Evening star., 1939-09-03
Democrats Of South
Map Ways 10 Regain
Convention Control
Method Avoiding
Two-thirds Rule
Revival Is Sought
BY the Associated Press,

SOuthern Democrats, deprived IN
1886 of their former veto power
over proposed presidential nomina-
tlons, already are considering STRAIT
egy for obtaining a stronger voice
in party affairs at the next national
convention.
Elimination of the two-thirds rule
| at the last convention stripped the
South of its previous power to deny
the presidential nomination to a
candidate it did not like That rule
required vote of two-thirds of the
convention delegates to nominate,
and the South held more than one
third of the votes. The 1896 con-
vention eliminated the rule and pro-
vided, instead. for nomination by a
simple majority.
Since then, there has been recur-
rent talk among Southerners of an
attempt to restore the old rule but
one Southern politician said yester-
day it was unlikely any such effort
would be made at next years con-
vention.
hCWdIu ldH fTOpOSeO.
Instead, he asserted, sentiment
among Southerners he has talked
with is for an effort to change the
basis of selecting convention dele
gates so as to give the South a pro-
portionate advantage in representa-
ton.
AS a gesture to the traditionally
Democratic South, the last conven-
ton instructed the Democratic Ma
.lonal Committee to submit next year
a new plan for choosing delegates
which would take into account the
Democratic strength within each
State"
Such a plan would involve giving
States which voted Democratic in
the previous presidential election a
larger proportionate number of dele
gates than States which did not.
The number of delegates allotted
each State in the Democratic con-
vention now is governed by the num-
Der of its Representatives in Con-
gress, regardless of whether the lat
ter are Democrats.
On the other hand, the Repub-
licans have system under which
three additional delegates are
granted each State voting Repub-
lican in the preceding presidential
election and one additional dele
gate is granted each congressional
district which casts 10000 or more
votes for the national ticket. or for
the Republican nominee for Repre-
sentative.
Farley Action Forecast.
Officials at the Democratic Ma
tional Committee headquarters said
no consideration yet had been given
to formulating a new system for
choosing delegates. They AIDED that
Chairman Farley probably would
take up the matter after his return
from Europe, and might submit
recommendation to the committee
when it meets here in January.
Some Southerners have been dis
cussing a plan whereby each States
representation would be increased
by an arbitrary percentage if it
voted Democratic in the preceding
presidential election. Increases of
from one-fifth to one-third have
been mentioned.
Such system would have little
effect following an election such as
that of 1886, when the Democrats
carried every State except Maine
and Vermont. 1t would give the
South powerful representation in
1914, however, if Republicans made
substantial gains or carried the
country next year.
One Souther Democrat said a
change in the basis of representa-
ton would not be as satisfactory as
the old two-thirds rule, but would
do much to alleviate any remaining
traces of ill-feeling over elimina-
ton of the rule.