Amador ledger., 1904-05-13
POLITICAL ARROGANCE.

the subordinate bodies of both po-
itical parties have entered into the
business of instructing delegates A
few years back it would have been
looked upon as serious breach of
trust for any state or county COM
mittee to attempt to lay down in
structions for nominating conven-
ton. A political committee has
really nothing to do with shaping
the views of the rank and file of the
party. 1t is supposed to represent
and follow the ideas of the majority.
1t is nothing short of arrogance for
a few men, selected merely to set
the party machinery in motion and
to look after material matters, to
tell the party as whole what course
it ought to pursue. Such an abuse
of authority tends to contention and
dissension. 1t cannot have beue-
fetal effect, but on the contrary is
calculated to needlessly stir up
strife. And yet this spirit of in-
struction has developed to an alarm
ing extent this year. Both state
committees led the way in this direc-
tion, and the cue has been taken up
by the local committees all over the
state with an avidity never before
manifested. This shows the force of
a bad example, and exemplifies how
careful official bodies ought to be in
not overstepping the bounds of their
authority. The state has been, and
is being deluged this year with a
flood of instructions covering ques-
tions upon which the party alone in
convention assembled has the right
to speak with authority 1t may be
safely assumed that whenever an
official transcends his authority the
act is prompted by wrongful mo-
tive. In political bodies usurpation
of power is usually caused by boss
ism-the desire of some man to con-
stitute himself the supreme ruler of
the party. Our sister county of
Calaveras has distinguished itself in
the variety and wide scope of in
structions INDUCED in by a political
committee. A report of the pro-
ceeding of the republican county
committee is before US. 1t appoint
ed nine delegates to the state con-
vention, and more than one half the
appointees are members of the COM
mittee. After this modest exercise
OF official power it proceeded to
'resolute'' on national, state and
district questions, recommending a
candidate for president, congress
man and assemblyman. One state
official seems to have been studiously
overlooked, namely, State Senator
W. G. Ralston. This omission is all
the more noticeable from the fact
that the senator was a resident of
that county when elected, while
Assemblyman McKenney, who is
resident of Amador county, comes
in for full share of compliment by
the committee. To cap the climax,
the following resolution winds up
the platform and resolutions sent
forth by this committee:
Resolved, That as the first con-
gressional district is essentially a
mining. district, we believe that this
interest is entitled to full recogni
ton, and we therefore instruct our
delegates to the district conv ention
to use all honorable means to secure
representative mining men as dele
gates to the national meeting at
Chicago.
The meaning of this is plain.
Both delegates to the national con-
vention from this congressional dis
trict should be taken from the min
ing districts. This is slap at
Humboldt county, for presuming to
have candidate for national dele
gate in the field, in the person of
Hon. j. c. Bull. Humboldt, with
its 1000 republican majority, placed
in the first district mainly for the
purpose of making it a republican
district, is thus told by clique
of chronic place hunters that she has
no right to recognition in the selec-
tion of delegates to the national con-
vention. What particular role a
delegate from either the mining or
agricultural section can play in the
nomination of presidential candi-
date does not appear. The truth is,
two candidates from the mining coun-
ties are aspiring for the honor of
representing the first district at the
Chicago convention, and one from
Humboldt. The Calaveras county
committee urges the district conven-
tion to throw the Humboldt man
overheard, because mining interests
are paramount in this district. We
know not how the expression 'sour
delegates" will be appreciated by
our party friends in our sister coun-