Omaha daily bee., 1908-06-07

even as late as 1876 Colorado, which had
just been admitted into the union. was
permitted to make legislative appointment
Of it's electors because 1t became a state
too late to submit a choice to the people
that year. For a long time, too, presi-
Dental electors used 70 be chosen in some
states by districts, but since 1876, although
in no way required by the constitution,
complete uniformity has been effected
whereby the presidential electors are all
chosen at large in each state at a popular
election held on the same day throughout
the union.
The time FOR choosing the presidential
electors must naturally nave something
to do with the time for making presidential
nominations and likewise with the time
for choosing delegates to the national
nominating conventions. Andrew Jackson
started out on his first winning campaign
as soon as he found that John Quincy
Adams was given the preference over him
by the house of representatives, to which
the presidential election of 1924 had been
thrown by the failure of any candidate to
get a majority Of the electoral votes. He
was formally nominated by the legislature
of Tennessee in October, 1895, over three
years before the electoral college was to
meet. The later tendency has been to
shorten presidential campaigns, with the
consequence that since reconstruction days
the republicans have made their nominal
lions regularly in June of the year OF the
presidential election, to be followed within
a month by the democrats. The practice
has also grown up for the committees to
issue their calls not earlier than the proceed
ing December, and although delegates have
been chosen before the PRONUNCIATION of the
call, the party machinery as a rule is not
set In motion until after this official notice
is given.
The republican organization has gone still
further by setting more definite limits to
the time of choosing delegates. Delegates
to the coming republican national conven-
ton. to receive recognition, must be chosen
on not less than thirty days notice, mot
earlier than thirty days after the date OF
the call and not later than thirty lays be-
fore the date OF the convention. 1t hap
pened that at the time the republican
committee met last December two dele
gates had already been chosen by one
Michigan district and six delegates by the
territory of Alaska, who were practically
ruled out by this time limit, which forces
the republicans of those jurisdictions to go
through the form of choosing their dele
gates again. The purpose Of the second
time limit is to prevent sharp practice on
the eve Of a convention, without ample OPP
portunity to investigate contests or irregu-
larities and to make sure that the dele
gates presenting credentials are rightly en-
titled to hold the seats and cast the votes
to which they lay claim.
While the democrats, proceeding on their
states rights ideas, give free hand in the
manner of selecting national convention
delegates, the republicans insist upon GER
tain forms Of procedure. The delegates-at-
large must be chosen by popular state and
territorial conventions, to be called by the
various state committees in conformity
with their established rules, and the dis
trict delegates are TO be similarly chosen
under direction of the district committees.
In the southern states, where the repub-
hcan organization is more or less imper-
feet and in which many hopelessly demo-
cratic districts are without republican
committees, the state committees take
charge for all the districts and see to It
that the necessary conventions are held
For the insular possessions and for the
District of Columbia special machinery Is
treated to take in hand the local organiza-
ton and enable the republicans there to
select their delegates. Until the call last
issued for the coming republican national
convention It was required that district
delegates be chosen 'fn the same manner
as is required for the nomination Of can
didates for congress- but, because of the
increasing number OF state laws regulating
party nominations. and In some cases max
ing nominations by direct primary vote
compulsory, this limitation has been elm
mated and in its place authority is given
for the election Of both delegates-at-large
and district delegates from any state 'In
conformity with the laws Of the state in
which the election occurs, provided the
state committee or congressional commit
tee so direct"
-
Eject OF state Primary Laws.
How far state legislation may regulate or