The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1880-06-04
STANDING COMMITTEE.

BLOOMSBURY, Pa. June 2, 1880.
MEssRs EDITORS =
Now that the meeting of our standing
committee is over, as we'll as the sessions of
our State convention, it may not be amiss
to call the attention of your Democratic
readers to some propositions that should
underlie,if they do not, our county delegate
system.
Atthe outset let me say that our delegates
to the State Convention-Col.J j. G. Free re
and John NJ. Clark, esqs,were men who were
eminently fit for the position and who could
have been elected under any circumstances.
/ also believe that they properly represented
in convention the wishes of the Democracy
of this county. The old rule was for tho
Convention to select the chairman, and as l
am informed he selected the Standing Com
mittee, which was gradually enlarged from
five to eleven, have not the data by me to
be exact. At any rate this one man Power
was fre que ntly abused, especially by the
bolt in 1866, in the contest between Chal-
FAINT and Tate. To remedy this evil new rules
were adopted, and among them was one pro-
viding that the Standing Committee should
consist of one member from each election
district and that they should be elected by
the Democratic voters at the Delegate elec
ton. This salutary rule was intended to
give the people representatives of their own
choice, and it followed of course that there
WAS full representation of the minority.
But at the late meeting of the Standing
Committee, despite protest, it was prostitu-
ted, and whilst no injury was done at that
time, the precedent is fraught with danger
for the future.
In the first place we do not believe there
is any authority for any substitutions, GER
tainly not in the rules The members are cleo
ted, not appointed, and if for any reason the
man chosen cannot attend the power of SUBJ
stitu ton falls back to the people.
But granting that he has the power of sub
stitutiou all reason and precedent show that
his successor must come from the body which
elected him. Otherwise our present rule is
worse than the old one. At the last meet
ing blank substitutions were collected and
the names filled in at the will of the holder.
number of these men resided in Blooms
burg, and possibly never set foot in the dis
tricts they pretended to represent The same
process might enable the whole to be rep
resented by men living in Bloomsburg. On
the same theory it would be easy for man
to 90 through the county ard collect ma
jority if not all the substitutions and insert
his own OF any other name. This would be
minority representation with a vengeance,
but is unwauanted, and undemocratic. We
Oant no one man polOy in this county.
II can readily be seen how easy it is to get
these subititutions. There is no pay con-
nected with the position and many are losth
to leave their business for matter in which
they may think they have no immediate con-
cern. Others may act from motives of friend
ship, promises as to the future, pecuniary
motives, or other inducements.
The next Convention should take hold of
this question, and the people should elect
those who are able and willing to serve, or il |
substitutions are to be made let it be by the |
people of the district, or OF one from among
their number. B