The Washington herald., 1907-07-31

So systematic is the machinery by
which the political parties in the United
States select their candidates for Presl-
dent and Vice President. and so binding
is the decision of the party conventions
upon the electors chosen by the people,
that the whole fabric has the weight of
law. and is. indeed, part of the funda-
mental lex non scTipta of the nation.
Because OF this binding force, one is apt
to forget that the great party convention
was a gradual growth in the pOlity Of the
country. although its practical nullihca-
ton of the constitutional idea of electing
Presidents is complete
George Washington. the first President.
was the candidate of all factions and
parties. and. by common consent, the
electors chosen by the legislatures Of
the thirteen States cast their ballots for
him. Until 1904 each elector cast his vote
for two candidates for President the one
receiving a majority of the votes cast to
be President, and the one receiving the
next highest to be Vice President. This
early provision of the Constitution was
made impracticable by the organization
OF parties. for in the fourth Presidential
election the Republican-DemOcratic can
didates received the solid vote of the
electors Of that party, and there was a
lie between Thomas jefferson and Aaron
Burr.
From that time forward there was al
ways a party selection Of candidates,
either by caucus of the members of Con-
gress of each particular faith or by
formal nomination by the legislatures of
States. There was no party organization
however. for many years, and Tor several
decades the Congressional caucus held
sway. king Caucus" was roundly
abused and forced 10 abdicate by the
State legislatures. The plan was TOGO I'M
wieldy, and the national convention was
born.
The first national political convention
was held by the old Federalist party in
the very hour of its dying, two years be-
fore the Hartford convention, which
threatened the secession of the New
England States. In 1872 the Republicans
Of the New York legislature had put for
ward the name of De Witt Clinton in OPP
position 10 James Madison, who had the
solid Republican support of most of the
States. The Federalists called a cOnven-
ton, and in September seventy delegates
from eleven States met in New York
After a stormy session it was decided TO
indorse Clinton, although he was not
Federalist Clinton was named for Pres
ident and Jared Ingersoll for Vice Presi-
dent. 1t was in apology for this method
Of nominating that the movement against
the caucus was begun. The Congressional
Caucuses had named the first candidates
in 1900, the Federalist caucus openly Sc
lectlng Adams and Pinckney and the Re
publicans secretly agreeing on Jefferson
and Burr. Clinton was defeated by Madi-
son by l2S to So votes in the electoral col
lege.
The convention idea did not become
popular at once. The Federalist party
died. In 1926 all but one of the votes
were cast for James Monroe, a New
Hampshire elector voting for John Quincy
Adams to keep Monroe from sharing with
Washington the honor of a unanimous
election. In 1924 there was but one party,
the Republican, soon to change its name
to Democratic. An attempt was made TO
give William II. Crawford the caucus
nomination, but II was unsuccessful, and
the race was run by four men. on purely
personal issues-Andrew Jackson, Henry
Clay. John Quincy Adams, and William
H. Crawford. Jackson received The high
est number Of votes. but he lacked a
majority. and the House Of Representa-
tives elected Adams President
When the next election came on there
were again two parties. The Republi-
can party of jefferson had adopted the
name Democratic, and the opposition had
rallied under the name National Repub-
lican, which soon gave way to the shorter
and more convenient Wing" There
we're no nominations except by the leg
islatures. but ali the Democrats were
for Jackson, and all the National Re
publicans for Adams. Jackson was
elected
Under the administration of "Old Hick-
DRY" political parties. as We know them.
had their birth. To the victors belong
the spOils was JacksOn's belief, and he
put none but Democrats in Office. "The
cohesive power of public plumber" was a
phrase coined to describe the essence Of
organization Of parties. "Plunder" is
used in a Pickwiekian sense, generally
for while fat public offices are very at
tractive, they sometimes require much
work Of the incumbent, and there is
little logic in the cry Of the outs" that
a man drawing a public salary as a
public officer is necessarily ''plundering"
the treasury
At any rate, Jackson brought into be-
ing the principles of party unity. and
held out the promise of public reward
for party service. In 1881 the Anti-Ma-
sonic party met in the first regular NOM
mating convention Of regularly chosen
delegates. II named William Writ for
President, and in the election of 1892 he
carried one State-VermOnt The Nation
al Republican, or Wing, convention, met
in December, 1881, and nominated Henry
Clay. The Democrats held their first
convention in May. 1892 and nominated
Jackson and Van Buren,. AT this cOnven-
ton the two-thirds rule was adopted.
which has ever since prevailed in Demo-
cratic conventions Thus it is that a
Democratic aspirant for a Presidential
nomination must have two-thirds OF the
votes in the convention. while in other
parties a mere majority is sufficient
All three OF these conventions were held
in Baltimore. which. prior to the civil
war, was the meeting place OF nearly all
national conventions, Since 1889 the Dem
ocrats have held a national convention
each four years without interruption, the
party machinery being kept intact. The
first national committee was organized in
1913, and its existence has also been con-
tlnuous. despite the serious split of 1860
the Generalization Of the war. and other
party crises. In 1896 the Wings held no
convention. but scattered their vote
among Harrison. Webster. and Mangum.
Four years later the Wings nominated
Harrison and Tyler in convention at Har-
risburg, and the Democrats in Baltimore
selected Martin Van Buren, for president,
but left the nomination OF a Vice Presl-