The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1888-05-03

4, Florida ................S 5
5. Louisiana ....... ...... 8 s
&. Maryla ..........l2 II
7. Minnesota. II
s. New Jersey ...........B = Is
8. Virsinia...... ....H 81
10. New York .............72 ~ 81
II. PenDsyl vauia.... -. 81 81 29
202 IS 1911
Take off the 81 votes for Sner-
maH in New York and Penn
sylvania under the unit rule
and give Them to BLAME. 81 81
49, 1870
Here is a manifesty outrageous result from
applying the unit rule unless we admit the
electoral and not The majority principle. A
man by havi.sg votes in New YORK and in
Pennsylvania is TO convert to votes into 1872
12S in the result. Ii Blaine had received So
votes in New York, instead of 81, he would have
but 80 votes in Pennsylvania, he would have
received but 70 out OF 2j2 This be ng palpable,
what does Gen. Mahone nsah when he says
must reverse my argument as To tile majority
ruling n organization in order to Oppose the
unit ruleo
l do say that the majority ought no. to rule IN
the delegation from FTgintt. Why: Because our
delegation is but pat OF whole If ii was the
deciding and final Dodv the majority ought to
rule. Built is only a part OF whoe-aho Lnat
whole composed of so many delegates, me
convention is not an eiectofm cOtie9e i'll which
StdteS are The integral uu1ts. Tue National Con-
vention the Republican party rtpndiated
that theory when il refused recog ize the
unit rule in 1881. Ii in effect declared that to
vote States under the unit rule was 10 use q
false integral In BODY he true Integral of
which is the vote oi eacn de esate. The reason
OF this decision was two-toId. The dist was one
of policy. growing out vi Inc fact ttat hOssIsm
in the great States of New York ami Pennsyl-
van1a gave Their tremendous vote Into the hands
of the party inan1puiators, and enabled them,
welding their votes as Il unit, 10 count out and
override the candidates supported by he small
Ter States and the reason was one ri principle
viz: that he republican party naturally pre-
ferred the Federal idea wherein the INIT was
the individual delegate, to- the tatrsrig is idea
as represented i'll The electoral or unit rule.
For Ihi, reason the National Convent ion of
1884 req uired uslriet delegates to be elected by
district conventions, and ooly permitted state
conventions 10 eiecl four dele9at Isl Ial Se. we
will have from Virginia twefltytour deiegai es,
it Is true. but they viii be Ell. cled b. eleven
distinct con ventlons, tour by the state fuuVen
ton. and twenty b. len district conventions
who elect Two each. Eleven distinct nstitu-
encies are thus rep, esented by these delegates.
Yet General Maituue, ignoring the policy enun-
GATED by the Natioual Convention, wants them
all to pool their issues. and all be bound to do
Whatever thlrteen OF the twenty-four may de-
eide, although when they have decided how
they will vote they have still decided nothing
for the vote of the Virginia delegation must
still be cast in the convention w,iicn Is the de-
Gliding body. 1 say that such proceeding is
absurd. The eleven bottles creating THESE dele
gates were entirely distinct. The body to which
they sent Is The true place where their votes
should be cast, and counted DIS cast, III deter
mining a result. To meet with other delegates
elected by Other cuRsL1lueutS; To pool issues
with them and form Il wheel III Il Wheel to I1sk
by risk ones vote being Counted exactly oppo-
| site to his convictions III the body 10 which he
was sent to vote. seems 10 me the helght OF
| folly in delegate. General Ahone's argu-
ment about he power whicn the unit Ri e gives
by putting in The twsnly.iour votes together
has weight with me. Virginia. with her "a
votes, would cut no more inquire beside New
York, Pennsylvania, ONTO. and other States
than General Manone would walking by the
side of the Cardiff giaut. Aud to ',esIn paying
at the game is an invitation To them TO play IL
also, and beat us very badly. AS 10 General
~, ,a,c N IN -
lection against delegates who WISH 10 sell out,
1t is the same line AS lis reasoning anDuJ his
appointing chalrmeu. General Mdlune's soil
cltude Tor The honesty o! Tue hepuoilcan party
must keep him awake o nights. lie. however,
proceeds IN all his pians on the Father ancom-
plimentary Theory that he LAS Il greab many
rascaS or otherwise unreliable parties TO deal
with. Surely the men sent from our districts
do not have to be corralled to prevent their sell
ling out? Yet this was in substance the argu-
ment of General Malone in favor of the unit
| rule in that unfor- (peg pardon) that LETTER in
which the adoption of the unit rule Was urged
by him. The truth Is. the General mas been
wet nurse, dry nurse and trained nurse so long
for the Republican party that he wants to take
us all to Chi cago on a sort ofSunday school eX-
cursion. We In bibs and fuckers with sticks of
candy, and he with the guide book and cane.
He wants to show US .the sights.
The Reverend William Malone leading his
flock-some black sheep. some white (ny status
uncertain would be an edlTying spectacle. and
make all the de .egates feel good" Some OF
us, however, feel a little tired OF having our
bibs tucked under our chins by GenI ManOne.
Some of getting largesenough to rock our
own cradles, and, if mistake not, the delegates
from the third congressional district are going
to Chicago as the peers OF any pody ana the pro-
teges of nobody.
General Mahones Illustrations by which he
seeks to liken the rule OF malorltles 10 inc unit
rule all lose sight of the fact that instructions
from a creator different from agreements
among delegates themselves, and of the TURNER
TACT that such agreements, except In an etectoT-
al college, make a false integral in the conven-
ton where the delegate and not the State is the
true unH
Not single illustration relied on by GenI
Malone proves anything except that u MAJOR
ity rules, whereas the unit rule may and often
does operate to give minority rule. Thus
Nine men-three from each of three districts
are ill convention. Under majority rule hVe
must agree in order to decide point. Under
the unit rule, If the three from each of the
three districts meet apart, two in each OF two
districts can vote their colleague against his
will, and then, although the three in the third
district be unanimous against them, the four
in Inc two districts vote six and beat the five
opposed to them.
Ihold that this unit rule is wrong in princi-
pie and worse In practice, and surely 1T is no
treason to my party to oppose that which the
Republican National convention has repu-
dated.
GEN. Malone is inaccurate himself when he
attempts to make minaccurate as to how voting
is done in convention. The call by states is
merely for convenience. The cote is not by
States. he vote is by delegates and not by
States. The state is called SO that the chair
man of it's delegation may announce, not the
cote OF the State, but how each delegate from mat
State votes, and in doing SO the chairman de-
livers from Virginia the twenty-fohr votes, |
representing eleven conventions. There Is no
similarity whatever between the way the votes
of delegates in Republican National Conven-
zion are delivered and the casting and delivery |
of the votes of presidential electors. The cleo |
sorat coiego and the vote by states of the House
of Represe ntatives, on the election falling to |
the House are instances of the application of |
the unit rule-a rule which has been long |
doubted and questioned by a parties, but ex- |
pressly repudlated by the Republican party as |
the one to govern in presidential nominations. |
Undoubtedly, if the state Convention in |
structs it's four delegates to obey the unit rule
and cooperate with the delegates from all the |
other districts, and the ten district conven- |
lions instruct their delegates the same way, |
the twenty1our delegates from Virginia may |
be amalgamated and made as one; but ! con- |
fess fail to see any reason for 1t in any of Gen.
Mahone's arguments Looking at the practl- |
cal operation of the unit rule. illustrated |
above seeing that it nay be SO welded to |
make four men outvote five. or sixty-eight men |
outvote one hundred and ninety-four, what
becomes of General Mahone's argument that |
in opposing she unit rule am trucking to a
minority at the expense of a maiority2 L. not
Protesting devotion to majority rule, he ar
cues at length for the unit rule, which throt- |
ties majority rule and pu,s 1t at the mercy OF
minoritIes.
From Gen. Mahone's way of stating what
passed hetw cen us in our last conversation on
the unit rule he wQuld leaVe the impression
that only put my objection to II on the score
that while the argument in its favor the
strongest + had commit ted myself in 1854
against it, and did not want to be inconsistent
with my record. He takes this q confession
that wanted to go to Chicago free to vote
party. How does he jump from his premises to
his cone fusion? If had been instructed for
Arthur most assuredly would have supported
him. think would have supported him in
any event. But what objected to was being
bound, not by Instructions, but by unit rule
which destroys the true integral INIT of the
whole convention and-makes me bound to cast
my vote according to the will of q pitiful
minority of the whole, so that in the effort to
ascertain the will of the whole, as expressed by
the unit of elegates, my vote may be counted
exactly opposite to the way wish 1t because
have agreed to fuise unit ofStates
General Malone has known my opposition to
the unit Iule since 1881, and he well knows
that in the conversation about it, L begged
him not to insist on it. told him then that if !
we went into the convention and passed in
5tructionS and unit RUE resolutions every mall
content in the party would say packed the
conventions whereas, il We merely met and
selected our best en-. we would avoid all crit
substantially for, getting the best men we
mad, we GOULD safely rely on their acting to-
gether harmonious1y where joint action was
neces sary and advantageous / understood
him to assent to this, and so reported to friends
here long before his secret circular appeared.
l was greatly surprised, [ confess, to find on
readiDg his circular that he secretly work.
ing to have the unit rule adopted when he had
as I thought, 4ed with me not. to contend
for it.
Ii referring to Gen. Mahone's secret circular.
describing itas "anforIunate..' 1t strikes me
that gentleman who is SO free in his criti-
cisms Of others ought not to be ANNOYED at SO
mild an illusion. He Is much mistaken If he
thinks I assent to his statement that the letter
in question would have been all right If he he'd