Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-06-06
PARTY ORGANIZATION.

ST. Louis GlObe-DemOcraC: oOme-
thing indicated by National Commit
teeman New Of Indiana and something
we have indicated as being the pith or
one of the Roosevelt Claims" de-
serves a fuller statement than either
the Globe-Democrat or Mr.. New has
given it. Mr.. New, speaking as chair
man of the subcommittee acting for
the full committee in the necessary
work preliminary to the opening OF
the convention, says: 1T is the duty
of this committee to provide rules for
the conduct of the convention, to pro.
vide it's temporary officers, and
to do these things in order to
identify the convention with the
republican party and to differ
entiate that convention from any 1r-
responsible gathering that might at
tempt to constitute republican con-
vention without authority Of any
kind"
In that statement may be found the
explanation of how and why all or the
preliminary work preceding the tenn
porary organization of national con-
vention has been placed upon the ma
tional committee already In existence,
selected four years earlier at a time
when the personalities and the con-
flicting claims of candidates four
wears later could not influence or con-
troll their selection. This Is not only
the rule of action in the republican
party. It Is the rule Of action In every
party, for the reason that its wisdom
and necessity are so obvious that
they have never, until now, been ques-
toned. The rule was ordained to pre-
vent Just that condition OF affalrs
which COL Roosevelt is now insisting
upon. It was organized to prevent the
immediate seating in the committee
of men coming fresh out Of the strug.
gle for presidential nomination still
pending to take their seats and pass
upon their own credentials and OF
those of their faction who are contest
ing for seats, or whose seats are be-
ing contested. It was ordained for the
purpose of constituting, as nearly as
possible in such case, BODY wnlcn
would be free from the pre5ud1ces that
must control new committee, COM
ing straight from the field into the
council, flushed with all the ardor OF
faction, and controlled by but one I'M
pulse. To set aside such wise and
salutary rule as this, and open the
door. on the eve of convention, to
clashes between men claiming cleo
ton as national committeeman and
struggling for control of the conven-
! ton through arbitrary immediate use
Of the committees preliminary func.
tions, would be to invite chaos and
riot. More, it would be as Mr.. New
suggests, to abdicate that sovereignty
of the party over the deliberations and
; all Of the proceedings Of the conven.
ton. which cannot be lost without
making the work Of the convention
itself ineffective and without binding
force.
It seems strange to be arguing at
this late day these fundamental prop.
ositions of party organization and
management. Their challenge now is
predicated upon nothing more than the
wholly unsupported charge that the
! present members of the national re-
publican committee, all OF whom were
chosen four years ago, when every
body was foolishly believing that the
colonel would keep his pledge and
never be a candidate again, have al
ways been, and are now, prejudiced
against his nomination for third
term 80 far that they will try to beat
him in the preliminaries. But no man
with a majority behind him can pos.
sibly be beaten in the preliminaries.