The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1886-08-04
How It Works.

While the method Of nominating
Democratic candidates is being dis
cussed it will be we'll to recall the
familiar process Of nomination by
convention and to briefly analyze its
results in securing representation to
the average democratic voter.
The first step preliminary to
Champaign is taken by the county
chairman who calls the county ex.
ecutive committee, consisting of one
man from each club or township, to
meet at the court house on named
day. A certain number Of these
committeeman obey the call. aud if
majority Of them attend they pro.
cccd to fix the time and places for
the clubs to meet and elect dele
gates to the county convention.
The clubs are supposed to include
every democratic voter in their re-
spective neighborhoods. They vary
in number from fifty TO five hundred,
the quorums required Tor business
ranging from ten to thirty. Let us
take an average club with, say,
For mathematical convenience let
us say thirty.threo men attend the
club meeting on the appointed day.
Being one-third of the membership,
they do the voting for ALL A chair
man is elected and somebody moves
for committee of five to nominate
four delegates to the county con-
vention. The motion prevails and
the chairman proceeds to appoint the
committee. Then the battle, if there
be battle, has been fought and won
in that township. Seventeen men
in the club can elect the chairman
and confirm his appointments. Seven.
teen men can control the voice of
that club and send to the county con.
vention delegation supposed to rep.
resent the sentiments and opinions
of the one hundred.
In counties where the primary sys.
tenn for nominating county officers is
nsed the county convention has only
to elect delegates to the State and
Congressional conventions, or, in
other words, to express the choice Of
the democrats of the county for eight
State officers and one representa-.
tive. The four delegates elected by
the seventeen men Of the township
club we have been considering go to
the county convention wherein they
are four men in body from IS to
l50 strong. Say there are 100 dele.
gates. 81 Of them, elected by about
225 men, can express the choice of
$500 democrats.
BY this time we can begin to fig.
urc out somewhere near the proper
tionatc weight Of each voter in the
body. 81 into $500 goes 40 times.
Each voter has just one forty-ninth
of the power in the selection of his ex.
ccutive officers and representative in
Congress which belongs to him as an
American citizen by the constitution
and laws and right Of Inheritance.
That Is sitting the voter down
tolerably fine. But when we con.
slider that his wishes are to be eX.
pressed as to nine offices we find
that he has in the choice Of each of
them just one four hundred and
fortieth of his natural and proper
weight. But when the county has a
candidate, or the county chairman
and township chairmen have been
"talked to- or otherwise influenced
for some one man or two men am.
bilious for place. the weight Of the
average voter fades beyond the
power Of mathematics to find or ex.
press and becomes thinner than the
thinnest air.
When there has been no "ixiny'
or manipulation and the township
delegates appear from full meet.
ings and free the case ia very little
better. The great majority Of those
delegates are men unfamiliar with
practical politics and unframed in
speaking or talking in public. They
are afraid to get on their legs, dread.
ing ridcule or blunders. Any smart
fellow with the gift Of CAB can abash
and brow beat them and rush things
through over their judgment or con.
science.
Where, oh where is the power of
the average voter, left scrcnely at
home, in expressing his opinions on
State or national issues or aspi.
rants ?-GreenviUe Nems.
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