The San Francisco call., 1898-08-18
UNIT RULE.
Gaffey of LOS Angeles Tried to Tie Up
 the Delegation for McNab.

CALL HEADQUARTERS, Sacramento, Aug. 1.-The Los Angeles delegation in reference to the report of the committee on credentials pursued a most extraor- dinary course this morning which aroused
 many members of that delegation, made up as 1t is of numerous fighters and ob- jectors. A caucus of the delegation was called for o'clock in one of the Supreme
 Court rooms of the Capitol building, but sufficient notice had not been given to every member and the result was that there were numerous absenteeS.
 Nevertheless the caucus was called to order by the chairman, Dr. Hill, and the members present proceeded to transact
 business by which, as they construed it,
 they bound every member of the Los
 Angeles delegation to vote as a Unit on
 the floor of the convention.
 The report of the committee on creden-
 tials came up for action by the caucus,
 and motion was made that the delega-
 ton vote as unit for the majority re-
 port Of the committee on credentials.
 This motion was rushed through, as per programme Of the reformerS, by viva
 voce vote.
 John T. Gaffey, a prominent supporter
 of MT. Patton for chairman and one Of
 the McNab sympathizers on the deega-
 tion, stated that he thought that the cau-
 GUS had made mistake. He pointed out the fact that the report of the committee on credentials had not as yet been sub- mitted to the convention, and the caucus had as yet no official information to what that report was Furthermore, he argued that 1t was unwise for the dele gation to vote on the report until the del egateS had had an opportunity to listen | to the arguments to be presented on the 1 floor of the convention, pro and con, on i the autocracy of the Democratic party, as now illustrated by the present conditions in San Francisco.
 Mir Gaffey moved to reconsider the vote
 by which the delegation was bound to the SI1D nf Q ai T1l- mittee on credentials.
 MT Ramish of Los Angeles protested against the action taken, as did also Dele gate A w Fisher They both announced that they were opposed to tying up the delegation until argument had been heard. They made the point that it was like a jury deciding d case before hearing the evidence.
 The war was on, and 1t looked as though there would be a general squabble. But c. C. Wright poured oil on the troubled waters by stating to the caucus as a
 member of 'the committee on credentials that while he was in favor of seating the McNab delegation, he, as member or
 that committee, proposed to submit to the
 general convention a resolution directing the organization in San Francisco in the future to hold primaries for the election of all delegates to the State Convention. I- A motion was made that the caucus cast eighty votes for the proposition. The point of order was raised that in
 asmuch as the resolution suggested by
 Judge Wright had not yet been drawn up l the caucus could not act upon it, and, i furthermore. that no action could be taken until the resolution had been pre- sented to the convention.
 l The chairman ruled the point of order
 well taken. His ruling was in direct op,
 position to the action the caucus had l taken on the report of the committee on credentials which had not been presented, 1 yet the committee had acted upon It.
 In the meantime stray delegates began | to arrive and a great howl went up over | the action of the caucus in seeking to bind the entire delegation to the support l of McNab
 A motion to adjourn until D. m. Chair
 man Hill declared carried, but 1t did not | end the fight.
 l Delegates Ramish, Fisher, OBrien, Rob | erts and numerous others declared thelr
 intention of refusing to abide by the de | cision of the caucus. They claimed that
 delegates Simons, Gaffey and others had l shown bad faith in refusing to support | Dockweiler for chairman after he had
 been fairly declared to be the choice of
 the Los Angeles caucus. Following this
 precedent they declared the unit rule net 1 in force and agreed among themselves
 to present the question to the convention
 when the vote of Los Angeles was called | on the question of adopting the report of
 the committee on credentials.