The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1908-08-08
0OMEDEMOCRXTICA
COVENTIONfhSTORya


its way. The twentieth Democratic ma
tional convention went farther west to
hold It's momentous deliberations Of 1908
than has any preceding convention Of
either Of the dominant parties. The Mis-
souri, river has heretofore limited the
western movement Of the great political
st. Louis and Kansas City
having each been honored In the past.
But westward strike Of 500 miles brings
the Democratic delegates of this year to
the Rocky Mountains, to city which
does not even call itself Of the Middle
West, but is distinctly and wholly West
>rn.
It is seventy-six years since the trst
national Democratic convention was called
at the behest Of Andrew Jackson, then
President, to nominate the man whom he
wished to serve with him as Vice Presi-
dent during his second term. Jackson,s
with his own party was 80
unquestioned that he was nominated at
this first Democratic national convention
by reclamation. So far as he was con-
cerned, no convention was needed to set
upon him the party stamp of approval.
And the convention wisely enough decided
that with SO perfect an embodiment OF
Democracy at it's head as "Old Hickory"
no formal declaration of party principles
was necessary. The committee appointed
by the convention Of 1882 to prepare an
address to the people reported THAT they
considered an address unnecessary and
the several delegations to
make such explanation by address, report
or otherwise to their respective constitu-
ents of the objects, proceedings and result
of the meeting as they might deem expe-
Ient.
1t was not until 1910, the year in which
the party failed to agree upon vice pres
idential candidate, that Democratic
convention made formal declaration Of
the issues upon which they appealed to
the people for support. Since 1910 every
convention has issued such a
have come to be regarded as having the
binding force of party law. Within their
limitations they are accepted as unques-
tionably as the Thirty-nine Articles of
The Westminster catechism.
The first Democratic national conven-
ton of 1882 was held March % in Bal
timore, a city which has been honored by
the gathering Of the party's great quad
rennial meeting eight times since national
were evolved as nominating
bodies.
The conventions Of 1882, 1885, 1910,
1874, 1S4S, 1852, 1872 and the adjourned
of 1850, which first met in
Charleston, have been held in Baltimore.
Chicago furnished the theater of action
for the meetings Of 1854, 1884 and 1892.
But before the convention selected city
30 far to the West as that Of the Illinois
in 1864, it had met in Gin
cinnati in 1856 and in Charleston, s. c.,
In 1860, at which city the longest ballot
ing on record proved futile, and an ad-
journment without nominating followed.
Hall held the delegates Of 1868,
when the New York statesman, Horatio
Seymour, presided as permanent chair
man, developed suddenly into dark horse
candidate, the third the party had brought
forth up to that time, Polk and Franklin
Pierce having preceded him as such. Hav-
ing reached Chicago, the step to st. Louis
was not hard to take, and the conven-
tons of 1876, 1883. and 1904 were held
In the Missouri town which still regards
itself as the rival of Chicago, as it really
was back in the '7Os. Cincinnati In 1880
and Kansas City in 1900 complete the
tale of the cities which now include the
town lying near the peak which in the
days Of the prairie schooler was the des-
tination of many hardy pioneer.
At the first Democratic convention a.
committee appointed to prepare the rules
that thirds Of the whole
number of votes of the convention should
be necessary to constitute a choice in
making nominations. At every national
convention since that time this has been
reaffirmed as the law of the Democratic
party. In 1886 an attempt was made to
repeal the rule. In fact the effort was
by small margin Of votes, 231
to 21O, but upon reconsideration the rule
was put in force. In 1874 the two-thirds
rule was bitterly, even savagely opposed
by the friends Of Van Buren,, who had a
majority of the votes on the first ballot,
sJuJ at uO LIIuc COulu uuSJcT LWO-CulTUS.
The Democratic convention of 184S,
which nominated Lewis Cass of Michigan
for President and William o. Butler OF
Kentucky for Vice President, directed the
of the first national commit
tee ever organized. Its candidate, like
the Democratic candidate of 1910, was
defeated by a Wing soldier candidate,
Gen. Taylor, who, like Gen. Harrison.
had no preparation for the executive Of
fee and was nominated by the Wings in
obedience to the doctrine of availability.
In the convention of 1852, held in Bal
timore, there occurred another Of those
strange and sudden movements by which
the contest between prominent and fav-
ored candidates causes them all to be dig
carded and the position to be given to
some heretofore unknown quantity. To
use an old and much used if not abused
figure, when the tournament opened four
renowned knights entered the lists. They
were Lewis Cass of Michigan, the de-
feated candidate Of 184S; James Buchan-
an of Pennsylvania, Stephen A. Douglas
Of Illinois and William L. Marcy Of New
York After many exciting tits, Frank
lin Pierce of New Hampshire. q KNIGHT