Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-09
TWO-TH|RDS RULE
ORIGIN DESCRIBED
Democratic Publicity Bureau
Relates Details of First
National Convention.

The origin Of the "twothirds rule
Apverning nominations in the ma
tional conventions of the Democratic
party. now under attack. is discussed
in detail in a statement issued re-
Gently hv the publicity bureau of the
Democratic ma tional committee.
The statement emanating from the
committee headquarters makes no Ell
fort IL take sides in the controversy
over the two.thirds rule and the pro.
posal to substitute ma jority rule in
the 1928 convention. 1t merely gives
n conoulete discussion of the HrSt
Democratic national convention, IN
1892 which named Martin Van Buren
its candidate for Vice President and
confirmed by resolution the nomlna-
ton of Andrew Jackson TO succeed
himself as President. already made
bv legislative caucuses or conventions
in several States.
Met i'm Baltimore.
The first Democratic national con
vention met in Baltimore. 1t was
convention of Republican delegates
from the several States in the Union
for the purpose Of nominating a can
didate for the office of Vice PreSl-
dent" The party still kept officially
the name Republican. which had
come down from the time of Thomas
jefferson. but it was popularity known
as Democratic Republican" or just
Democratic
~. The statement issued by the com
mittee TODAY calls attention to the
nolitical and historical background OF
tbe first Democratic convention. Mar
Tin Van Buren,, who had served as
Secretary of State in Jackson ad-
,ninistration. had been nominated Min
ister to Great Britain and his nomlna-
ton had been turned down by Jack
sons enemies in the Senate. Inc
statement continues:
THE feelings of Gen. Jackson to-
ward the Senate coalition, As the
opposition in the upper branch TO his
administration was known. can easily
be imagined. jackson was immense
" popular His friends and admirers
resented the action of the Senate AS
undesirable and basely partisan. and
set about to vindicate and sustain
Van Buren, and the President.
while the party was practically
unanimous for the reelection of Presi-
dent jackson, there was a good deal
OF contention about who should be
nominated for Vice President. 1t was
charged by Jackson's friends that the
scheme of the opposition. particularly
OF the Senate coalition was to cause
the electoral college vote for Vice
President to be scattered, so as to
prevent majority for any one can
didate, and thus to carry the election
to the United States Senate.
Twe-thirds Rule Debated.
so. as a reason for the first Demo
cratic national convention, one finds
in the newspapers of the time, the
desire to unite the sentiment OF the
numerous States in support of one
candidate for Vice President, thus
maintaining popular election, through
the agency of the electoral college.
and keeping the election away from
the United States Senate.
"A brief account of a discussion
ever the two-thirds rule, appearing in
the Baltimore Republican "a Jackson
organl, while the convention was in
session, shows support was on the
ground that II would produce a more
general concurrence of sentiment"
The revolution fixing the method of
voting adopted by the convention fol-
lows:
Resolved. That in taking the vote
for the Vice President, a ma jority of
he delegation from each State shall
designate the member or members
who shall vote for said State;
Resolved, That the delegation
from each State in this convention be
entitled to as many votes in selecting
a suitable person for the Office Of Vice
President as each State will be enti-
tied to in the electoral college for the
choice Of this Office; equally to the ap-
pOrtionment bill recently framed by
the Congress of the United States
and that two-thirds of the whole num-
Der Of the votes given be required for
n nomination and on all questions con-
nected Herewith.
while newspaper accounts of the
time followed the official report close
". the last phrase, and on all ques
tons connected herewith, does not
appear in several examined, and in
histories and magazine articles the
tWo.thirds rule of the 1882 convention
g often stated without the last
phrase.
THE proceedings do not disclose
that there was any discussion of the
proposed rules, but the Baltimore Re
publican gave an account of what
William r. King, a delegate from Ala
hama, member of the committee on
methods and procedure, said in sup
port of the two-thrds plan, summar-
ling Mr.. Kings argument thus:
And as nomination made by two
thirds Of the whole body of the rep
reSentatiVes would show a more gen.
eral concurrence of sentiment in
favor of a particula r.individual. would
carry with it a greater moral weight
and he more faVora bly, received than
one made by a smaller number, he
hoped the resolution would be
adopted.
Objection by Virginian.
THE Baltimore newspaper also
says that Mr.. Pollard. a delegate
from Virginia, objected TO the propo-
stion for two.thirds as inconsistent
with the fundamental principles upon
which our Government is founded,
which provide that the rule of ma
iority shall prevail, and because it
might possibly be found TO be i'm
practicable to unite the voices Of so
large proportion i'm favor of anV
one individual; and moved, according
~, that a majority should be substi-
tuted for two-thirds. The amendment
was. however, rejected and the origi-
nal resolution carried.
Very little appeared in the press
Of that time about the two thirds
rule. lnasmuch as Jackson men were
in control, it is not reasonable 10 as
sumo the rule was designed, as some
times asserted. to make the nomina-
tion OF John G. Calhoun impossible.
Rather, the purpose seems to have