The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-09-12
of National Conventions by
lanes Parton.

New l 0Th LtNSei'
When the people of the United states
come to elect president, they are assisted
invarious ways by the law. The law directs
when. where, and how they shall vote, in
whose presence and with what safeguards,
also by whom the ballots shall be counted,
reported and recorded. But in the much
more difficult matter of nominating, the peo-
pie are left without assistance from the law.
They have had to invent methods, and they
have had to change their methods with
changing circumstances.
There was no great difficulty in nominal
inc candidates for office SO long as each
colony or state was independent OF the rest;
nor WAS there any difficulty at all in nomi-
mating General Washington for the preslden-
/ cy, because he WAS the spontaneous choice OF
nearly every individual. Buteven at that first
presidential election there wac embarrassment
snd some delay in deciding upon vics-pres-
dent, and it was General Washington him
;elf who settled that question. He wrote a
letter to be shown to electors, in which he
stated that he would be well pleased with the
slpc,;on of Mr.. Adams to the second office.
Tb;o w.s A return in kind to John Adams; for
| il WAS he whe, fifteen years before, had NOM
mated George Washington IN the eontinen-
al congre.s 70 be commander-ln-ch'ef OF the
Evolutionary army. ,.o,
IA soon as parties were formed the diff
GUILTY of selecting candidates arose; tor the
country was large, the population scattered
and the people of one state were little ac'
uusinted with those of any other. The task,
however. was accomplished in the easiest,
simnlest and most natural manner. Mem
bers of congress at Philadelphia talked
the matter over, and came, at
frat TO sort of understanding.
do not find any trace Of congress
sonal caucus in 1896, which selected Mr.
Adams as q candidate of the Federalists
There appesrs to have been simply an under,
standing among the leaders OF the party that
his name should be recommended 10 the
electors. Nor does there appear to have beer
binding agreement on the part OF the
Democrats to support Jefferson and Burr
though we find Burr complaining after " ard
that he had been betrayed by some OF thu
southern electors.
In 1900 tho members of congress of eact
party met in caucus and agreed upon candi
dAt,s. and that agreement was held to b.
sacred and binding. 1t was oil arranged IL
the ouietest and briefest manner. The caucu
met without formal invitation, in the chambe
of the house Of representatives,; Ihey me
in the evening, sat with closed doors, pup
lished no report of their proceedings, an'
kept no formal record. TIE business wa
usually done at single session, and tnat o
no great duration. Probably by ten o'clocl
in the evening the task was accomplished
and the members were at home.
In this simple and inexpensive name
Jefferson and Burr were nominated in leOt
Jefferson and Clinton in 1904; Madison !
1903; Madison again in 1872; and Monroe
1916 aud 1920. Long before 1920, howeve
people began to see that, owing to the ya'
predominance of the Democratic party,
nomination WAS equivalent to an election
and that therefore it was not the people
the United States who elected presiden
but q handful Of members of congress, a.
irresponsible body, sitting in secret conclav'
at the remote city of Washington.
The first man to distinctly rebel again
this form of "the machine was Aaron Bur
the creator of machine politics. In. l81
when he was living in New York a ruin,
man, practicing law little for a subsistence
| he wrote to his son in.law, Governor Josep
Aston, of South Carolina, long letter,
which be suggested plan for breaking U
/ the system of nominating by caucus. Jam
Monroe, it was well known, was about to
nominated in the old way, and Burr oppos,
il on various grounds.
"a certain Junto," said he, "of actual al
fictitious Vrgnians, having had pcssessi,
Of the government for twenty-four yea
consider the United States their propert
and by bswling, support the administl
ton, have SO long succeeded in duping t
Republican public"
He objected also to the coming candids
asa man NATURALLY dull and stupid, {
remey illiterate, indecisive, pusillanimo,
and, Of course hypocritical" Burr's pl
was that Governor Aston should induce t
II legislature of South Carolina to put in no
nation the most popular man in the Unit
n States, Andrew jackson, who had won
battle of New Orleans only nine months
lore He wanted this done before the non
nsung caucus met and he counted up
other iegisa ures following the example.
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