The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1882-03-23
The Choice of Delegates.
philadelphia Press.)

Out of the sixty-seven counties of
pennsylvania, there are not more than
ten where the delegates to the Repub-
lican State Convention are likely to
be chosen by representative county or
district conventions coming directly
from the people since the call.
Twelve counties appointed their
delegates last year, before the personal
or public issues of this canvass had
taken any shape. They were chosen
at the local conventions which named
the county candidates for the election
of last November-thati is more than
a year in advance of the election for
which they are to participate in select
ing the State candidates. OF course,
under such circumstances they were
designated without any intelligent
understanding of the questions upon
which they would be called to pass,
and without any regard to them. The
counties thus appointing their dele
gates last year were Adams, Berks,
Bucks, Carbon, Clarion, Lebanon,
Montour, northumberland, Juniata,
Mitflin, Schuylkill and York.
Since election, and chiefly since the
call for the State Convention, several
other counties have named their dele
gates-but all of them have been
named by the County Committees,
except in the single county of Chester.
Chester has just held a popular repre-
sentative convention, but in none of
the Others have the delegates been
named by conventions from the people.
The counties where the delegates have
thus been appointed by the COMMITTEES
include Cameron Centre, Clearfield,
Huntingdon, Jefferson, Lehigh and
Monroe.
The great majority of the counties
are still to name. their delegates, and
in most they will be designated by
the County Committees. The only
counties besides Chester where the
delegates are like to be elected by con.
ventions chosen directly by the people
In primaries held for this purpose are
Allegheny, Delaware, Fayette, Frank
lin, Lancaster, Lackawanna, Luzerne,
Montgomery and Philadelphia. This
leaves forty-five counties where the
delegates are to be named by County
Committees appointed year ago for
an entirely different object, and of the
remaining twenty-five which send
delegates elected Ivy popular conven-
tions twelve designated them last year.
Only ten elect their delegates direct
from the people since the questions Of
the canvass took form.
This is plainly all wrong. To state
tire facts is to show the mistake. The
delegates elected a year in advance
may be excellent neil and may fairly
reflect the public sentiment of the
present time. The delegates chosen
by County Committees, instead of by
popular conventions may also repre-
sent the real will of the people. But
there is no assurance of it, and the
principle connot be sustained. The
delegates ought to be elected by repre-
sentative conventions of the people,
held after the call for the State Con
vention should be held at a time which
would permit such general popular ac-
ton. This is one of the political re-
forms which are before us. Mean
while, in its absence, care should be
taken by sending the strongest and
worthiest men under the old plan and
by respecting public sentiment, to Sc
cure the impression and the approval
of real representation.