New-York tribune., 1885-08-14
HOW TO WIN THE ELECTION.
CONGRESSMAN JAMES SUGGESTS A WAY.
CANDIDATES AND PLATFORM MUST BE IN HARMoNf
AND REFORM MEASURES UPHELD.


distinction of being the only Republican member
of the House of Representatives from that part OF
New York State south of Putnam County, iiVes 'h
Brookiyn but has his place Of business In TINS city.
He ia prominently identified with the Board Oh
Trade and Transportation, and was Formerly
member of the AntiMonopoly League. TRIBUNE
ren,rter found him at his wholesale store In
Maiden Lane yesterday. and requested MS Opinions
on tho various questions now interesting the he
publican voters of the State.
"WeIl.p said Mr. James good-humoredly, the
weather is pretty warm and THE TRIBUNE na'
already published such a varied and interesting u.s.
sortment of views Oh about everything pertain
ing to the State canvass. that douDt my aoi'' "
add anything of interest"
Let THE TRIBUNE readers judge Of that" re-
marked the reporter. And now rs the State Com
mitee IS soon to meet tell what you think OF the
nroposition. which is to come before 1t, for lh-
creased represen taton In the State Convention U
"I am in favor of it. The larger the conven-
ton the nearer it comes to the people and the more
representative it will be. Its work Will be more
hkely TO give satisfaction to the entire party we
have tried the present plan for long time 1t has
not worked successfully. The proposed plan of in
creased represent tation, choosing the delegates by
direct vote instead of having intermediate conven-
TONS has worked we'll In other states. In no single
instance has 1t given dissatisfaction, 40 far as
am aware and In no State where conventions are
held under it has there been any outcry because
of boss rule. In New-York and Pennsylvania,
which are large States with small conventions, the
dissatisfaction has been so great that the offended
Republicans elected Democratic Governors in the
last Gubernatorial elections. Our own experience
and that of the States where this proposed plan has
been tried, certainly prove to my mind that the
change ought to be made. The State
Committee think would be wise in adopting the
modified plan recommended for this year.
Such course can result In no harm. but may prove
highly beneficial. In this very important contest
the Republicans cannot afford to throw away such
promising aid to success"
"What is your opinion as to the time the conven-
tion should be heidi"
early; that is not later than the second or
third week in September. later date will not
afford sufficient time for thorough canvass in the
rural districts We could get along well enough III
the cities, but in largo and sparsely settled
county like st. Lawrence. where the people
do not often together relying for information
on weekly newspapers, very short canvass and
thorough canvass are lmpracticable. Those into
rior counties are Republican. The Democratic vote
is principally the cities. The Democrats can get
along with short canvass better than the Repub-
IlcanS. fDr Us n iHlcT uEte tniu tuc tIiu Wtch iu
September would to my mind be decided disad-
vantage. Nothing can be gained, either, by wait
ing for the Democrats to act"
"Have you any suggestions TO make concerning
the platformf
1--WE should have an honest, straightforward
platform with clearly defined issues; no
stump speech or glittering gonoralities aud no
straddling II ever there was q time when the
platform should say jdst what we mean and moth
ing else now Is that time. II will do us good
either to declare in favor of legislative and NUM-
cipa reform. and for the just regulation of mcnopo
lies, and then to place on the ticket man who
may have been O member OF the Legislature and
vet never lifted up his voice IN favor Of such
reforms OF who may there and elsewhere have
proved himself the consistent friend of monopohes
Nor will II do MS any good to declare In favor OF
honest Civil Service reform and then place
a man on the ticket who has in the
Legislature or elsewhere shown himself hostile to
such reform. WHY, sir. have seen In The TRiB-
uNE most excellent platforms proposed and advo-
Gated by representative men In our party, and yet
in some instances they have included in their list
Of proposed candidates for minor places on the
ticket men in no sense representative of the views
expressed There must be no sham about the
ton of our convention. The people cannot DO
for anything must be representative OF the
known views, and consistent with tho past
actions of the men on our ticket IL that is done
then believe the Republicans will certainly carry
the State"
"And not otherwise. suppose 2" suggested the
reporter.
THAT depends something on what the Democrats
do. And that is one reason why think that our
convention should be held first. No Republican
shou be allowed TO urge his candidacy on the
ground that the Democrats have nominated worse
man. We want the best men. measured
by the highest possible standard
regardless Of what the Democrats may do"
Whom do you regard such mem r.
:" have hardly given sufficient consideration to
the choice of candidates 70 give an immediate
reply. For Governor, among the men remember
to have seen mentioned. and who think would
come up to the standard. are Senator Evarts.
Judge Andrews. Justice Davis Justice
Daniels and Andrew ID. White. There Is
some objection in the public mind against taking
candidates from the bench. 1 remember as
thing in favsr Of Justice Daniels his courageous
a committee of the Board of Trade and Transporta-
tion, /. with others. was endeavoriDg TO compel
those CORPORATIONS to fulfil thor charter oblga-
places on the ticket think such men as General
Watertown, and Mr. Nutting. or Oswego
should be chosen. | served in Congress
with Mr.. Nuttng and have high regard for him,
and know that he would make an excellent Attor-
ney General Mr. wadswcrth and Mr.. skinner
have been tried both at Albany and Washington
and have proved themselves the right men for
such positions.
THE PROPOSED ENLARGEMENT OF THE LEGIsLATURr
From your experience in Legislative matters
what would you propose in the way of legislative
reformp
at Is easier to point out defects than to suggest
remedies. There arc manifest deficiencies in the
methods both at Albany and Washington. favor
Judge Draper's suggestion that the Legislature