Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-11-20
FOR HOME FOLKS TO DECIDE

From the st. Adams Daily Messenger
The Morrisville News and Citizen makes
public the following letter from Con-
gresham Frank l.. Greene in connection
with the mention of the congressman's
name for a place on the Vermont dele
cation to attend the next national con-
vention of the Republican party:
Washington, ID. c.. Nov. !, 1913.
Editor News and Citizen:
your editorial referring to the pos
sbility of my heading the Vermont de-
legation to the next Republican national
convention is very complimentary, but
you are quite within the mark when you
say, but we understand he doesn't want
to be on it,
II thank you for your generous good
will as was then expressed, but 1 feel
that this is one of the times when J
should stand back
/ II am very seriously of the opinion,
land long have been-long before 1 came
down here) that we people on the Yer
mont delegation in Congress can well af-
! ford to let the folks at home have un-
divided disposition of all such political
opportunities as this. Indeed, l think We
ought to do We are getting our
chance down here and it IL a very gen
erous one. The people at home are con-
siderate and we have nothing to COM
plain about in that way. On the other
hand, the opportunities for Vermonters
to become engaged are necessarily limited
by reason of limited numbers, and that
means, of course. that only now and
then some of our neighbors have one OF
these opportunities. 1t has never seemed
right to me that we folks who are in II
national council should be making any
attempt to hold seats in other councils
of a national character to the exclusion
of some good fellow at home.
"Of course. there may be some special
occasions when 1t is desirable to send
some one of the Vermont delegation
somewhere like this. because of his own
personality and the peculiar fitness of his
selection. But you and know that these
occasions are rare.
always with fraternal regards, / am
Sincerely yours.
| Frank l.. Greene"
Mr. Greene's position is a sound one.
| The country in its early history per-
mitted its presidential candidates to be
! nominated by party caucuses In the
Congress There was something to re-
commend the practice then because com
munication between different parts of the
country was very slow and because the
average man was too busy wrestling Il
living from the soil and in reducing the
back country to give much thought or
attention to national politics. But even
the voters of that early date sickened
quickly of leaving the selection OF their
candidates to politicians In Washington
and as a consequence the national con-
vention came into existence.
1t is we'll to have the people at homo
do the nominating through their dele
gates also taken from home. The man
! In Washington may often times be too
near the center Of the political whirlpool
} to make his judgment sound. 1t has been
said that the last place In the world to
get the real pulse of the country Is in
Washington. Washington is in sense
removed and detached from the rest of
tho country, which isn't so much of a
paradox as it may at first appear. Then.
the men in the Congress get mixed up
more or less in all manner Of each other s
personal ambitions so that often times
unavoidably they view things In much
different light than that of the ordinary
man.
So. unless the conditions are unusual.
as Mr.. Greene says. it Is better for the
people and better for the men in Con-
gress. to leave the selection of candidates
to the men at home. A delegation OF
home folks can always get the advice of
the congressional delegation and maks
such use Of it as Is wise 1t is not neces-
airy to have the Washington folk on the
delegation in order to make their ex-
perence and knowledge accessible.