Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-06-05

LII Tue 0laI6 OIL LOulSldnd Inc COuIulUte6 rec
! ommend the admission of the delegation wit
their alternates, headed by Henry O. War
. mouth, and the exclusion of the delegation
with their alternates headed by Taylor BETTER
The committee find that this contes
rose out of two rival conventions. The fact
in the Louisiana case are already familiar t,
| the public
Second-The committee recommend on thi
, Fourth Congressional district of Alabam:
James L. Rapier for admission as delegate
! from said district. The committee found tka
, Mr.. Rapier had been requested to pledge sup
port to Grant and upon his refusal the presi
dent of the convention was requested to with
draw his credentials unless ne would within
twenty-four hours give such pledge. This
was refused.
Third-The committee in the Seventh Con
gressional district of Alabamba recommended
that VIM. H. Smith and Willett Warner bt
admitted in the place of Arthur Brigham and
r. A. Mosely. The facts in the case of Messrs
Smith and Warner are substantially the same
as shown in the case of Jas. T. Rapier.
Fourth-The committee recommended the
admission of the following delegates within the
State of Illinois in place of the sitting members
First Congressional district, VIM. J. Campbell
Elbridge G.. Keith Third Congressional dis
trict, Washington 81. E. Sing Elliott Anthony
Fourth Congressional district, O. W. Marsh
Lot B. Smith; Fifth Congressional district
Robert E. Logan, W. q. Holcomb; Sixth Con.
grassional district, James H. Edsall, John p.
Hand Ninth Congressional district. John A.
Gray, William Telden Gay; Tenth Congression.
al dist riot, Johu Fletcher, Henry Tubbs; Thir-
teenth Congressional district, F. Low, E. d.
Blenn; Seventeenth Congressional district, VIM.
G. Koeffner, d. E. Coolidge.
The committee find that State convention was
held at Springfield, Illinois, on the Goth day of
May, to elect delegates to the national conven-
kl. 4I,oI
each of the foregoing Congressional districts as
sembled and organized district convention and
elected two delegates and two alternates to the
Chicago convention by clear majority of all
the delegates elected to the State convention
in each of said districts, as is shown by
| the credentials accompanying this
report. The State convention by means of a
committee of one from each congressional
district selected, and afterward assumed to
elect two delegates to the national convention,
including the sitting members from the for
going districts, the delegates from each of
which filed in the State convention protests
against said election by the State convention.
The committee report against the validity of
the contests in the second district of Illinois of
| the seats of sitting members, A. M. Wright and
R. s. Tuthill.
Sixth-The committee report. against the
objections to the seats of the delegates at
large from Illinois.
Seventh-Kansas: The committee recommend
the admission as delegates, from the second
district of Kansas. T. G. Sears and l.. A. Day,
and from the third district, Thomas j. Ander-
son and John III. Steele, and that the ten
present sitting members be allowed to vote in
their seats and to cast six votes. A State con-
vention was held at Topeka March 81, 1880, and
all the sitting members elected by one resolu.
! tion. During the convention, district conven n
tions were notified by the chair
|
Third districts the contestants were elected in
such district at the time and places mentioned
and certified, and the committee find that they
were the choice Of majority in these districts
Eighth-Pensylvania: In the Ninth con-
gressional district of Pennsylvania the commit
tee report against the validity of the contest
made by A. Klein and E. K. Martin.
Ninth-The committee report against the
contestants D. FL. Mckinney and H. H. Nc
Dorian in the Nineteenth Congressional dis
trict of Pennsylvania
Tenth-West Virginia: In the Third Congress
sional district. The committee recommend
that the sitting members @. D. Randell and
s. A. MartiD be allowed to retain their seats.
Many of the foregoing recommendations de-
pend upon the adoption in the national conven-
tlon OF the principle of Congressional district
representation in each case of a favorable
consideration. The committee have ascertain
ed that those who are recommended were
actually chosen by O proper convention
representing the congressional district for which
they are accredited In justification of the
principles of congressional district conven-
tions the committee might rest upon the call
of this convention.
The committee than say: The justice aud
equity of recognizing, securing ard protecting
congressional representation is also demon
strated by the precedents of the Republican
party since its organization in 1856, which NAV
be summarized as follows:
First-In all the official records of the pro-
ceedings of the conventions from 1860 to 1876,
the lists of delegates include, with insignificant
exceptions, first, delegates at large, and next,
the delegates residing with and selected from
each congressional district
Seeond-In no single case prior to 1880,
which has teen shown to the committee has
the selection of delegates, fairly made within
and for any congressional district, by the Re-
publican party, within such district, been
overruled or changed by State convention or
by any other means or authority.
Third-The last proposition is true, whether
the delegatee have been chosen by sepa-
rate district conventions held within the
districts, or at single State convention and
where State conventions have been held, it has
been almost the universal practice to allow the
delegates to such State convention, from eac
congressional district to hold separate district
conventions, and select the national delegates
from each district.
This long current of precedent, and this uni
versal custom of the past. most conolusively
establishes the right of congressional district
representation. 1t is a question of substance,
and not of form, whether the delegates have
come certified from separate district conven-
tions, or whether they have come from a State
convention where the district members therof
have selected their district representatives, and
formally reported them to the State conven
tion, and their election has been certified for
brevity and convenience only by
the officers of the Stste convention. District
representation in fact, has always been allowed.
The right of the Con cessional district to two
members residing within it and representing
the sentiment has been treated as sacred, and
your committee do not believe that it should be
now for the first time invaded with the ap.
proval of the national convention Not only
does the call for the convention and the prac-
tice and precedents of the party in one
unbroken line vindicate and secure
the right of single district representation
but every consideration of reason and of prac-
| tice tends to confirm the wisdom. The purpose
tosbe secured in nominating President is the
selecting of a candidate the most likely to be
accepted by the people, and the nearer we get
| to the popular feeling in this manner Of Sc
| lecting delegates, the more wiser and safer will
be our nomination. If a State convent IN called
| to choose delegates TO national convention can
by bare majority overrule the chance of the
Congressional districts and select delegates re-
siding within the districts who do not repre-.
sent its. sentiments they might as well be al
lowed to select all the delegates from one Con-
gressional district. Residence within district,
| coupled with misrepresentation of it's
sentiments, is mockery. The delegate thus
selected by State convention will not fairly
represent the mass of the Republicans of the
State but will frequently misyepresent them.
Nominations made by conventions of such
delegates will not be 30 likely to be ratified at
the polls, and in the opinion of the committee,
it is the duty of the convention emphatically to
disapprove these attempts to override time
honored customs of the party, and to vindicate
the right of every Congressional district to be
represented in national convention by two
delegates of its own selection and expressing