Sacramento daily record-union., 1881-03-07
THE CITY coMMIFTEE AND fHE EE-
PUBLICAN PARTY.

ticket II. nomination for the charter eiec-
tion, The sentimento of the mass of the Re- |
pablicans of Sacramento in this connection
was very emphatically shown in the vote
at the primaries on Thursday. On that occa-
sion, though the test was SO elastic that
any number of Democrats might have voted
under it, the total vote cast was less than
one.fourth the average Republican vote OF
the city. If we subtract from this small
vote the Democratic aid which it undoubt.
edly received, the fact is made apparent
that the Republicans generally refused to
take any part In the proceedings. 1t is
further to be observed that the charge pre-
ferred against the City Committee has been
completely borne out. 1t was alleged that
it adopted test which would admit DEM
ocratic votes, for the sole purpose of Sc
curing the nomination of Mr.. Green.
When the Convention met it at once pro-
ceeded to put Mr., Green in nomination, as
had been predicted, and thus the motive
Of the arrangement was made plain.
The nomination, occurring under such
circumstances, cannot be regarded as the
choice of the Republican party. That party,
as matter of fact, has repudiated the action
of the City Committee. 1t has proceeded
on the natural ground that if non. parti-
san nominations were in order, as indicated
by the committees programme to secure
that of Mr.. Green by Democratic votes at
the primaries, it would be better for the
rank and file of the Republicans to retain
their control of their own predictions by
making non partisan nominations for them
selves. The City Con mittee endeavored
at the eleventh hour to make a show OF
fairness by offering to change the test II
somebody would ask it to do SO. 1t should
not be necessary to point out that this
offer did not meet the requirements OF the
situation, and that it was simply subter-
fuge. The committee, had it been sincere,
could have changed the test without any
solicitation. Had it been sincere, it never
would have adopted such a test. When it
made the offer, in an informal and un-
official way, it was too late for change to
do any good The ward caucuses had then
been held and the states made, and the only
purpose of this tardy pretense of fairness
was to hoodwink the Republicans. AS it
was, however, they saw through the trick,
and it failed.
The City Committee has brought about
all the present entanglements. 1t under
took to control the Republican party in
the interest of one candidate. It betrayed
the party whose creature it is, and arroga-
ted to itself powers which it does not pos
sess It's sole legitimate function is to
set in motion the machinery by and
through which the party may signify its
preferences. Instead of confning itself to
this simple duty it undertook to deprive
the Republicans of the power of selection,
by packing the Convention in the interest
of Mr.. Green. When q committee exceeds
| its Jurisdiction to this extent it is time
for the party to leave it, and to show it
| that no clique can or will be allowed to
entrap intelligent men into supporting can
didates whom they have not chosen, but
who have been foisted upon them by the
illegitimate use of Democratic votes. The
committee cannot be permitted to run the
party. Whenever that is done representa-
tive government is overthrown. 1t is
through such tricks as have just been prac-
ticed that in SO many American cities
corrupt rings have stolen into power,
and the only way to deal with attempts of
the kind is to repudiate them at the outset,
as has been done here and now.
Mr.. Green has shown, by his tactics,
that he did not believe he could obtain the
Republican nomination fairly, and eandi-
date who occupies that position necessarily
admits that he does not possess the conf
dence of the party. No man who under
takes to pack Convention with the aid of
Democratic votes can have any party claim
upon Republican voters, moreover. MIR.
Green evidently did not think the Republi.
cans would nominate him, and so he sought
the assistance of the Democrats. Had he
done this by coming forward as an inde-
pendent candidate no blame could have
attached to him. But he tried to obtain the
Republican nomination by minority OF its
members, and that condemns him. Re-
publicans realize that the moment they
consent to tricks of this kind, that mo-
ment their party affiliations cease to be
worth preserving. If they are to submit
to the rule of selfish cliques if they are
to allow their Committee to dictate to them
who they shall support if they are to
surrender the right of selecting their own
candidates there can be no longer any
motives for maintaining the party organiza-
tion. Bad faith and treachery dissolve all
ties and cancel all obligations, and when
the party machinery is prostituted to base
uses it is necessary to make the fact clear
that the vitality of the party resides in the
men who stand behind the machinery, and
not IN the machinery itself.
The question has been thus forced upon
Republicans whether they or the City
Committee constitute the party, and they
have taken the only way open to them for
putting that question to the test. They
have retired from the machine, and left it
standing alone. They refuse to be sold,
or to be made the tools of any clique.
They insist on their right to make their
own selections for office, and they deny
the right of the committee to make those
selections for them. The old trick of
calling the primaries and the Convention
so short time before the election that no
opportunity for discussing the views pre-
sented is afforded, has been played on this
occasion, and for an obvious purpose but
the Republicans generally evidently do
not intend to be gagged by it, and they
consider themselves freed from all obliga-
ton to vote for the nominees of the packed
Convention.
THE NEW CABINET.