Mohave County miner., 1900-10-13
SMITHS REPLY.
FLAGSTAFF, A. T., Oct. 8, 10 }

ment OF the unfortunate dispute now
disturbing the democratic party. Be-
ing its regular nominee by a vote Of
% to I of the delegate elected to the
territorial convention, and that CON
vention having adjourned without EN-
powering me to make nominations or
any agreement whereby its expressed
will might be frustrated or its edict
changed. | cannot see my way clear to
entertain your proposed terms. 1t is
the party, not |, that must act.
fou propose to submit this question
to the republican secretary of the ter.
ritory. Even if hal the power TO act
in the matter, would certainly refuse
to submit question involving demo
cratic success in heated election to a
republican official, even though he had
told me l was the regular democratic
nominee. | do not know what could
possibly have led you to suggest him
as satisfactory or proper person to
supervise the action of democratic
conventions, or as proper arbitrator
of any dispute which might arise within
our ranks. Your proposition to settle
it by the flip of coin astounds me.
If nothing more of principle was in.
volved on the side of our party in
this case than the mere flip of nickel,
or If | were now or ever had been in
such position that with Justice to
my party and honor to myself. could
either make such proposition or en-
tertain such, would long since aud
gladly have retired and left the field
open without ever once suggesting
what Others should do.
Your proposition that we both quit
the field and permit the two committees
to select the third person, a. ide from
the objections raised, il not fair, be-
cause you know that the regular demo- |
cratic committee consists of thirty.
eight members and your committee
has been increased to forty-eight. |
Either you are or | am the regular
nominee of the regular democratic con.
vention. The regular nominee cannot |
retire without the consent of his party,
for, If he should do so he would leave
the party without regularly chosen
candidate. The regular nominee of the
party is the servant and not the master
of 1t, and has no authority to alter its
will.
This is not question of you or me.
but one purely of party.
Permit me to say without offense to
you that you can honorably retire or
you never would have offered to retire.
You cannot offend the democratic party
by retiring or you would never invite
their indignation by the offer to flip
coin. You have right to speak for
yourself and those behind you or you
never would have spoken. You have
the right to offer compromise or con.
cessions or settlements of your own
right or You would not have done so
If | were thus situated and bad sucb
freedom of action, the unfortunate
trouble now handicapping our party
would never have been heard of. for |
would in such event have been found
battling for our party instead of stand
ing in the way, blocking it's progress
and giving aid and comfort to its
enemies.
You never had more than seventy
legal votes in the territorial convention
OF l6 delegates 1t required eighty
two to make quorum for the transac
tion of any sort of business. No legal
action could be taken by less than
quorum. Seventy votes could not seat
or unseat a delegate for any county.
Your claim to the nomination rests on
such revolutionary action, aud sub.
init to you and our party that nom
ination so claimed can never receive
the confidence aud really support that
could otherwise be readily had. Iregret
that have no power to submit propo
sitions. The adjournment of the con.
vention after nominating me leaves no
honorable field open to me except to
obey its dictates, whatever of disaster
it may bring to our party.
Very respectfully yours,
NJ. A. SMITH.
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