Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1880-05-25
From the Boston Journal.
The Logan Tyranny in Illinois.


The Logan Tyranny i'm Illinois.
| The conduct Of Senator Logan and his fol-
lowers in the Illinois republican Convention
| deserves the most emphatic condemnation. In
the first place his boiling delegation from
Cook county was made the pretext for de-
priving the 90 anti-Grant delegates from that
county of their seats in the convention. These
delegates were regularly chosen by county
cony cntion in which the anti-Grant men had
two thirds of the members. Had the Cook
county delegates thus rcgularlarly elected
been admitted to the convention, the Logan
faction would have been in minority. as the
best test vote-that on admitting the anti
Grant dclcgation-showed 3il Logan and 26l
ant-Logan men. Against the report of the
| Committee on Credentials. the Logan faction
admitted portion of the delegates chosen by
a boiling convention, thus saving its maj ORR
| ty This done, a resolution was forced
through declaring that General Grant was
| the choice of the convention, the vote stand
| ing 3s6 in favor and 307 opposed.
With u majority obtained in defiance of
Justice, General Logan proceeded to declare
that it was the right of the State Convention
| to choose delegation for the entire State
| and pledged it to vote as a unit for General
Grant. Thus fraudulent majority seized
rights which the call of the national convea-
ton and the republican precedents. both in
| States and conventions, vests in the delegates
or conventions OF Congressional districts.
| Conseauentlv with that insolence which be-
comes fraud, the Logan faction appointed a
committee to nominate delegates from the
| a, lar
of the fairly elected delegates of nearly half
of them that they had chosen delegates to
represent the sentiment of their constituents
/ in the national convention. That committee
reported list of Grant delegates and the ma
| lority voted them in, the minority, which
| with lust action would have been the ma lor-
" of the convention, refusing to answer
| to their names.
We have maintained from the first that the
| Congressional districts have the undoubted
right either To choose the delegates assigned
to them by the system of representatio in the
national convention or to name them iii the
State convention Such has been the recog-
nized policy of the party. Such is the plain
meaning of the call for the national conven-
ton. which saws:
Republicans and all who iriH cooperate with them
in supporting the nominees Of the party invited
to choose ftro delegates from zach Congressional
district. four at large from each state, two from
each Territory. and two from the District Of Coum
bis, to represent them In the convention.
II two delegates are to be chosen from
each Congressional district. who are to choose
them. if not the republicans residing and
voting in the several districts? If State
conventions were expected to choose the
delegates the call would have stated.
in explicit terms, that State conventions shall
choose a number of delegates equal to twice
the number of Senators and Representatives
which they have in Congress. The system OF
representation was made to correspond to that
of the State in Congress. by which the voice
of the State ut large is expressed by the SEN
atorial delegates and the sentiment of sec
tons by the delegates from Congressional
districts. The Illinois Convention. led by
Gen. Logan. could just as well assume to
nominate representatives to Congress as to
choose the representatives of districts to the
National Convention.
The ant-Grant delegates constituted ma
ioritv of the delegations. representing nine
Congressional districts. They have very
properly chosen delegates representing the
sentiment of their constituents to represen,
them in the National Convention. These
delegates owe it to the republican party to
present their claims in the National Conven-
ton. The theory of the fair representation
of the voters of district cannot be set aside
or ignored by the republican National Con
vention.
While vet Gen. Logan was a democratic
leader. the republican party was organized as
the party Of freedom and justice. Its first
demand was for free speech and free action.
1t demands to-day for every citizen the right
to vote AS he chooses, and the right to have
that vote counted. When Gen. Logan sub
s,itutes the regularly elected delegates OF
Cook county with men who are not elected
when he turns a minority into a msjorits by
filling convention with persons who do not
represent constituents. when he denies to
nearly half of the Congressional districts OF
the third State in the Cnlon their right to
select their own delegates to the National
Convention. he tramples under foot the
fundamental principles Of the republican
party.
There is but one opinion among the ma
/ joritv Of republican voters in reference to the
Logan proceeding, and that is that it was a
high-hanticd outrage. In their names, we
warn the delegates to the Chicago Conven-
ton that defeat awaits a candidate who may
be nominated in defiance Of right and jus
tice. Whether the candidate be Gen. Grant,
Senator Blaine. Secretary Sherman or any
other man. he must appear before the repub-
lican voters as fairly nominated. We have
faith to believe that there " ill be that degree
of prudence and justice in the National Con-
vention which will right the great wrong
committed by John A. Logan and his follow
ers.
| The simplest, safest and surest means to