The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-04-02

northern SIaIeS-Srddually ceased to be
held IN secret, and in those localities
where the town meeting prevailed diff
fered little from a town meeting Of
the party voters Such it still remains
IN many places, chiefly in New Eng
land outside Of the large cities and in
states settled by New England people.
mat IS, the caucus is gathering for
conference, for discussion Of the merits
Of candidates and the exchange Of
views. But in some of the states and
especially in the cities, the caucus, or
primary, has grown too large to afford
opportunity for discussion and is sim
ply a meeting for the election Of dele
gates 10 the nominating conventions
ard OF party members Of the various
committees This Of course forces the
real selection Of candidates further
pack into the clubs or committees or
parlor caucuses," whose work is more
or less secret and irresponsible.
The First Conventions.
Under the constitution the old ways
Oh local nomination continued 10 pre-
vail until, with the increase Of pOpuIa-
llOh, some necessary notifications APP
Peared- Candidates for Office-natiOnal
state or lOcal-WhO were elected by dis
trlcts were still self-annOunced or were
selected by mass meetings Of the party
voters in the election area. These mass
meetings growing too large and IN
Wleldy Tor their purpose, gradually be-
came gatherings Of delegates. self-Se-
lected at first, to act for their party,
out after a time regularly appointed
members or nominating convention.
Ihe state convention seems to have
been the method first employed for the
nomination of state elective officers
state conventions had been the me-
dunn for framing the state constitu-
uonS and for the ratification of the
FEDERAL constitution and were familiar
to the citizens. The early state nOmin-
atlng conventions for selecting candi-
dates for governor and lieutenant-gOv-
ernor. though often irregularly consti-
tuted, were in some instances regularly
called and made up of delegates chosen
Dy the party voters in the counties In
others they were composed of a small
number of party leaders from different
parts of the state. The first state con-
yention which can be called regular
seems to have been that held in Har-
risburg, Pa, in 1888.
The Legislative Caucus.
But the difficulties and expense Of
travel were perhaps the chief cause of
a gradual change in the management
OF both state and national party poll
tics. This was the substitution of the
legislative caucus for the state cOnYen-
ton, and the adoption of the congress
sional caucus for making presidential
nominations. 1t was both convenient
and economical to leave to the Iegisla-
tors already assembled al the capitals
the business of making nominations
along with their other political duties
By the beginning Of the century the
practice Of nominating the state cleo
tive officers through the joint caucus
of party members Of the two branches
OF the state legislature had become gen.
eral and was the prevailing system I'M
til the year 1S24-the last year of the
national congressional caucus-While it
did not finally yield TO the convention
system until 1885. Even as late as 1913,
according to Niles Register, a legisIa-
tive nominating caucus was held in
Maine.
The system was all the time subject
TO severe criticism and strong Opposi-
ton as aristOcratic, unfair, contrary 10
the democratic tendencies Of the age.
Those districts in the state which sent
Federalist representatives TO the as
eembly were wholly unrepresented in
the Republican caucus, as were Repub-
lican districts in the federal caucus,
until, to meet that objection, the eau
Gus membership was in some cases eX-
banded to include delegates especially
sent up from unrepreSented portions Of
the state The legislators were natur-
ally disposed to cling tenaciOusly to
the power which had fallen into their
hands, but the popular discomfort was
widespread and continued 10 gather
force, While the idea Of the nominat-
ing convention grew in favor, and was
adopted in many states for the selec-
ton Of candidates for the state cleo
tive offices before il was adopted for
presidential nominations.
The state legislative caucus did not
always conhne itself to the nomination
of state officers; it occasionally, even
in the early years Of the republic, re-
commended candidates for the presi-
dency, and from the year 1924 that
practice prevailed quite widely
throughout the stage of transition from
the congressional caucus to the ma
tiOnal nominating convention. In some
cases these nominations were made by
the state legislature in it's official ca
pacity- In 1907 many of the states thus
put forward the name of Jefferson for
a second term.
Development of the Nominating
Convention.
The progressive consolidation Of party
machinery, resulting. in the complete
ascendency of the convention system,
took place more rapidly in some states
than in others. Permanent party or
ganization with regular, published calls
for the various county and state con-
70 h1z he ,.1g,fr III