply to the third plan.
II will readily be that no such combna,
| tions are probable in the election of delegates
to the County Convention, for the reason that q
rase to be successful. must be concealed ;pati}5s
It is'accomplished. In a primary election the 5
| result is not known until it is declared, and
| even then it cannot be affirmed with certainty
who deposited the ballots which made up the
majority but in the election of delegates to D
| Convention, the names of delegates are known
before they meet and act, and if it is Apparent
thata majority Of the delegates elect are Repub-
licans, there will be time and opportunity to
Illustrate the successful accomplishment of the
| fraud.
Again: 1t is almost absolutely certain that
more than one primary election will be necessa-
ry to choice of nominees. Each township may
have its own separate and distinct favoritc can.
| adate for every office. At the first election no
one may have majority of all the votes, and
there will be no nomination. At the second
election only the two highest candidates will be
run, and one Of these will then receive the NOM
inaton. But in the contest each has put forth
oil his energies in the struggle for success
They have become arrayed as two parties against
each other. Each party has exerted itself 10
the utmost. The zeal Of friends on either side
will have engendercd the usual bitterness and
strife of such contests, and ut the end the de-
feated candidate and his party, smarting under
| their defeat and humiliated by the triumph Of
the other, will be required forthwith and imme-
diacly to enlist under the banner of his success
ful opponent. Human nature sometimes revo!ts
against this. The result would probably be,
| that much of that zeal and enthusiasm which
| may be needed to defeat common enemy will
be exhausted in this preliminary struggle for the
| nomination. The nominee may acquire fresh
zeal from his success T; but the defeated party is
sure to be lukewarm, if nothing worse Under
these circumstances, at the moment of defeat, it
would not be difficult TO persuade the unsuccess-
full aspirant for Office TO become an independent
candidate.
1t may be said that there would be no necces-
sity for second election that sece nd election
might DO avoided by declaring the one receiving
the highest vote st the first election the nomi-
nee. A moments reflection will suffice to show
that this would not do. The primary election
is for the choice of q candidate. When nomi-
mated the party is pledged and required to
vote for him. The party should not be required
to vote for candidate unless he is the choice of
a majority of the party If he is the choice Of
o majority of the party he would have greater
right to receive the undivided support Of the
party, and he would be more likely to receive
it. There were 1924 votes cast for Hampton at
the last election. Suppose there should be four
candidates for one office, and at the primary
| election one should receive 400 votes, anoth er
600, another 700, and another 800 votes. The
one who received 300 votes would, under this
plan, be the candidate, and yet he would not
have received the votes of one-third of the party
| If he and either Of the others should run alone,
it might be that in the next he would get
no more than the 800 votes and His opponent the
balance. Increase the number Of candidates
above foui, or reduce them to three, and the re-
suit is equally unsatisfactory.
nomination is quite different thing from
an election. We cannot be too careful in the
selection Of candidates. If we are obliged to
vote for the candidate, he should at least be the
choice of majority of the party. No one should
be nominated unless by q majority; otherwise
he can never be acceptable candidate.
Another objection to the primary system is
the greater opportunity that will he afforded for