The Irish standard., 1908-02-15

The state conventions which choose
delegates at large to the Republican
national gatherings commit those del
egates only. They have 10 power to
decree how the district delegates to the
national conventions shall vote. The
electors in each district are a law un-
to themselves on this point They tell
how their representatives shall line up
in the convention. 1t is possible for
the district delegates Of any particu-
lar states to divide among half doz-
en- or more aspirants, regardless alto
getfer of the alignment of the dele
gates at large from the state. This
dispersion has been seen many times.
In 1876 and in 1880 this question of the
unit rule came up in Republican ma
tional conventions, and each time the
tying of district delegates was defeat
ed. No attempt will be made in the
Chicago Convention of 1908 to bind the
district delegates of any state, by any
cast-iron compact, to support, as
unit, any particular aspirant. There is
a strong proba bility that the rs dele
gates of New York will cast their bal
lots, at least on the opening division,
for Hughes, and that Pennsylvania's
6S will be united for Knox. Illinois 81
votes will be cast for Cannon. in all
probability. Fairbanks is not likely to
have any opposition in Indiana. But
in all of those states the voters OF any
district can, if they wish, instruct their
representatives to vote for somebody
other than the states favorite son. and
the state convention which chooses the
delegates at large can not veto this
action. Home rule is a demand which
is enforced robustly in Republican ma
tional assemblages.
The first time that the favorite son
made his appearance in a national cam
paign was in 1886, when the opponents
Of Jackson's nominee, Van Buren, put
up several candidates. The elements
opposed to Jackson's Democratic party
united in 1884 and adopted the name of
Wings. But their ingredients were still
of 1886 came to unite on anybody as
an antagonist of Van Buren,. William
Henry Harrison of Ohio. Daniel Web
ster Of Massachusetts, and Willie P.
Mangum Of North Carolina were put
up by various states as the enemies of
the Democracy. and each of these can
didates received the support Of certain
localities. Webster. of course. was far
from being a mere local figure in 1886.
His reply to Hayne. six years earlier.
had carried his name all over the coun-
try, and although the overthrow of
Hayne pleased Jackson as much as it
did any of the National Republicans, to
which party Webster belonged at that
time, Webster was an opponent of
Jackson on most of the issues Of all
those years. The attempt Of tho
Wings, in their division of territory
between their own candidates in 1895.
was to get votes from all the elements
Of the opposition to Jackson. and thus
prevent Van Buren from getting a ma
jority Of the electoral college. If the
anti-Jacksonians could throw the cleo
tion of president into the House, as had
been done in 1900 and in 1924, they had
some hopes of being able to make a
combination which would put some
Whig in office. Happily, this dodge
was defeated at the polls. Van Buren,
had an easy victory. and received a
considerable majority in the electoral
college over the combined vote of the
opposing aspirants-Webster, Harri-
son and Mangum. In the election four
years later however. that of 1910. Har-
rison. as the candidate Of the united
Whig party, gained an overwhelming
victory over Van Buren, when the latter
sought reelection.
A fairly large assortment Of fayorite