The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1880-03-05
THE TwO.TaIRDs RULE.
tFrom Mobile Register.l

N 0tlOH0l DeMOCfaJlC COnSSntlOu tuNt
the last National Convention asked the
Democratic State Convention Of the
several States, in sending delegates to
the National Convention Of 1886, to In
struct them to vote either for or against
the continuance of the two-thirds rule.
The resolution on the subject of the
last Democratic National Convention
was as follows:
ReSolred, That it be recommended
to future National conventions us the
sense of the Democracy here in con-
vention assembled that the so-called
two-thirds rule be abolished rs unWise
and unnecessary, and that the States
be requested to instruct their delegates
to the Democratic National Convention
to be held in 1850, whether it be desir-
able to continue the two.thirds rule
longer in force in the National Con-
vention, and that the National Conn
mittee insert such request in their call
for the convention. !, .,..: .
When this resolution was before the
convention, Senator Wallace, of Penn
sylvania, called for division OF the
question. The President ordered the
resolution to be divided into two. The
first one ended with tho word sun-
necessary This was adopted. The
vote was then taken upon the other
part of the resolution, and that was
adopted. So that the whole resolu-
tion was adopted, the only change
being the division of it into two para
graphs.
In 1876 there was very strong feel
ing in favor of doing away with the
two-thirds rule but now, it appears to
us, the feeling is decidedly in favor of
retaining it. The Richmond Dispatch
expresses our own view when it says
We had become somewhat prejudiced
against the old Democratic rule because
it had postponed the nomination of Mr..
Tilden when, AS we thought, every
! consideration Of party policy had de-
tnanded his nomination OH the first
| ballot. However, we have had nearly
four years in which to cool off, and now
| we are disposed to think that the rule
can remember cannot be SO Ja,i'.a rnle
after all, and might AS we'll be permitted
to stand. We have pretty we'll made
up our minds not to become SO warmly
enlisted this year in behalf of any man
! as we were in 1876 in behalf of Tilden.
We desire to have no regrets to express
| over the nomination of any good man.
Nevertheless, it would seem to be not
| hard requirement that the candidate
who is to bear our banner this year
| shall receive a two-thirds vote in the
National Convention. Otherwise the
States which will be unable to give him
vote IN November next might control
the nomination. If justice were done,
such States as Vermont, Pennsylvania,
Wisconsin,, and Il few others that never
vote the Democratic ticket, would not
be allowed to be represented in the
National Conventions; but inasmuch as
there are always so many doubtful
States which may or may not cast their
votes for the Democratic candidate, it
is in practice found necessary to allow
all the States to be represented, as per-
chance some favorable turn in the
| wheel OF fortune might give the DEM
ocrats State whose vote they had not
counted upon. Although the Republi-
can States are thus allowed to be repre-
sented in the National Convention,
they cannot nominate a candidate so
long rs the two-thirds rule is in opera
ton. This is one reason why we favor
its retention.
| Another reason why the two.thirls
rule should not be repealed is that it
renders it next to impossible for a
shrewd, wire-working aspirant to con-
troll the action Of the National Conven-
tion through a large minority of the
delegates. This large minority cannot
succeed half SO well in impressing their
views upon two-thirds of the delegates
as upon half of them. We do not
know that there is anybody in the
field this year who would attempt such
strategy; but it is we'll enough to have
every weak point well guarded.
a part of q letter from Price Alex
antler Of Hesse to his wife, dated St.
Petersburg, Feb, II, says: s'I was
received at the railway station by all
the sons of the Emperor and by Prince
Alexander of Bulgaria (thc writer's
own sony, and was thence conducted to
the Winter Palace. The Emperor
awaited me at the staircase. We were
proceeding through the large corridor
to his Majcsty's apartments when
suddenly fearful detonation was
heard, the flooring was raised as by an
earthquake, the gas extinguished and
we were left in total darkness. At tho
same time q horrible dust and smell OF
gunpowder or dynamite filled the
corridors. Some one shouted to US
that the chandelier had fallen down in
| the 90 alnnr tyI.err the table xyaS la i'll