The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-01-17
THE TICKET
TRAINERS
Preparing for the Great
National Meet
to Come.
(Man Special to the Advertiser.)

(Mail Special to the Adyertiser.)
| WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. 2.-Ths
politicians are just now talking a good
deal about the instruction of delegates
for the two great national conventions
| Roosevelt will be nominated by the
Republicans but nevertheless there are
| discussions in many States as to
whether delegates shall be actually in
| structed. Some States have been in
| the habit of instructing, while others,
by long esta blished custom, have not.
although the delegates might be fully
aware of public sentiment and obey
that just as unerringly as though they
were bound hand and foot as to voting.
In the first place it is well to remem-
Der that the national convention this
year win be the largest of each party
ever yet held. Each convention will
have about 100 delegates and as many
alternates more than it had four years
ago. Take the Republican convention,
for example. It will comprise two del
egates for every Senator, or four dele
gates at large from every State, and
two delegates from each Congressional
district. There are 80 Senators and
$50 members Of the House, where under
the old apportionment there were bnly
357 members. That makes the total
OF Congress 476, which is the number
of votes now in the electoral college.
Multiply this by two and one has 952,
which will be the number of delegates
in the Republican convention, minus
the delegates from the Territories and
the District of Columbia. The Re-
publicans allow the District of Column
bia two delegates; the Democrats al
low the District of Columbia six dele
gates. Both parties allow the three
Territories in the Southwest six votes
each. There are varying arrange
ments about Alaska and Hawaii
Therefore if one wants to form an
idea of what a big gathering either of
the national conventions will be, he has
only to imagine what the Senate and
the House of Representative would be
in a joint meeting and then multiply
it by two. It makes tremendous
body. A Speaker with difficulty keeps
the House of Representative in order,
when the full membership attends.
But the House is not one third as large
as either national convention will be.
Then besides the delegates, one must
bear in mind that there are just as
many aIternates, most all of whom at |
tend.
One does not realize without stop |
ping to reckon, what a vast amount |
of effort is involved in holding a ma
tional convention. The preparations |
involve the holding of hundreds of pre-
urinary conventions and an expense of !
hundreds of thousands of dollars. |
Each State must hold a State conven-
ton to nominate the delegates at large,
who number four, except in States that
have only one member of the House or
where there has never been a district
ing for members, as in Washington
State or North Dakota. In the next
Washington State will
nave the greatest number of delegates
1T large-ten in a1l-for the State has
hree members of the House elected
1T large. But most of the States have
,nly four delegates at large. whereas
here must be a convention in each of
he Congressional districts.
Accordingly Maine. with four mem
,ers of Congress, will hold five conven-
ions to complete it's delegation to the
lext Republican convent ton. One of
hese will be a state convention to elect
our delegates at large. Four will be
district conventions, one in each of the
our Congressional districts, each of
hese four districts to select two dele
rates and two alternates. New York
tate must have thirty-eight conven-
ions to accomplish the same end-one
or the delegates at large, and one con-
'ention in each of the thirty-seven Con-
,ressional districts. But before those
district and state conventions can be
leld, there must be numerous primaries
IT county conventions, which VIII lit
rally number thousands. What is true
n the preparations of the Republican
National Convention, is true of the