The San Francisco call., 1899-07-06
Assembly Districts to
Elect Delegates.
BLANKET TICKET UNFAIR
EVERY PRECINCT OF THE CITY
MAY BE REPRESENTED.
Plan to Permit One District to Elect
Delegates to Represent Another
Is Not Accept
able.

The Republican County Committee
will meet this evening and adopt plan
to apportion delegates TO the next mu-
nicipa! convention of the party. The
plan must be filed in the office Of the
Board of Election Commissioners be
fore Saturday night of this week
4 committee appointed early in June
10 prepare a scheme of apportonment
was expected TO report at the meeting
Of the general committee Thursday OF
last week, but owing TO the conflicting
views of committeeman further time
was granted.
A plan known as the blanket ticket
y proposition is advocated by several
members of the County Committee, but
is not commended. by the great mass
of Republican electors. The advocates
Of this plan propose that the names OF
all the delegates to the convention
shall be placed on one ticket, and that
the ticket be voted for at large by all
the Republican electors of the city.
Leading Republicans of the various
Assembly districts object TO the pro-
posed method of appOrtiOnment on the
ground that il would deprive the dis
tricts Of direct representation in the
convention The Call is informed that
the apportiOnment committee will re-
p0rt this evening, recommending a
large convention. and that the delegates
thereto shall be chosen by each AS
sembly district voting for its own rep
resentatives. Under this plan Repub-
Hcans of the North Beach section Of
the city Will not be asked to vote for
the delegates TO represent the Mission
districts. and neither viii the voters IN
the Western. Addition be called on to
name the delegates to represent South
San Francisco in the convention.
The committee considered the Sug-
gestion Of giving each precinct dele
gate but il was deemed advisable to
recognize the Assembly districts as the
unit. In the preparation Of the AS
sembly district ticket the rights of the
respective precincts will no doubt pc
considered. 1t is not possible to obtain
equal representation of Republican
strength on a plan giving each pre-
cinct delegate. 1t would not be fair,
from a party standpoint. TO give pre-
cinct which cast only 100 Republican
votes at the last election as large a
representation in the convention as
that accorded TO a precinct which cast
200 Republican votes at the same cleo
ton. The same principle may apply to
Assembly districts. No doubt the com
mittee Will report a plan 10 base dis
trict representation on the number Of
Republican votes cast at the general
election last November.
The plan Of giving each Assembly
district representation on the basis OF
population may faVOrably commend it
self to progressive Republicans. The
prospects are that the people Of the
city. without regard to political affilia-
tion Of the past. viii turn TO the Re
publican party TO obtain municipal re-
forms so much desired The Demo-
cratic campaign has already degener-
ated into faCtional strife for the
spoils. Buckley. backed by the South
ern Pacific Railroad. is seeking to re-
establish his political power in San
Francisco. The Democratic County
Committee of One Hundred is fighting
Buckley in every district while Rainey
and Lawrence are scheming 70 get con-
troll Of the convention through inde-
pendent clubs.
The nom -partisans regard the new
primary election law as the product of
bossism in politics. They have taken
no steps to avail themselves of the good
provisions Of the plan, but on the con
trary have engaged counsel TO assail
the law and invoke the courts to re-
strain the Election Commissioners from
carrying out its provisions. Non -parti-
san conventions in San Francisco are
usually composed of Republicans who
want good government and Democrats
who want good offices. HencefOrth II
may he best for Republicans who have
in the past given the non partisan
movement its chief element of strength
to seek good government through Re
publican conventions created according
to the provisions Of the new primary
law.