Evening star., 1940-11-21
Precedents
May Curb
WiI|kie
No Republican Has
Been Nominated
Again After Defect
BY JACK STINNETT.

about 1914 as if 1t were Just around
the corner. The political prognosti-
Gators are burning midnight Juice
and singing ink from page l to
classified trying to guess the future
Of Wendell L. Willkie and the part
he will play in the Republican party
IN the coming years.
Let's leave that to the political
prognosticators. Really, they don't
know much more about 1t than we
do, as most Of them will admit. The
shape of things TO come will mold
the future Of the Republican party
(and the Democratic party, too and
OF Wendell L. Willkie, but
If Mr. Willkie is nominated for
the presidency again in 1914 he will
be upsetting another Republican
apple cart tand one that has been
running smoothly for 66 years. be-
cause he will be the first defeated
candidate in the history of the party
ever to have been nominated for a
second try.
Not only that, but if Mr.. Willkie
should even be considered as a
serious contender for the nomina-
ton by next convention time. he
Will be kicking over a precedent that
has been broken by only two men
in either of the major parties since
pre-Civil War days
Democratic Exceptions.
Grover Cleveland and William
Jennings Bryan both were nomi-
mated on the Democratic ticket three
times. Bryan, Of course, never won
the election. Cleveland did twice
and although he was defeated can
dldate when he was nominated in
1892, this was somewhat offset by
the fact that he had been President
for four years before his defeat.
These are the two exceptions and
both were Democrats. Let's look TO
the roster Of defeated Republican
candidates.
The first candidate of the Repub-
lican party as We know it TODAY was
Gen. John Charles Fremont. Indian
fighter, California hero and veteran
Of a dozen Western ventures that
had made him a national figure.
James Buchanan beat him in 1856
and although Fremont remained in
the hmelight a good many years
'he was territorial governor Of Ari-
zona and he was nominated bv a
rump convention of Republican
radicals at Cleveland in 1864. but
withdrew in favor of Lincoln when
he was convinced his candidacy
might split the party vote. he never
really counted as a political force
after his defeat.
James G. Blaine. defeated bv
Cleveland in 1884. STAYED in the pic
ture long enough to become Benia-
min Harrlson's Secretary Of State,
l669-l892 but when Harrison was
defeated he turned TO international
Law.
Took Court Posts.
/ William Howard Taft and Charles
Evans Hughes went on from de-
feated candidates. to become Chief
( Justices Of the Supreme Court. a
position which precludes political
activity. Former President Hoover
and ALI NJ Landon are. Of course.
still on the political scene. but con-
ventions since their defeats have
/ passed them by with little more
than nod of courtesy.
On the Democratic side. since
1860, there have been Stephen A.
Douglas, who died shortly after Lin
coins first inaugural; Gen. George
B. Mcclellan; Horatio Seymour and
Horace Greeley. who were beaten
by Grant, Samuel j. Tilden. de-
teated by Rutherford B. HAYES in
the famous contested election; Gen.
Winfield Scott Hancock. the bril-
liant Union general who was de-
feated by Garfield and Alton B.
Parker. who los 70 Theodore PooSe-
Welt IN 1904 In nearly every III
stance, these men retired to private
life" after their political WaterlooS,
as did James M Cox. the DAYTON,
Ohio. publisher, and John w Davis.
the New York attorney. Al Smiths
defeat in 1928 has brought in its
wake only his well-known walks
Of succeeding years and split with
the party to which he had given
lifelong allegiance.
This is the record that Mr..
Willkie has to look back upon. He
may. of course, become the Repub-
lican Bryan or Cleveland, but if he
does he'll have to smash another
Republican precedent-one that is
probably even more firmly estab-
lished then these he broke when he
ran away with the party nomina-
ton in Philadelphia.