The Cairo bulletin., 1907-11-07
ocLESBY BILL WOULD HAVE PRE-
VENTED NOMINATION OF LIN
COLIN n IN FORCE THEN.
RICHARD J. OGLESBY'
Father of Author Of Direct Primary
Bill RESPONSIBLE For Solid Lin
coin Delegation in III
nois in 1860.

had been selected by the Republican
IpGrty In 1860 under d direct plurality
primary 1t Is by no means certain that
Abraham Lincoln would have been
nominated and elected president of
1.-THE United States that year The
Oglesby primary election bill, as it
came out of the house. provided for
the selection of delegates to all ma
tional conventions at the party pri-
maries. This provision aroused
strong opposition from the men who,
while conceding that direct plurality
nominations for all public officers
might be good thing, 1t would seri.
ously weaken the influence of Illinois
| il national conventions If the dele
gates We're to be chosen haphazard at
| d primary election. Anybody might
become a candidate for national con-
vention delegates, and the primary
ballot very likely would contain the
names of 100 or 200 men ambitious
to go to the national convention. 1t
would be impossible for the average
voter to know any OF these men, or
to know anything about them. AS a
result no one could foretell what kind
of a delegation would be chosen, or
what interests the delegates might
represent half,dozen ''independ-
ents" or mug, xumps" might get on
the delegation and make no end of
trouble. For to be as powerful as it
has been In the past, Illinois must
have d divided delegation, and the
delegation must be composed of the
ablest men in the party 1t was this
feature Of the primary bill that
brought Uncle Joe" Cannon to the
oapital-not, as he declared because
of the possible effeli on his own can
didacy (Which he said at present had
no tangible existence,) but because he
wanted to sec the Republican party OF
Illinois as powerful in national affairs.
III the future as 1t had been in the
pest. The senate amended the
Oglesby bill by striking out all refer
.ence to national convention delegates
thus leaving them to be selected In
the time-honored way It is alto
gether probable that the bill will be-
come a law in this shape.
Looking back forty-seven years 1t
IL interesting to analyze the situation |
that existed in Illinois early in that |
year and to speculate as to what |
might have happened If different
system of choosing national conven-
tim delegates had been in vogue. To
day Abraham Lincoln Is the grandest
figure in our national history. and he
ranks among the greatest men of all |
times. But Abraham Lincoln had at /
tanned no such heroic stature in the |
spring of 1860 Two years earlier his |
debate with Stephen A. Douglas had
brought him into national prominence |
But even then the Little Giant" was
the commanding figure In Illinois poll
ties, as he had been for many years,
and quite oyershadowed Lincoln. In
Illinois. among the members of the
new Republican party, there was
Lincoln sentiment, but
there were many who hesitated to
support him as a candidate for the
for president. Lincoln
was looked upon as merely having "a
to get the nomination. There
were other men in the nation who
loomed larger and whose prospects
were far better.
There was, in fact AN organized
effort TO capture the state for William
n. Seward OF New York. A good many
Of the party leaders In Illinois were
to favor Seward as against
Lincoln. believing that the latter
v ould fai &c receive the necessary
support in other states to make him
a "winner." The Seward sentiment
was so strong. in fact. that before the
state convention met in Decatur in
May there we're grave doubts as to its
action on Lncoln's candidacy The
situation was a most delicate one to
cope with. and but for a coup finely
executed by Richard J. 0glesby II is
by no means certain that Lincoln
would have had solid delegation
back of him in the national conven-
ton at Chicago. II is an interesting
by the way, that a son
D, OgIesby Is at this moment in the
imelight as the introducer of the pri.
mary election bin before the legisla-
Inre.
Dick oslesby had been an ardent
and devoted friend of Lincoln for
.wenty years. Dick" Oglesby had
and he saw the possibili-
lies of Lincoln as a popular candidate.
He knew all of Lincoln's early his
CRY: he knew that out IN the Sanga-
non bottom thirty years before. LIN
DIN had split rails and put up fence
Ogiesby lived in Decatur where the
convention was to he held. and with
- own hands. aided BY old John
Hanks. he brought two Of the rails
rom the old clearing Fixed up
,auner and hid Il In his barn to await
he day Of the convention Oglesbyl
vas made chairrnan Of the convention
mi al the "psychologicsi nomept
iohn HAMS walled into the cOnven-
ion bearing the Lincoln banner.
lincoln. ''erouehTng IN corner. was
fitted to the platform and made a