The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1896-04-24
REPEATED FAILURE.
Why Western Democrats Did
Not Secure Nominations
PRESIDENTIAL HoNoRs.
The Queer Dream of a Walla
Walla Man.
PRESIDENTIAL HoNoRs.

y
since the nomination in 1860 of
Stephen A.. Douglas, who. was
native of Vermont, but resident
of Illinois, all the presidential
standard-bearers Of the democratic
party have been residents of New
York, or its vicinity, says the New
York Sun. Governor Seymo3, in
1868, Horace Greeley, in 1872,
Governor Tilden, in 1876, and Mr..
Cleveland in 1884, l8S8sand 1892,
were resident New Workers when
nominated. General Mcclellan,
when nominated in 1864, was actu-
ally a residentsEof New York;
General Hancock when nominated
in 1880, was,stationed on Govern
ment island, within New York's
official boundaries.
This preference for New Workers
on the democratic side has usually
been attributed to the Importance
of New York's electoral vote, COM
monty decisive of the result. But
there is still another reason which
helpsto account for 1.-THE inabil-
ity of Western democrats to unite
successfully upon a candidate who
would receive the support of enough
of them to outweigh the preponder-
ance Of New York and its vicinity.
Western candidates for the presi-
Dental nomination of the demo-
cratic convention have never been
lacking, but the trouble has usually
been that one stood in the way OF
the other, and, by antagonizing
each other, made easy the success
of the advocates of an Eastern
candidate. In the presidential
congress of 1868, the first and only
one in recent years held in the city
of New York by either political
(, party, George H. Pendleton, Of
Ohio, was the leading candidate Of
the West for the presidential NOM
ination.
But Senator Hendricks, of Indi-
ana, the adjoining state, was a
candidate, too, and the interest OF
Mr. Hendricks S friends was to pre-.
vent the nomination of Mr.. Pendle.
ton in order to open clearly the
way to Mr.. Hendricks, and, when
that result had been accomplished
and Hendricks had become the
leading candidate, the friends ol
Pendleton turned about to defeat
him, and these maneuvers pre-.
vented the nomination of either,
complicated as they were by the
advocacy of some Ohio democrats
of Salmon B. Chase for president.
Tn the presidential convention Of
1876, at St. Louis, the Ohio demo
Gratis, who supported William
| Allen, and the Indiana democrats,
who supported Governor Hend-
ricks, clashed with each other, and,
though Mr.. Hendricks led at first
the supporters of Governor Allen
proved more tenacious. In 1886
the democratic nomination would
unquestionably have gone to the
West had there not been a conflict
in the delegation of Ohio, the
largest of the Western states, be-
| tween the friends Of Senator Payne
and the friends of Senator Thur
man. Illinois went for Morrison
and Indiana for Hendricks, and
| the vote of the Western democrats
was thus so split up that q rally
on either candidate would havl
been impossible. In the 1884 con
vention, Thurman was the favorit'
of Ohio and Joseph d. Mcdonald
that Of Indiana. The vote of tn,
Western states was distributed
among them and some other candi
dates. Prior to the 1892 conven
ton, the Western candidates were
Horace Boies, Of Iowa; John NJ
Palmer and William r, Morrison
of Illinois; Isaac P. Gray, Of 1ndi
ana, and James e. Campbell o
Ohio. When the voting wa
reached, however, all the candi
dates with the one exception &
Mr.. Boies, had Withdrawn in favo
, of eastern candidates, SO that th
Iowa governor, without substantia
Western support. polled only
(. nortion If The vote of that secti0r