Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-07-21
INSTRUCT THE DELEGATES.

Under our system OF government
every either is a sovereign, privileged
to express his will through the ballot
box without being responsible to any
one but his own conscience. On the
other hand. every man who represents
the voters In any capacity is RESPONSE
BILE to the sovereign voter and is ex-
pected to carry out his will and wish
in the discharge of the duties devolv-
Ing on him.
Members Of legislative bodies,
whether national or state, and dele
gates in political conventions. are not
free agents. On the contrary, they are
expected to voice the will and wish of
their sovereign constituents on every
measure that affects the public well
fare.
For this reason the constitution Of
Nebraska requires every member of
the legislature to record his vote on
every bill or joint resolution as well
as in the election of its officers and the
election of United States senators.
This principle has always been the
unwritten law for presidential electors.
The American people do not vote d.
rectly for president, but presidential
electors are in honor bound to cast
their votes for the candidate of the
party that has polled a plurality of the
votes in their respective states.
Delegates to national conventions,
as a rule, are not allowed to go as free
agents to vote for whom they please,
but are instructed to use all honorable
means for the nomination of the candi-
date who represents the preference of
a majority of their constituents. This
usage has prevailed not only in Ne
braska, but in nearly all the states of
the union.
AS a matter of history, delegates at
large from Nebraska to national con-
ventions have always been instructed.
In some instances delegates have even
been compelled to pledge their sup
port publicly to the candidate endorsed
by the convention. In the memorable
state convention held at Columbus in
1876 every delegate in the convention
was compelled to stand up and pro-
nounce himself for Blaine or for Grant
in order that the will of the party
might be emphatically expressed with
out equivocation.
What applies to the delegation tc
national conventions applies with
equal force to delegates to state con
ventions when the issue is squared!
made. The object of nominating {
candidate for United States senator II
| to select the candidate that comes
nearest to representing the choice o
the rank and file of the party. B!
rights that choice should be exercised
by direct primary, but until we hav'
direct primary the choice can be ex
pressed most effectively through dele
gates instructed to cast their votes 70
the candidate preferred by majorit.
of the delegates in the county conven
ton.
Any systematic attempt to send I'm
Instructed delegates to the state con
Iyentiop is palpably designed to srbVer
the will of the party either by repu
dating the action of the state com
mittee that has followed the prece
dent established two years ago in tn
nomination of Senator Burkett or b
manipulating the convention so as t
bring about the nomination of a dar
horse, or dummy, who lacks the ele
ments of popularity and does not reI
resent the sentiments of the party o
the vital issues of the day.