Evening star., 1926-05-10
DEMOCRATS RENEW
PARTY RULES FIGHT
Iowa Wants TWo-Thirds
Vote Abrogated in Nominat-
ing for Presidency.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Democratic political leaders friend
ly TO William q. McAdoo have just
revived the movement to abrogate the
two-thirds rule at Democratic ma
tional conventions The movement
has been launched at the moment of
Mr.. McAdOo's presence in Washing
ton and in the midst of informal
conferences among his political
friends The two members of the
Democratic national committee from
Iowa-CIyde l.. Herring. national
committeeman. and Mrs. Madge
O'Neill national Commtteewoman-
are sponsors for the proposal to sub
stitute ma jority rule" for the two
thirds provision under which the
Democratic party now nominates can
ddates for President and Vice Presi-
dent. Messrs. Herring and Meredith
(the latter. former Secretary of Agri:
culture) led the Iowa delegation in
New York in 1924. Iowas 26 votes
were cast for McAdoo to the last.
Woodrow Wilson's son-in-law was
within reach Of a ajority at Madi-
son Square Garden. though never in
sight of the two-thirds vote 732) nee
essary TO nominate. Mr. McAdoo
reached his high-water mark on the
siNty-ninth ballot. when he received
$50 votes. That was only II short
of ma jority. After the ninety-fifth
ballot, on which AIcAdoo had Az
votes, a proposal to abrogate the two
thirds rule was rejected by an over
whelming viva-voce vote.
The Iowa national committee mem
bers have addressed an identical
letter TO all of their fellow committee
men and committeewomen asking for
an expression of their opinion on
abrogation of the two-thirds system.
The Herring -O'Neill communication
reads, in part
AT a meeting of the Iowa Demo
cratic State central committee held
in Des Moines in January of this year.
a resolution was unanimously passed
asking the undersigned. as Iowa rep
resentatiVes upon the Democratic
national. committee. to use every pos
sible effort to bring about the aban-
donment of the so-called two-thirds
rule as the method of selecting presi-
Dental candidates We are person
ally in whole hearted accord with this
resolution and would like to see the
Democratic national committee so on
record in favor of the adjustment.
not only of the two-thirds rule, but of
the unit rule as we'll.
However, we realize that there are
some very sincere Democrats who
pose of obtaining arguments in favor
of the retention of this two.thirds rule
that we are writing you. One of the
objections most commonly urged
against the abolition of the two-thirds
rule is that it might make possible
the nomination of some certain can
didate. This objection has no weight
with us.
We believe that any candidate who
can obtain a majority of the conven-
tion is entitled to the nomination and
we unhesitatingly pledge our support
to any candidate who can secure the
support of a majority of the delegat es
in any Democratic convention which
Is not controlled by the two-thirds
! and unit rules"
Mr.. Herring and Mrs. O'Neill sup
| plement their appeal to their fellow
| committee members with a brief his
| tory of the two-thirds rule. 1t was
| born in 1882. but in the Democratic
national convention of that year was
imposed only upon the vice presi-
Dental nomination. In 1895 Van
| Burean and jackson arranged to,have
| the rule extended so as To cover pres
| idential as well as vice presidential
nominations.
How absurd it is" say Mr.. Her,
ring and Mrs. O'Neill. that the
party founded by Thomas jefferson in
| its most vital deliberations ignores
Jeffersons cardinal tenet on major
ity rule, How absurd that the Repub-
lican party, the heir of Hamilton. is
more democratic in it's nominating
machinery than the Democrats"
Mr.. McAdoo tenaciously maintains
that he has become wholly unoffi-
! ciaI observer of Democratic politics.
with 1928 remote from his mind. Rut
! in Washington for the past fortnight
| wv. G.," looking the personiication
of vigor has been consorting, as of
yore. with all the local paladns of
the 1924 McAdoO movement"
| tCopyright 1926