The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-06-23

of nominating a candidate.
 It is the old clash over the two.thirds rule, which for exactly 104 years has made democratic conventions more unwieldy and obstinate than the animal the party claims as mascot.
 The tw0- thirds rule is the mother of Dark Horses, and has made the democratic party at times the laughing stock of the republicans.
 It has also played an import- ant part in the international des- tinies of the nation. Had 1t not been for the two-thirds rule, 1t is possible that there would have been no war with Mexico, and that our course in the World war would have been different.
 The two-thirds rule is chiefly 8 hangover from slavery days, when the south insisted on keep ing 1t in order to have a hard- at1d-faSt veto power against any northern candidate unfriendly to the economic system of the south. Baltimore Birth
 Actually, however, 1t was origin- ally introduced for the sole and Insignificant purpose of prevent ing the four delegates from the District of Columbia from con- trolling the balance of power in the 1882 convention. This was the first party convention at Baltimore, attended by delegates from nine northern states and eleven southern. They were al- most divided in number and the four from the District of Colum- bia held the key to majority con- trol.
 These four were: Francis Scott Key, author of "The Star Spangled Banner; Thomas F. Mason of Alexandria (then part of the Dlstrict); John P. Van Ness; and Henry M. M0e- fltk
 In order to prevent them from holding the balance of power, Preserved Fish (this was his real name), political leader In New York, proposed the two-thirds vote.
 Van Buren'S Fight
 The rule did not really start to cause trouble until l844, when Martin Van Buren, who had Suc- ceeded Jackson for one term, and then lost out in the next election to William Henry Harrison, came up for nomination again.
 Van Buren had on easy major. fly, but those pledged to vote for him were really more interested in defeating him. Reason for this was his stand on the annexation of Texas. Texas was looked upon by the south as potential slave territory, and Van Buren was against is annexation.
 Therefore the two-thirdS rule, which had been allowed to lapse for eight years after the 1882 convention, was revived. Van Buren's majority melted and eventually James K. Polk of Tennessee, the first dark horse in American politics, was nominated. He was elected on the campaign slogan Of "POlk, Dallas and Texas" after which followed the war with Mexico.
 Van Buren came back in the Convention of 1848 determined to get the two-thirds rule rejected. He lost out by Q vote of 1l8 to 146. Once again he was able to get a majority on the first bal- lot, but once again failed to gain the necessary two-thirds for nom- ination.
 Stephen A. Douglas
 Democratic conventions since then have seen series of attempts to get rid or the drag-anchor two-thirds rule, eliminating with the attempt at Philadelphia this week.
 Tn the convention of 1856, Ste- phen A. Douglas opposed the rule and controlled enough delegates to block any other candidate. However, when his opponent, Buchanan, received a majority vote, Douglas withdrew on the ground that he sad been consist ently in favor of rule by najor- ity and should carry out that principle.
 Just before the Civil War in