Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-07-18
DALZELL TALKS OUT.
He Saws the Executive Committed s
Action Was Illegal.
QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS
Can Be Acted Upon by the Coming Con-
ventiOn and by 1t Only.
LOCAL REPUBLICANS ARE INDIGNANT

deciding to bar out newly-formed clubs
from the organization is the chief subject of
comment among politicians. The COM
mittee, as was stated in THE DISPATCH
yesterday, passed a resolution providing
that no club be permitted to have delegates at
the coming convention that was not on the
official roll at the convention one year ago.
| The friends of Hon. John Dalzell through
the Western end of the State are considera-
bly, worked up over what they term the
irregular effort to crowd out their favorite
in the race for chairmanship of the State
League Mr. Dalzell has little fear that
the action of the committee will be sus-
tanned. In speaking of it yesterday, he said:
"The action was illegal, and therefore
void, because the Executive Committee are
| powerless to prescribe what clubs shall stay
out of the convention. The Republican
League is an organization which has con-
stitution. This constitution provides
article 8, as follows: Amy permanently
organized Republican club in this State
having adopted a constitution, and having
not less than 20 members, shall be eligible
to membership in this league 1t is thus
apparent that if the action of the committee
yesterday is of any validity, and there are
any permanently organized Republican
clubs having a constitution and not less than
| 20 members, the name of which were not on
the official roll when the last convention
met, it is in the power of the Executive
Committee to change the constitution of the
league.
| Calls 1t an Absurdity.
''This, of course, is an absurdity, and must
| foo rbn c1rhI
a moments attention. But furthermore,
article of the Constitution says the con-
vention shall be the sole judge of the qualifi-
cations of its own members, shall have power
to admit and expel clubs from the league
So that it is clear again that yesterdays ac-
tion can amount to nothing.
"If now you look at the terms of the reso-
luton it will be apparent that its author
overreached himself 1t prescribes that mo
club shall be permitted to have representa-
tion and vote at the annual convention at
| Scranton in September next that was not
regularly upon the rolls of membership at
the last league convention of $780, Now it
| is a fact that a large number of clubs in
Pennsylvania, many of them older than the
| league itself, are not upon the rolls OF men,
| bership of the league at all. Many of these
are country clubs who have never joined the
| league. Under the constitution these clubs
can send delegates to any convention by
simply paying the annual dues and becom-
i ing formally members of the league.
''But the resolution also excludes every
club organized since the league convention
of 1890. This, upon the assumption that
every such club is what has been termed a
mushroom club A club is not necessarily
mushroom club because it is organized at
any particular time.
Results of Special Struggles.
''There are many permanently organized
Republican clubs entitled to participate in
the league convention in September that
have been organized within very short
time. The history of Republican clubs in
Pennsylvania and elsewhere shows that
clubs are only organized under the impulse
of some great movement One of the ar
guments made use of to induce me to become
candidate for the presidency, position |
which / did not seek, was that my candidacy |
would arouse sufficient interest in the west |
ern par. of the State in the organization of |
Republican clubs to greatly strengthen the |
league, and to make the western representa- |
tion therein correspond more nearly, as it |
ought to do with the eastern representation. |
"Twere are 21 counties in Western Penn |
sylvania not represented in the league, |
while there are only 4 in Eastern Pennsyl- |
vania. To say that when the West has |
candidate for the highest Office in the gift |
of the league, not one of these q counties |
shall have a representation at the conven-
tion because their clubs were not organized |
a year ago, is simply to say that the Repub- |
lican League of Pennsylvania shall cease to |
exist, for that must inevitably be the result. |
One of the purposes of the league in its |
formation was to have Republican club in |
every election district of the State, and one !
of the duties of the Executive Committee |
under the constitution is the organizing of |
clubs.
Only One Mushroom Club.
sI know of no club recently organized, |
and / know of good many so organized, |
that could be called in any fairness mush- |
room club, except one formed in Altoona, |
where five men met and elected three dele !
gates for John B. Robinson for President. |
Two of the three thus chosen were actually |
present at the Executive Committee meet
ing in Philadelphia yesterday.
Zone of the men who voted for Mr.. Rob-
inson's trick resolution was w. III. Irwin,
so-called Secretary of the Blair Young
Mems Republican Club, Altoona There is
no such club in existence. Mr. Robinson's
virtuous adherence of new-made clubs is of
recent growth But a short time ago he
sent all over the Commonwealth hundreds
of letters inclosing directions pointing out
the proper method for the organization of |
clubs. Mr. Robinson said in Philadelphia
Yesterday to one of his followers: If the
State is permitted to be organized, Dalzell
will beat ME, but if 1 can keep the thing
where it is, have him all right.
"There were 210 clubs upon the rolls of |
membership at the last convention. OF |
these, 103, or nearly one-half, are from the |
four counties of Philadelphia Chester, Del
aware and Lancaster, which four counties
now have six of the seven officers of the
League. Seventy-eight of these clubs are
from Philadelphia alone. Seventy of these
clubs never paid dollar initiation fee and
were never entitled to representation in the
League. A large number of them were Or
ganized Immediately prior to the last con-
vention, and have never been heard of
since-genuine mushroom clubs.
Inactive, but on the Rolls.
s'Ninety-eight of them are on the official |
roll, under heads new clubs, 'disbanded' or
inactive The resolution uses this Ian
guage: Not regularly upon the rolls of |
peculiar significance was given to these |
terms. The uniform practice since the Or
gauization of the League has been for clubs |
applications in writing indorsed by men,
ber of the Executive Committee to the Sec
retary of the League, accompanied by the |
$40 annual dues. This is the method speci-
fically pointed out in the circular sent |
broadcast by Mr. Robinson. Clubs are
regularly upon the rolls of membership |
when their applications have been recorded |
by the Secretary, but it so happens that the |
Sanratorv of tho aooua iS raSidpot in Pitts |