The San Francisco call., 1896-03-29
NEW PRESIDENTIAL CONDITIONS.
CHANGES IN DOUBTFUL STATES AND RULES FOR
CHOOSING CANDIDATES.

CHOOSING CANDIDATES.
In one particular at least the National con-
vent!ons OF the two political parties to be held
this year will differ radically from National
conventions OF recent times. Continuously since
the close OF the Civil War the three States which
have exercised determining influence upon
Republican National conventions have been
Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania. In all three,
as well as in Iowa and Nebraska preliminary
elections were held in October, and it was
thought essential 10 Republican success that
these States or majority should so Repub-
lican.
After 1872 Pennsylvania fell out of the mum.
ber of October States and it has ceased to be
contested seriously at Presid entail elections,
as since that time the Republican lead has been
overwhelming. Before 1872 Pennsylvania was
regarded as close State. Even in the prelim-
mary October election of 1868 the Republican
ma jority was only 5000, and at the election of
the year before the Democrats carried the State
by plurality of 900 votes. Ohio and Indiana
remain not merely October States, but closely
contested States as WELL and the Importance of
their electoral vote is such that both parties
continue to compete for it actively. The Demo-
Gratis went to Ohio for their Vice-Presidential
candidate in 1864 and to Indiana for their Vice
Presidential candidate in 1876, 1880 and
1884. In 1888 they went again to Ohio: The
Republicans went for their Presidential can
didate to Ohio in 1876 and 1880, and to In
diana in 1888 and 1892. While Ohio has
been regarded uniformly as indispensable
10 Republican success. New York State, with
New Jersey and Connecticut, has been re-
garded essential to a Democratic triumph.
The Democratic delegates have shown
themselves as solicitous for the electoral
vote of New York as the Republicans have
been for the vote Of Ohio, and there has been,
therefore, the peculiar spectacle in modern
American politics of an almost unbroken sue
cession of residents of New York nominated
ON the Democratic side, and an almost un-
broken list OF residents or natives of Ohio
nominated on the Republican side.
The political conditions which may be said
to confront the two parties this year are radi-
in times of previous National conventions
The State Of New York, for the first time since
the days OF William II. Seward, who was
New Yorks favOrite for the Republican nomi-
nation at the Chicago convention of 1860
has an earnest and sanguine candidate
of its own for the Presidential nomi-
nation on the Republican side. In the
votes on the first ballot to 1O2 for Abra-
ham Lincoln and 40 for Salmon P, Chase
OF Ohio, and was therefore the favorite
candidate. While the Republican party
is visibly stronger in the former doubtful
States of the East New York, New Jersey and
Connecticut, than 1t has been at any time for
many years, the success of the Republicans in
their former strongholds of the West is seri-
ously threatened by the detection of the Popu-
lists, who complicated by their action all the
most confident prophecies made in 1892. The
Democrats, too, are without any enforced de-
pendence upon doubtful States, East or West
this year, and Illinois and Minnesota seem to
promise better results than New Jersey and
Maryland. The contest of 1896 at the conyen-
tions will be free-for-all one, as far as prece-
dents and past conditions will be involved
New York Sun.