New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-08-02
STATE COMMITTEE ENLARGEMENT.

STATE COMMITTEE ENLARuhMhNi'
The Republican Club Of this city is already Oh
record as favoring the enlargement OF the "'"'e
Committee In common with other persons anu
organizations having an unselfsh interest III 'ie
welfare of the party. and not comlnit'eu 10 'he
conservation of the vested political interests vi
individuals the. club recognizes the TACT that
committee made up Of members from congress
districts cannot however devoted ana elncieh''
nronerlv represent and in turn inspire TO effort
voters organized for action on narrower ana ire
onentlv conflicting territorial lines. Neither does
q committee composed Of only thirty-elght NELL
bers respond so readily 10 the sentiment Vi 'ic
naon,o aS ono Of larger number chosen by more
direct popular voice than is possible when
State Committeeman is the representative Vi
COMPOSITE district with an organization formed
with the sole purpose Of carrying on congress
district campaign Some weeks ago the kepuD-
lcan Club made decisive declaration or us pe
lief in larger State Committee, and Instructed
its Campaign Committee to prepare an auui'SS
70 the voters setting forth the reasons for the
proposed change and discussing the various
plans advocated for securing more represent
alive and efficient executive body
That address. which Is published Tor the nrst
time in another column Of this issue presents III
concise and unanswerable form the cohsdera
lions which should lead the people TO demahd
the construction OF the party machinery ane"
and upon more democratic basis. Sucn u oe
mand is fully in line with Republican poncy DOM
in the State and Nation. The old methods OF
unit rule" election Of National Convention dele
cafes in the State at large instead OF making
them individually reflective Of public opinion IN
minor political divisions, and representation VI
territory regardless Of party activity ana Young
strength in it, which are Still more or less ch'i-
acteristic Of the Democratic party, nave peeh
generally abandoned by the RepuDhcahs' ana
now more than ever before the individual kepup-
lican voter has a chance to make MS op'niohs
have weight in the National councils OF the
party That same popular character snouiu per-
tain 10 the party machinery OF the state, Dut,
unfortunately. as now constructed, 1t Is pecui-
iary adapted to manipulation by selfish lnnu-
ences and is i'll prepared to reach the people as
they are banded together for campaign WORK or
10 know what their wishes really are. Including
the three advisory members and one memDer-a'-
large. there are thirtyeight persons In the pres
ent State Committee. Five Of the district mem-
bers come from Kings County, eight from New
York. two from Erie, one each from Albany and
Monroe while one stands for Richmond and
part Of New York and another for Westchester
and part Of New-York thus having to look after
the interests Of communities with totally differ
ent needs and conditions Of work. as must be
the case with city and country constituencies
OF the remaining FIFTEEN districts four consist or
Two counties four Of three two or four, ana nve
Of five counties each Twenty four of the sixty
fAevn an
ing that Messrs. Plat and Miller OF the Adj
visory Committee represent Tioga ana Herkiulcr'
and thlrty-six counties are without resident mem
bers Of the State Committee. system when
leaves more than half the counties OF the State
without a resident committeeman ana estaD-
fishes a central body with no one in 1t thoroughly
familiar from habtation and association with
movements in more than half OF the dlvlsions'
through the organizations Of which nearly all
the effective campaign work for both general and
local tickets Is done, Is not sufhcienly repre-
sentative in character nor close enough 10 the
neonle 10 secure the best results. There is moth
Ing sacred in a Congress district as a OASIS 1or
the formation Of State Committee. In Con-
nectcut and Massachusetts the committees are
organized by Senate districts and in Maine by
counties Pennsylvania has committee OF LOO
members, two from each Senate district with an
extra member from every county not otherwise
represented There Is no reason why New-iork
should not follow these examples and devise
some plan that will give the people n greater
voice in the party management ana make the
Committee better able to reach the voters and
arouse their enthusiasm
The Republican Club wisely refrains from adj
.pacy Of any one plan Of enlargement to the
exclusion Of others. Three primary plans and
some combinations Of them have been suggest
ed and much can be said in favor Of every one
Of them, and against each one likewise some OBJ
jectlons can be urged. The Campaign Commit
tees address expounds them and presents their
good and bad points, and urges the people to
take them under consideration and to come 10
the State Convention with enlightened and lib
eral convictions What Is wanted Is not the
adoption Of any particular system, but perfec-
ton, after mature discussion, OF some plan
whereby the work Of the party may be better
DONE the will Of the people more surely accom-
plished, the popular character OF the organza-
ton increased That end will be better promoted
by arousing general interest in the question than
by the exclusive championng OF any one scheme.
The Republican Club bears this In mind, and In
so doing serves the party well.