Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 5.djvu/71

 THE TIME ELEMENT IN POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS S7

of the other gubernatorial candidates, the great central prairie region, the strength and hope of the commonwealth, was crushed as between the upper and nether millstones. One by one its counties fell helplessly into line with pledges for the Cook county slate. One by one the other gubernatorial aspirants with- drew their names. Two weeks before the farcical state conven- tion Mr. Tanner predicted his nomination with ab.solute certainty.

From the standpoint of the county committee one should proceed to the standpoint of the state committee. This body, too, may plan to forestall public opinion. By calling an early state convention it may anticipate the preferences of the people, both as to state candidates and issues and as to national candi- dates and issues. With regard to the state offices, it may work in thorough accord with one or more county machines against the others. The above case of Illinois is in point.

But in a presidential year the state committee fixes the date of the state convention with an eye mainly to national politics. Its relations with the inferior county central committees are strongly overshadowed by its relations with the coequal central committees of the forty-five other states. Here the play of motives leading to the earlier or the later convention is very similar to that which has been described for the relations of the county committees to each other. Some difference between the state and national fields may possibly be ascribed to the difference between their relative numbers of elective and appointive offices. The state executive has numerous elective offices, while the national executive has but two. With due allowance for recent effects of the civil-service laws, the appointive patronage of the nation is relatively more important than that of a state. There- fore only a few state committees have in view the presidency and the vice-presidency, and the great majority are seeking the presidential appointments — the collectorships, the consulships, or the cabinet seats. The strong, bona fide aspirant for the presi- dency works for the advantage of the " moral effect " by secur- ing an early convention in his own state, and in any other state whose machine may be friendly to his nomination. So much the more fortunate is he in securing the first state that