The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1882-07-27
"Abridging Liberties"
New York Tribune.

II
eron Republicans of Pennsylvania in
describing the proposition made to
them by the candidates on the -Inde-
pendent ticket. General Beaver, the
Cameron candidate for Governor, after
reading the communication from the
Independents, is reported to have first
INDUCED in immoderate laughter, and
then to have observed with sudden
accession of seriousness that the prop
osition ''looked like an attempt to
abrldge "the liberties of a citizen who
had committed, mo crime" Chair
man Cooper, of the Cameron State
Committee, remarked also, by singu-
lar coincidence, regarding the Inde-
dependent proposition, that the Re-
publican party "would never consent
to abridge the liberties of any citizen"
Now the proposition in question, the
effect of which upon the liberties
of the citizens is 50 much dreaded by
these patriots, is very simple one. 1t
is, first, that both tickets now in nomi-
nation be withdrawn; that the several
candidates on the tickets pledge them
selves not to accept any subsequent
nomination, and that new ticket be
nominated by State Convention ''to
be held, to be constituted as recon-
mended by the Continental Hotel
Conference, whereof Wharton Barker
was chairman, and Francis B. Reeves
secretary" That is the proposition
and the whole of it. 1t is easily un-
derstood; it covers the whole case !;
| and, as ii seems to us, contains the
only sensible and PRACTICAL solution of
the difficulty.
And we cannot for the life of us dis
cover anything in it calculated to
"abrdge the liberties" of any citizen.
Unless indeed, General Beaver and
Chairman Cooper entertain the belief
that Citizen "Donu Cameron holds
the right to select the delegates to Re-
publican State Conventions in Penn
sylvania and to dictate to them who
shall be nominted for office, and that
bis "liberties' are abridged" by any
action that take that right away from
him. No other citizens liberties seem
to us to be in any any danger of abridg-
ment by this reasonable proposition to
compose difference by the absolute
withdrawal Of the two tickets that
have grown out of it. We are aware
that General Beaver holds some rather
singular notions about the liberties Of
citizens. He has eXemplified them
heretofore. The citizens of his district
few years ago chose him to represent
them in National Republican Con-
vention. In the belief that they had
right to their own choice of candidates,
and that his duty was simply to repre-
sent them in expressing it, they in
structed him explicitly how to cast
their vote. He viewed their action as
an abridgment Of the liberty of Citizen
Cameron to cast the vote of the Repub-
lican party of the State, and of his own
liberty to serve Citizen Cameron. 1t
seems never to have occurred to him
that the liberties of any other citizen,
of nlajoity, in fact, of the Republican
citizens of his district, were abridged
by his refusal to permit their preference
to be expressed in the convention.
He thought only of the CELEBRITIES" of
citizen Cameron and himself, and gave
his vote accordingly. Their "liber-
ties" were not abridged" by his
action; in comparison with them the
liberties" of other citizens were of no
consequence.
We believe Chairman Cooper is
quite right in saying that "the Re
publican party would "never consent
to abridge the liberties of any "cti
zen," and it is precisely that issue that
the independent Republicans have
raised and proposed to stand by. They
say that the continuance of Senator
Cameron's absolute control of the Re-
publican party of Pennsylvania, as its
hereditary and titular "boss," is the
greatest possible abridgment, the prac-
tical subversion, of the liberties of u
majority of Republican citizens. They
say he abridged their liberties when he
compelled their delegates to Chicago
to vote for his choice against the in
structiOns of their constituents; that
he abridged their liberties in the con-
stitution of the State Convention
which nominated Beaver that he
abridged their liberties when he reuuir-
ed the convention to reward Beaver for
obeying him and disobeying his con-
stituents by nominating him for Gov.
ernor; that he abridges their liberties by
insisting upon Beavers continuing as
a candidate; and that their consent to
any compromise which includes the
recognition of his dictatorship and
consent to its continuance will not
only abridge the liberties but perman,
emily destroy all freedom of action in
the Republican party. This is the
marrow of the fight in Pennsylvania.
1t is not against the personnel of the
Cameron ticket, but against the princi-
pie it represents. Messrs. Beaver and
Cooper either ignorantly misapprehend
or wilfully misrepresent the issue
when they assume that It is question
only between the two tickets, and Of
fer to submit the choice between them