The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-05-08
The TWo-Thirds Rule.


N nominating conventions, among
other reasons for these, because
# the danger that one
chosen by majority vote of the
delegates will not be the choice of a
to their constituents. Dele
gate are not generally in express
terms instructed" 1t is, indeed, rare
that there is any attempt at instructing
as to more than one or two officers. 1t
is often that instructions given by
county conventions do not voice the
exact sentiments of majority of
the constituents. In the absence of
specific instructions, or where those
given cannot longer be executed on
account of some unexpected, and,
of course, unprovided for contingen-
cy, tho delegates are unavoidahly
left to their own discretion. Presum-
ing that the delegates waive their
own personal preferences and wishes
and honorably seek to exactly repre-
sent their constituents, they cannot
know, but can only conjecture what
their constituents would want, and
may miss it by two-thirds majority
But further, delegations like constitu-
encies are often divided. Suppose
there are ten counties and that A and
b are candidates for the nomi-
nation for the same office; sup
pose there are 10000 democratic votes,
and that in fact A would receive TO-
200 of these and b $500, and we will
suppose, only for the sake of argu-
ment (for it never can occur that the
county conventions which elect
the delegates actually undertake to
select delegates in these proportions
for A and b, is it not an obvious fact
that they would not and could not do
so, by the only methods in use for
selecting delegatesP But suppose the
delegates were so selected, and sup
pose as is always the case, some Of the
delegates fail to attend, and suppose,
as it has frequently happened, proxies
are not allowed, or if allowed that the
other man gets the proxies, and sup
pose, as is always the case, the dele
gates who attend cast the vote as they
wish. is it not quite sure that the will
of the majority of the constituents
will not be expressed by vote of the
| majority of tho dalooatoo
| But suppose as occurs In every con-
vention, that after day or two OF
Wearying and wearing, wrangling
and contention, delegates selected by
the uncertain, incomplete and unsatis.
factory methods above referred to be.
gin to return home, as they always do
and the remaining delegates certainly
if there be those who have personal
ends to serve, they will remaiD) cast
the vote according to their own dis.
erection, is it not doubly sure that 6
majority vote does not and cannot
represent the will of majority of tht
constituents. We might suppose il
definitely other contingencies which de
too often happen, which exist in every
state convention, personal ends combi
nations, swaps, exchanges sc. The
existence of every one of which would
and do diminish the probability tina
a vote of a majority of delegate.
would be the voice of a majority of tn,
constituents. There must be some
thing more than vote of a majority
of delegates to insure it the voice of /;
majority of constituents-why no
the two thirds rule?
1t is indeed very strange that thosl
who allege that the two thirds rul
has caused so many disasters do no
comply with the fundamental au(
fair rule governing all who prefer
charges, that they should b.
so definite that those callet
upon to answer can know
what is to be answered. The two
thirds rule, among host of others
gave us Polk for president, and Cox
and Roberts for governors. Can tn
enemies of the rule tell US of the ma
ture of the disasters which came to u
by and through the agencies of thes
illustrious children of the grand oil
safety rule of the party life. Was tn
addition of California, Arizona, Ne
vada, Utah, New Mexico and our owl
Texas, disasters ? These are tn
Gle. rly traceable results of the opera
ton Of the rule so far as national af
fairs go. Perhaps the enemies of tn
rule-those who find it now S,
wicked, so dishonest and so very op
pressive would go back to the root O
the evil and repair the wrong wher
it was commenced. To do this w,
must surrender the fair states ant
territories we have named as tn
trophies of the rule; give up fair Texa
and spend the remainder of our day
bewaiIing the vast evils which hay,
come to the age by and through tn,
spread of civilization and progress
over the vast territory out of which
the states we have named have beer
carved.
Or perhaps it was bad thing the
Governor Coke refused to permit thu
military satraps of Governor Davis
to upset the will of the people ex
pressed in his wn triumphant cleo
ton, and thereby bring the wastefu
policy of reconstruction to short
stop. Or perhaps it was vast evil
that Governor Roberts brought the
paper of the state up from sixty cents
on the dollar to premium in The
markets of the world, and that com.
Portable cash balance accompanied
him through his two terms of office
while every interest of Texas was
multiplied an hundred fold. Indeed
this awful two-thirds rule has woven
such disaster( p out of the tairest op-
portunities men ever enjoyed, there
fore it ought to be continued.
The Interstate Drill.
Injurious reports have teen indus
triously circulated as to the impor-
tance of the coming interstate drill