Bisbee daily review., 1908-06-20
THE NATIONAL
REPUBLICAN
CONVENTION
That lust Closed at Chicago Is
Fourteenth Since 0rganiza-
ton of the Party In 1856
Two Long Conventions.
Chicago Record-HeraId)

Chicago Record Herald)
The republican national convention
which was called TO order in Chicago
at the cohsuem on June 16 is che
fourteenth held since the organiza-
ton of the republican party in 1886,
and the seventh TO meet in Chicago
Six of the thirteen conventions which
have passed into history have been
held in Chicago and three in Philadel-
phia, where the party's first candt
cate, General John C. Fremont OF
California was nominated Baltimore,
Cincinnati, st. Louis and Minneapolis
have each been accorded the honor
of entertaining the republican dele
gates once.
June seems to be a favored month
with the national committee which de,
termine the date of the meeting of the
republican national convention as il
is with sweet girl graduates and the
poets including Lowell. All but two
of the conventions have been called
in the month of roses the latest in
point of time being that of 1904
which convened in Chicago June 21
The conventions of 1850 and 1868
which nominated Lincoln and Grant
were helQ IN May.
TWO Long Conventions.
Two conventions made memorable
by the length of their sessions were
those of 1880 and 1883. Both Of these
met in Chicago the first lasting from
June TO June s. Three days of the
1880 convention were spent in per
fecting the organization The fight
for the nomination of Grant for a
third term being on, thirty-six ballots
were taken before a dark-horse candi,
date, James A. Garfield of Ohio, was
nominated. This record of thirty-siX
ballots is still unbrOken. The conven-
ton of 1883 was in session six days
and nineteen candidates, the largest
number ever before a republican con
vention, received votes before Benja-
min Harrison was chosen on the
eighth ballot.
Twice in the history of the party
but one candidate has been presented
for the two Offices voted upon. In
mOusly renOminated for president on
the first ballot.
For yice-president Theodore ROose-
welt was unanimously nominated on
the first ballot receiving 923 votes,
ing refrained from voting.
In 1904 the same unanimity pre-,
vailed. The only names presented
were those of Roosevelt for president
and Charles W. Fairbanks of Indiana
for vice-presideDt. Each was there,
fore unanimously nominated on the
first ballot. Fayorite sons have, how.
ever, not entirely lost caste, as wit.
ness their rscrudescence this year.
Nominations on First Ballot.
The conventions of 1868 and 1872
gave Grant the full vote on the first
| ballot, but the vote for yice-president
was divided. Other republican presi.
Dental candidates who have been
nominated on the first ballot are Ere
mont, 1856; Lincoln 1864; Grant, 1868
and 1872; Benjamin Harrison, 1892
William Mckinley, 1896 and 1900, and
Theodore Roosevelt, 1904. William l.
Dayton of New Jersey, Fremont's run,
ming mate; William 4. Wheeler
named with Hayes in 1876, and White
law Reid, who went down to defeat
with Benjamin Harrison in 1892, share
with Theodore Roosevelt and Charles
W. Fairbanks the honor of having re
ceiyed the Vice-presidential nomina
| ton by a unanimous vote of the con
vention on the first formal ballot.
Thrice within the fifty-two years oil
| its history the party has had to face
\ the problem of disaffection manifested
| in double conventions.
May 81, 1864, one week before the
| regular convention which nominated
| Lincoln and Johnson was held radi
| cal republicans met in Cleveland and
nominated for president John c. Ere,
mont of California, and for vice presi
dent John COchrane of New York
September q both of these candidates
withdrew and the party united in sup
! port of the regular republican nOmi
nees.
Four years later a convention oil
| disaffected republicans met May in
Cincinnati and nominated for presr
dent Horace Greeley of New York and
| for vice-pTesident B. Gratz Brown
| The regular democratic convention in.
| dOrsed these candidates, and it re
quired all of Grants popularity to in,
spire the regular republican organiza,
| ton with confidence in its ability to
| win. Greeley died before the elect
oral college met. The dramatic with,
! drawal of thirty-four delegates from
the convention of 1895 because OF
| their disapproyal of the financial
plank in the platform marked another
crisis within the ranks.
Unit Rule bandoned.
Since the convention of 1880 no at.
tempt to enforce the unit rule has
been made. Perhaps no republican
convention ever held such uncompro-
misingly hostile forces as that in
which Grants friends, headed by Sen
ator Conkling of New York, tried to
overcome a tradition as old as the re-
public-that which holds that no man
should be named president three
terms. Blaine's friends felt that the
third term issue would prove, as it
did, too strong even for Grant, and
hoped that Blaine would be nominal
ed. Conkling, the magnificent and ar,
rogant, tried to have the unit rule
enforced upon all delegations.
General Garfield, as chairman of
the committee on rules, reported ad-
yersely on the proposition and led
the debate in support of his report,
saying: Adopt the unit rule If you
viii and ] will be bound by It; adopt
the individual rule, and l will be
boound by that, for two great reasons;
first, because You make it the rule :;
second, because / believe il to be ever
lastiHgly right" When both Blaine
and Grant men had finally to decide
on a comDronfsa the eDeecb In which