Middletown transcript., 1897-10-23
Why al CoNYENTI0Ni

n MlDDLETOWN, DEL. OCT. %, 1897
WHY A CONVENTION
What can be accomplished by Con-
vention Of faction of party except
to make more difficult ''harmony and
uniony when the time comes for fight
ing political foes,i is difficult to under
stand. The snpposition is that Mr..
Addicks demands the renewal Of pledges
before be will pay ont the ducats. The
"Sussex Republican, In its last issue
showed the uselessness, not to say the
danger of harm to Delaware Repub-
licans by the proposed convention. We
quote:
tWhen men vote even at primary they
want to know what they are voting for. A
man does not vote because be is told do SO.
An automaton who can not or does not
think for himself, may thus blindly follow
the leadership OF one man or set of men,
but men think for themselves and before
they start want to know where they are go
ing and what is the object of the journey.
Such thought will occur to every man be
fore he takes part in these primaries. The
object pretends to be harmony, but what
have Union Republicans got to harmonic
among themselves The Regular Republi-
cans will not take part, because only harm
to the Republican party can come of it and
they now, as in the past, have only the fut-
ure welfare of the Republican party at
heart and know that the two factions can
not get together this way. So harmony
cannot be the outcome of this convention.
I'VE do not suggest that desire for office
may be at the bottom, because the Union
Republicans strenuously assert that they
consider that matter settled, because Col.
Henry A. DUPONT has been selected
as referee by the President and all
matters of that kind are left to him
and therefore that can not be the object of
their convention. Some say that it is neces-
sary to haYe complete organization to
adopt new rules of party management, be-
.
this cannot be true because next election is
oyer o year off. and only rules and organ
izations are necessary 70 united party and
one faction of party cannot adopt rules of
government for the other faction without
its consent, so this certainly cannot be the
object ofthe convention, and we are brought
again to the question which every man will
ask himself, what is this Convention for?
No ticket to nominate, nothing to do except
pay your fare to Dover, eat your dinner, go
into convention, look at each other, talk to
your hearts content, your own way; be-
cause certainly there can be no difference of
opinion in Union Republican party; ad-
journ and go home.
They might perhaps pass resolutions, but
they certainly must have something to reso.
lutte about, and we are at loss to know
conclusion and that is that the Union Re-
publican party is in need of o convention.
Addicks, the foundation, is weakening, be-
cause he cannot spend his money, because
of thestringent provision against bribery in
the Constitution. The District System COM
pels Addicks to carry every Republican
District in the State and more too before he
can be United States Senator, and that ia
because of the opposition of tba
themselves, and these are the
reasons the Constitution makes it necessary
to hold convention that may take refuge
in numbers and try to evolve something
thereeUt Of, and keep some hope alive in
their own breasts. If this is correct and
logical conclusion, We feel now that even
that will end in disappointment, because as
q prominent Union Republican said few
days ago, ut is unnecessary and all foolish
ness, and mark what I say. there will be
very few to take part in it and very small
vote will be cast"
But q T.Iew from all stand points may
wei be taken; the careful man does SO.
We give below the opinion of the
s'Delaware Democrat" upon the effects
of the convention, and all the Demo
cratic papers are of the same opinion
and are rejoicing over the further sep
aration of Delaware Republicans. It
is time for party patriotism and not
factional prejudcial to control the
minds and acts Of all Republicans.
Read what the Democrat" says:
''It is the old game of "heads I win, tails
You losep that the Union men are trying to
play, but the other faction has lost the
'.smartness" with which it has been credit
ed if they allow themselves to be fooled by
any such arrangement.
There can be nothing in the result of such
. convention to cause the Democrats to fear
anything. It will becomposed of members
Of single faction of the Republican party,
as things now appear, or at the best of q
largely controlling element belonging to
that faction. The other faction of that
party will not feel itself bound by the action
Of the body in which it win be slimly re-
presented and the division in the party will
be greater than before. The rules that the
dominant faction seem certain to adopt will
keep the Regulars in minority in the
council of the party and good feeling be-
tween the two factions will be indefinitely
postponed.
'pThere is, therefore, so far as we ca see,
no prospect of the convention promoting
harmony between the factions but rather
the contrary will be the effect. Let every
true Democrat do all lie can to harmonic
the elements in our own party and all will
be we'll"
.sTHE wage-earnsrs were told last fall