The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1901-10-10
PAYNE PLAN REVIVED
Roosevelt Has an Opportunity to Effect
Great Reforms in RepublicanNationaI
Conventions and Has Mind
to Investigate.

| WASHINGTON D. c., Oct. =
| The southern delegate has
always been a dangerous quaint
ty in republican convention
since the war. There has never
been time since the reconstruc
ton days when there seemed
anything like real chance o1
carrying any of the old-time
southern states for the republi
can candidate for President. The
southern delegate, never the less,
hashad great deal todo with the
making of a republican nominee.
Most of the delegates sent up
have been of the impecunious
variety, whose votes, if not act
ually purchasable were readily
influenced by various promises,
from hotel accommodations up
to lucrative Offices.
Each active candidate for the
presidency has found it neces-
sary to head off the average del
egate, who never had money
enough to get home, who always
felt obliged to sell his ticket,
and who scarcely could be induc-
ed to answer roll call without be-
ing promised something by the
party managers.
President Mckinley was ap-
pealed to, on the theory that,
as he was going to be the party
candidate absolutely without op-
position, he would have nothing
to lose if the southern politicians
should rise up in their wrath
and denounce the administration
in the convention. He declared
it was because he had nothing to
to lose that he was unwilling to
undertake to deprive the south
ern politicians of their tradit-
ionaI rights. He said that if
there had been another candidate
so that the southern men could
have a chance to fight for their
lives, he would favor Payne's
plan, but could not undertake
to do it at the time when the
southern fellows would have no
chance to make an alliance with
anybody.
President Roosevelt has al
ready announced his intention of
having a new deal in the South.
He proposes to avoid the profes-
sional negro politicians entirely.
Where reputable southern rep
ublicans are to be had to fill the
federal offices they will be given
the preference, but otherwise
broad -gauged democrats will be
chosen especially for the 1mpor-
tant offices in the South. The
professional southern politicians
fully understand this situation
and the President is risking con-
siderable of his political future
by making the fight at this time
He has not hesitated, however,
put proposes to look into the
question at once cf the feasibil-
ity of restricting southern rep.
resentation in the national con-
ventions, and for this purpose
he will &C into the Payne plan
exhaustively.
Mr. Payne arrived here yester-
day by appointment and will see
the President today When seen
last night Mr.. Payne said his
purpose here was to secure from
the President his active and pub
lie adherence to the new princi-
pie of representation in the nat
ional convention.
The justice of his scheme, Mr..
Payne says, can be contested by
no one. 1t merely proposes TO
apply to the national conventions
of the republican party the
scheme which is adopted by all
parties in city, county and state
conventions, of basing the repre-
sentation on the party vote.
Fusion in Pennsylvania.
uADDrCnr1nr D. a.