The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-01-25
DRAMATIC SIDE OF CONVENTIONS
LURlD HISTORY HAS BEEN WRITTEN IN NATIONAL ASSEM-.
BLAGES OF THE PARTIES.

held in Baltimore. but this was the
first of great historic interest. though
the Baltimore convention of 1874.
which nominated James Knox Polk
for the presidency, was assuredly of
party. as it adopted the two-thirds
rule for conventions which has ever
since been in force and which is this
Year claimed by many leading Demo.
Gratis to be an incubus Of which the
party conventions ought to be reliev-
cd. 1t was thrust on the convention
of 1874 by the southern delegates to
northern candidate. During the sit
ting of the convention the first electric
telegram In history was sent from
Washington to Baltimore by Profes-
sor Morris the inventor the message
being the immortal words: What
Hath God Wrought"
Another Baltimore convention only
less disastrous to the Democratic par
ty than that of 1850 was that which
assembled June 3 of that ear and
did practically nothing except effect
the endorsement of Horace Greeley
and Governor b. Crate Brown of Mis-
souri,. who had been nominated by the
Liberal Republicans for the presidcn-
cy and vice presidency.
LlDeral Republicans.
One of the most earnest. sincere
and enthusiastic national conventions
ever held was that of the Liberal Re-
publicans who met at Cincinnati May
l. 1872. 1t was composed of Republic
can delegates, the quota being fun
from nearly all Of the states who had
reluctantly seeded from the old or.
ganization. which had fallen into the
grip of a machine, the most corrupt,
perhaps. that ever afflicted a nation
al administration, playing upon Presi-
dent Grants ignorance of political
manipulation and chicanery. enmcsh-
ing him in their w tangled web and
bringing his administration into dis
repute.
1t was inevitable that this conspir-
ing omcn would renominate Grant
and such leading and ir~reproachable
Republicans, all of them party pion-
GERS. as Charles Francis Adams. LN.
man Trumbull, Theodore Tilton, David
Davis. George W. Julian nj Stanley
Matthews. who was a few years later
appointed an associate justice of the
supreme court of the United States.
led in organizing the new party. Carl
Schurz. then editor of the Westliche
Post of st. Louis. was made permanent
chairman. There was some opposition
to Greeley and more to Brown. it be-
ihS NCil uliNet SlOou tldI lle Olu Ors
sanization Republicans would make
great capital of the fact hat Greeley,
with Gcrritt Smith. another original
Aholitionist, We're bail for the release
of Jefferson Davis and that Greeley
advocated general amnesty for the en-
confederates. Greeley and Brown had
the lead from the beginning. however,
and the Liberal Republican uprising
seemed to the Democrats so formid-
able and their own organization so
important that the Baltimore conven-
tion a month later, after a deal Of
wrangling, endorsed the former Abb
olitionists. Greeley INC his distin-
suished supporters felt that this was
most unfortunate, hut they could do
nothing to prevent it.
Democratic support of Greeley and
hrown in the Democratic convention
was by no ear unanimous. A
schism was the result. The malcon-
tents met later at Louisville and in
the face of their absolute refusal to
permit the use of their names. Charles
O'Connor. the famous New York law
yer, who was also or the bail bond for
the release of jefferson Davis. and
John Quincy Adams We're nominated
for president n vice president. At
the national election in November
they received fewer than 10000 votes
all told, mi We're jsorry they had so
many.
Greeley and Brown, after a cam
paign of the vilest abuse on both
sides. We're defeated by an overwhelm-
ing majority of the electoral college.
They had the poor satisfaction, how
ever. of receiving nearly 5000. 900 of
the popular vote and carried the states
of Virginia, Maryland, kentucky. Ten
nesSee, Georgia and Texas. Grant had
2S6 electoral votes to 63 for Greeley,
and Greeley died soon after of a
broken heart.
Again a Baltimore convention Of the
Democratic party had blundered, but
of course there is nothing ominous in
former convention disasters for the
conditions are now wholly different.
Maryland itself has reached the dis
tinction of being in the array Of
doubtful states. having elected a Re-
publican governor last fall in the face
OF the tidal wave which had turned
The house of Representatives over to
the Democrats the previous year.
Present Outlook.
regard to past Baltimore Democratic
conventions for the cas- that the
coming Democratic convention in that
city will, from the present point Of
view. be the one national convention
Of the year which will afford %specula-
ton and excitement.
The Democrats are unanimous in
the belief that the president will be
nominated to succeed himself. and
they are just as unanimous in the
conviction that this will be a Demo-
cratic year. and therefore the pro-
found depths of the Democratic poll
ticians are already, with the conven-
ton Of June 25 six months away, be-
ing Nightly stirred in regard to the
personality of the nominee. The conf
ventions of this year, under the new
allotment of members of the house in
accord with population by the last
census and admission Of new states.
will have 1.072 delegates. Thus 572
votes will nominate candidates Of the
Republicans, while it will require 716
to nominate for the Democrats. This
is an awful handicap for the aspiring
candidate and many of the leading
politicians and Democratic newspa-
pers are demanding abrogation of the
old rule in force since the Polk con-
l"ention at Baltimore in 1874 and the
adoption Of the simple majority rule,
such as has always prevailed in Re-
publican conventions. The weaker
candidates. however. will doubtless
oppose this. will spout oratorically of
the Traditions of the party. demand
the retention of the absurd and UNI
democratic rule. hoping that the ne
cessity of a two-thirds majority will
kill off, the leading candidate or
candidates and force the convention
to agree to some candidate of lesser
strength.
They who like the sport Of guessing
may assume. for the mere sake of a
guess. II a either Governor Harmon
of Ohio or Governor Wilson Of New
Jersey, or both of them, will be far