Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1914-04-08
REPUBLICAN, NATIONAL CHAIR.
MAN. MAKES PUBLIC PLAN To DE
CREASE SOUTHERN PERCENTAGE
FOLLOWS DEC. MEETING
REPUBLICAN, CONVENTION OF SEW
ERAL SOUTHERN STATES AZ.
FECTED ASKED TO RATIFY AC.
TON THIS YEAR.
by Associaicd Prcss.l

Committee. tonight made public the pro
posed plan to decrease the percentage Of
the southern and territorial representa-.
ton in the republican national cnnvcn
ton in 1916, AMI thereafter from approx
imatcly ~ per Get Of the total voting
strength TO less than Ii per cent. ~ pro.
vidcd i'm resolutions adopted by the com
mittec NJ it, meeting last Dcccmbr.
The plan is addressed Ia the republican
conventions of the several states. which
are asked to ratify the action of the ma.
tional body before January 1. 1915. A
special committee composed of Charles IL.
Warren If Michigan. ScnatorWilIiam T..
Borah If Idaho. and former Governor
Henry ID. Field of West Virginia. drafted
the report 81 the action i'm December
which embodicS other resolutions adopted
by the National Committee. These qua
antec:
Recognition. in the call 10 H. issued
for the next national convention. Of the
right of any state to provide for the clec-
ito Of delegates in direct primaries.
The right Of any state to elect all dele
gates from the state az large. or part from
The state at large. and part from congress.
%>ionul districts.
These provisions were adopted with a
view to eliminating contests before the
national body such aS in the past nave
produced discord and dissension.
Some members of the National commit
tee, spurrcd on by the insistcnt demands
Of "A large body Of voters, sought Ia have
the committee call "A special convention
for the purpose of adopting "A new basis
of representation. but the opinion pre-
vailed Of those who maintained that mas
much as no methods were provided by the
existing laws of the various states for
the election of delegates 10 such a c0nven-
ton III direct primary elections. the spe-
cial convention might not represent the
sentiments and desires of "A majority of
the party.
Id was resolved that the National Com
mlttce consider the question. formulate
its conclusions and submit the result Of
lis deliberations for ratification by state
conventions, In ~rcciting the views that
actuated national body the special com
Inittcc Of three SAYS:
The Committee believed that should
conventions of delegated representatives
of the party. convened in the numbr of
states entitled Ia east a majority of the
votes in "A National Convention. ratify
the action taken by he Naional Commit
tee in this respect. the action taken by
the National Committee in this respect,
its acton could be assumed 60 fairly cx-
press the sentiment Of the great majority
of the party. for obviously such state
conventions when taken together would
consist of more representatives of the par
" would he assembled in a national con.
%ycntion.
The plan adopted and recommended
for ratification provides that the rcpub-
lican voters in each state shall hereafter
be represented in "A National convention
of the party by four DELEGATES N -large:
two delegates for each Representatives.
large in Congress. one delegate from each
Congressional district and an additional
delegate from each Congressional district
in which the vote of 1905 for any Repub
lican clcctor or for the Republican nom
ince for Congress in 1871 shall not have
been less than seven thousand five hun
dred t7.5e0D.
Alaska and the District Of Columbia
under the plan presented will each be
entitled 20 two voting delegates. while
Hawaii. Porto Rico. and the Philippine
Islands will each be- entitled Ia two dele
gates without the right to vote
The result Of this change in the basis
OF representation. il ratified bv the req
uisite number Of state conventions. will
bc a decrease nf - votes as follows: Ala
bama will lose :. Arkansas ,. Florida 4.
Georgia II Louisiana :. Mississippi =.
New York :. North Carolina 2 South Car
I"lina :. TENNESSEE. Texas IL. Virginia :.
Hawaii 1. Porto Rico >. and Philippine
Islands >
Under the plan presented n COMPRESSION
al district not entitled To two delegates
on the vote east in the presidential clec.
tion in l90S will qualify for two il . 800
or more votes are east for the rcpubli
can nominee Of the congressional election
this fall.
Anticipating criticism from those who
believed that u still greater decrease
should have been provided in southern
representation the special committee i'm
its recital SAYS II u within the province
# 2 majority Of the convention II 1916:
III II 81 desires. 10 establish another new
basis for further conventions.
The plan can be ratified by any repub-
lican convention for the purpose Of nom
mating candidates for state offices. or
for the purpose If adopting a party plat
form. or bv any convention called bv the
republican state committee and held be-
'it 'dihdTN U. iFl1 aHP >ldlffnt1t Oh
the special committee that drafted the
plan for presentation To the several re-
publican state conventions concludes with
the following:
The committee appointed to present
the proposed plan 10 the state conven-
tions believes that il is desirable from
every point Of view that the action of the
National Committee by ratified and made
effective. All who are opposed 70 the fun
damcntnl principles ~ the Democratic