Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1880-02-25
THE UNIT RULE"
The Tyranny Exposed-What the
Press Say.
Village Record, Chester county, Pa
THE WoRTHLEssNESS OF THE UNIT
RULE

Village Record, Chester county, Pa
THE woRTHLEssNEsS OF THE UNIT
RULE.
After the action of the Convention
at Cincinnati, in lS76-which was only
a re-affirmation Of previous decisions at
Chicago and Baltimore-itw was evident
that any delegate from Pennsylvania,
or anv other State, apparently bound
bv a unit rule instruction, might obtain
the right of a personal vote,
if he should firmly insist upon 1t. This
fact was perfectly well known at Har-
risburg, when the recent convention
sat. and. in the face of the knowledge,
it appeared amazing that anybody
should be anxious to have the unit in-
struction again adopted As we have
heretofore remarked. it was not worth
a contest Its weakness had been as
certained it no longer commanded
the respect of any intelligent politician,
in possession of his own conscience, or
acting upon his own judgement. Its
adoption was literally and completely
brutum fulmen.
The worthIessness of the rule Is now
being demonstrated, preliminary, by
the attitude of independence taken by
a considerable number of the Chicago
delegates. We estimate that there Will
be not less than twelve, and that PROB
ably there will be twenty OF the dele
gates from this State who will decline
from the outset, to accept the unit IN
struction. Among them will be num-
Der of men who are experienced IN con-
yention procedure, well acquainted
with leading members OF the party, ana
perfectly capable of asserting them
selves either in caucus or convention.
Some of them have already slgnlhed
decisively their purposes, and others
will be found acting on the same line.
Perhaps the plainest notice is that OF
Mr. TAYLOR. of Bucks, whose letter,
sent to Harrisburg for public use ex-
plicitly declares, first, that he relies
upon his district credentials, and de-
clines those Of the State second, that,
representing the district, by the choice
of the county convention, he should
contest the seat Of any whom the State
Convention might attempt to put In
his place and third, that he would not
regard the instructions OF the State
Convention, unless they were approved
by convention of his district. All this
is plain notice; it punctures the unit
rule assumption at every thrust, ana
makes such rents, indeed, that there is
nothing left of it. -
We have no doubt Mr.. Taylor will
do. at Chicago, precisely what his let
ter indicates He is not rash; /; he knows
his ground perfectly. after long polltl-
cal experience. With him will stand,
unquestionably, his colleague, Mr.
Hitner, Of Montgomery, man equally
well acquainted with political usage,
and not less firm and determined, when
his stand was taken. From this district,
Mr.. Waddell, who has fully explained
his position in the same general terms
az Mr.. Taylor uses, and Mr.. Gartside,
his colleague, will hold the attitude,
likewise, Of entirely repudlatlng the
unit instruction From other districts,
there will be number Of other recruits,
and with men such as the four from the
Sixth and Seventh districts to lead, or
at least To stand in the front rank, the
issue against the assumption OF the
State Convention will be squarely
raised and the attack resolutely made.
When this shall be done, its fate will
not be uncertain. 1t needs only hrm
insistance to give the right Of separate
action, and what was done at Harris
burgh will no more bind the individual
delegate who demands this, that the
seven green withes sufiiced to bind the
arms Of Samson.