The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1880-04-29
The National Convention


ton given each state in the national
Republican convention is the elec-
toral college, each State being given
twice as many votes as it has elec-
toral votes, while in addition each
Territory has one vote and the Dis
trict of Columbia two.
There is considerable opposition
being manifested to this system at
this time, and it would be no sur
prise if there would be radical
change in this direction. The
strong point made by those who OBJ
iect to this is that ssthe convention lis
not convention of States but con-
vcntion of a party, and the only
logical basis of representation is the
strength of the party in the several
States" The eleven Southern States
lately in rebellion, with the addition
of Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland
and West Virginia, have an aggre-
gate of 27O votes in the convention.
OF these States there is not one
which the Republicans can hope to
carry ut the next election. Now on
the other hand the Republican States
of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Kansas, Ne
vada, Massachusetts,, Rhode Island,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota, Cali
fornia and Nebraska have a repre-
scntation in the convention of 500, or
only thirty more than the fifteen
Democratic States in the other list.
Yet the fifteen Republican States
will give the Republican candidate
$50 electoral votes, while the States
in the other column cannot be coun-
ted on for a single Republican cleo
tor. "It is an absur,!ity and an i'll
JUSTICE" says the Boston JoHraal,
"that delegates from States which
contribute nothing to the election of
a candidate should have q voice in
the convention so nearly equal to
that of the delegations from States
which are loyal to the party. 1t is.
clear that in certain not impossible
contingencies delegates from States
and sections which are hostile to the
Republican party might force upon
the convention Il candidate exceed
ingly distasteful to the party in those
States where its real strength lies.
"a system which is both illogical
and unjust, and which is exposed to
such dangers, can scarcely be too
soon displaced by better. We can
see no good reason why the consti-
tuition of the national convention
should not be on a basis similar to
that which governs in the organiza-
ton of our State conventions. e.,
the number Of votes cast at the pre-
vious election. It would not be nee
essary that the size of the conyen-
ton, already quite as large as is de-
sirable, should be increased. The
only change necessary would be a
redistribution of the number of dele
gates on the new basis. A State
which had cast 100000 votes at the
preceding presidential election
should have four times as large a
representation in the convention as a
State which had given only $4,000
Republican votes, and this without
any regard to the population, the
electoral college or any other extran-
eous consideration. The number of
Republican votes cast at the preced-
ing presidential election in any State
should be multiplied by the whole
number of delegates constituting the
convention, and the product, divided
by the aggregate Republican vote of
the nation, would show the number
of delegates to which the State was
properly entitled. Instead of TAG,
the present number of delegates, the
number might fixed at 700, for
convenience of calculation. A con-
vention constituted on this plan
would be as nearly representative of
the party strength, and rs fairly in
dicative of the party desire as any
system that could be devised; ard it
would be infinitely preferable to the
existing system, which lodges power
in the hands of delegates as repre-
sentatives of States rather than as
representatives of the party in the
States"
The Des Moines correspondent of
the Pioneer Press writes as follows