The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1904-01-19
TICKET
TRAINERS
Preparing for the Great
National Meet
to Come.
tMan Special to the Advertiser.)

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 established custom, have not,
although the delegates might be fully
| eware 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 we'll to remem-
| Der that the national convention this
year will be the largest of each party
| ever yet held. Each convention Will
| have about 100 delegates and as many
alternates more than 1t had four years
ago. Take the Republican convention,
for example. 1t 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
1856 members of the House, where under
the old apportionment there were only
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 Representatives would be
in a joint meeting and then multiply
it by two 1t makes a tremendous
body. Speaker with difficulty keeps
the House of Representatives 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 alternates, 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-
liminary 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
conventions Washington State will
have the greatest number of delegates
at large-ten in all-for the State has
three members of the House elected
at large. But most of the States have
only four delegates at large, whereas
there must be a convention in each of
the Congressional districts.
Accordingly Maine, with four MEM
bers of Congress, will hold five conven-
tons to complete its delegation to the
next Republican convention. one of
these will be q state convention to elect
four delegates at large. Four will be
district conventions, one in each of the
four Congressional districts, each of
these four districts to select two dele
gates and two alternatesi New York
state must have thirty-eight conven-
lions to accomplish the same end-ore
for the delegates at large, and one con-
vention in each of the thlrty-seven Con-
prnSSinnn1 diet riptS Rnt hpfnrn those
district and state conventions can be
held, there must be numerous primaries
or county conventions, which will lit
orally number thousands, What is true
in the preparations of the Republican
National Convention, is true of the
Democratic National Convention in the
main.
The interest just now Is chiefly in the
selections of the big four" Politicians
regard it as n higher honor to go as
delegate at large than as simply a dele
gate from one Congressional district.
True one has just as much weight in
the voting but states generally send bet
ter known and more influential men as
delegates at large. They are usually
the wise men of convention and the
principal actors therein They are more
likely To know what is really going on,
for the leaders impart to them knowl-
edge of the deals and schemes.
Probably half of the United states
Senate will be in one or the other of
the national conventions. The proper
ton from the House will be much
smaller. There is always a big coteria
of Senators in every national conven-
ton. They are men who have risen to
prominence politically and among the
supporters of the different candidates
for the presidential nomination are also
many Senators. But the Senate now
comprises quite a number OF aged men,
who have grown tired OF going to con-
ventions and grooming candidates for
the presidency. 1t is hard weeks
work, with all the stress and hurrah for
which national conventions are char
acterized. Therefore these older Sena-
tors are entirely content that some
younpar man should 90