The San Francisco call., 1896-05-05
THE DELEGATION,

A National convention should always be
deliberative body. The delegates from
every State should go with hands and
voice free. To go otherwise is to deprive
them of influence. To pledge delegation
in advance to do certain and only certain
things is to practically eliminate it from
the deliberations OF the convention, be-
cause the bounds of its power and infiu-
ence are already fixed and determined, and
it is not invited to participate in other du-
ties, the fruit of which is platform and
the selection of standard bearer. A
pledged delegation must do exactly what
it is hidden to do by its constituency, how
ever much circumstances may subse-
quently make its freedom to take advan-
tage OF unforeseen conditions of vital i'm
portance to its constituents.
There never was a National convention
that conducted all of its business upon
lines and by rules laid out and established
in advance. When men from every COM
munity meet to devise ways and means to
accomplish given purpose, those and
only those who are free to agree, disagree
and finally harmonic differences are
looked to or invited to lead. A pledged
man is in honor bound to stand immova-
bic upon his instructions, even if he sees
that it is the very worst thing he could do
Tor his own State or community.
But pledging delegates in advance to ad-
here rigidly to instructions is something
quite new in party life in this country.
Until few years ago delegates met in
convention 10 compare notes and listen to
appeals from the several sections of the
country for this or that policy. By that
method the needs and wishes of every
State were made known to every other
State, when platform could be so devised
as to give each State the fullest possible
protection, encouragement and considera-
ton. In those days a platform declaring
what the party would do if given the con-
troll OF the machinery of the Government
was considered to be the highest and most
important duty of the convention. After
that was done the convention would select
standard-bearer to lead the party TO vic
tory, but never was the standard-bearer
consI dered bigger than the party and the
party's declaration of principles. Until
recently the leaders OF the Republican
party would not agree that any man was
absolutely necessary to the party, but they
did insist that the party was necessary to
all the people of the country.
One need do no more than look over the
figures which thus far stand for States that
are pledged to men rather than principles
to be convinced that the unpledged will
not only hold the balance of power at st.
Louis, but that they will be in position to
successfully demand extraordinary ad-
vantages for their States when it comes to
formulating declaration of principles for
the party to indorse at the Novembe cleo
ton. Thus far no one candidate has Sc
cured enough pledges to claim the nomi-
nation, nor will any one, but enough is
known to satisfy every observer of events
that the unpledged delegates will have it
in their power to combine and not only
decide the nomination, but to see that
their respective local interests are fortified
at every point.
No delegate from any State need to be
pledged to hold steadfast to the underly-
ing principles of the Republican party,
for from the highest to the lowest member
every member of the party is always loyal
to them. The principles of the Republican
party declare first, last and all the time for
the betterment of all the people, but how
these principles are to be applied during
the next administration is a question of
interest to every locality. This is fact
without room for dispute, but it stands to
reason that only such delegates as can
face the convention free and clear of the
entanglements that must necessarily hedge
about those who are pledged to the for
tunes of this or that man, and demand
that the good of their constituents be con-
sidered, will carry enough influence to
shape the work of the convention. But
aside from all that, to pledge delegation
to anything except to the general good of
the party is always political blunder
The records of both the great parties in
the last few years prove this fact clearly
and distinctly.