The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-03-23
FUNCTION OF THE COMMITTEE.


The word committee is not a synonym for
dictator. 1t rather means a man or a
number of men to whom some duty has
been assigned by those who hold the power
to delegate or commit duties which the
body granting the authority Is not In a
duties of the committeeman are to see that
the precinct is canvassed and that the
names of those who are Indifferent or
doubtful are reported to those who can look
after them. He should be no mans man,
but the representative of all the voters in
the party. He should take no hand in Sc
lecting delegates more than any other man
in the party who simply votes. The COM
mitteeman should not be elected as any
candidates man and then do nothing else
than use the influence of the place to help
this candidate against another.
In practice we have drifted so far away
from the true function of the party pre-
cinct committeeman that his time and in
fiuence are used to elect delegation for
this or that aspirant. The precinct COM
mitteeman becomes something of dictator
IL he is Of that turn of mind. He not only
has his name upon the local ticket under
the old system, but If he is adroit and zeal
Gus he secures an entire delegation which
he controls In convention. and this power
he uses for his own or his friends advan-
tage. If he is thrifty 1t is said that he re-
ceives compensation for the votes of his
delegation. In the old primary and those
which we have under the Joss law there is
little difference II the committeeman is
INSCRIPTIONS he can do considerable to
elect himself or his friend. He can muster
a band of outsiders who have no right in
the primary and thus carry the election. 1t
Is said that some of the men appointed to
preside in the primaries found so few pres
ent that they were able to elect themselves
by one or two votes. Whether this is or is
not true it is impossible to say, but it is
well known that all of the men selected to
preside over primaries, as far as it was pos
sible to obtain them, were chosen because
they were in accord with the chairman, to
the end that delegates might be chosen to
re-elect him.
never thought of by those to whom power
has been committed. They are simply
using the power they have to win for their
clique. They are committeeman in name
only; in reality they are petty dictators.
The method of their selection ignores the
true end of party committees, and. their
organization being one to promote faction
by questionable methods the voter may be
prepared for any outrage upon the theory
Of full representation in primaries. Con-
ventions which should be called two or
three months before the election may be
FASTENED forward six months before the
time to vote. Before the people are aware
of it the convention is held and the ticket
of the committee nominated. In this city
thousands of the best Republicans protest
against this misuse of power by commit
tees. A committee representing them would
not resort to such methods to cheat the ma
jority of voters or hurry them to decide be-
fore they have time for consideration. Re-
publicans elsewhere who object to nominal
tions for county officers made six months
before the election are weary of that kind
of snap judgment and applaud the protest
ing Republicans Of Indianapolis.
What is needed is to restore the local
committeeman to his normal functions-the
representing of party interests-and let him
cease to be the manipulation or boss of pre-
cinct or ward and become what his name
implies-a committee-a man charged with
a duty to the whole party.