Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 5.djvu/72

 58 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

instructs, if that state has many delegates. Delaware were nothing beside Penns3'lvania. States that do not expect to furnish the presidential candidate follow various policies. South- ern Republican committees seem to favor early conventions and early understandings with presidential aspirants, wishing, perhaps, to forestall competition with states of stronger influ- ence. A large state often puts off its decision to the last, with a view to exercising the balance of power. This it can accom- plish, even with an early convention. If a powerful boss has the state well in hand, he calls an early state convention, and compels it to indorse a puppet presidential candidate, a " favorite son," so-called. By this course he excludes the genuine aspirants, who are making inroads into his preserves, holds the state delegation together until the national convention meets, and then casts its solid vote for whom he will. The Empire State is, of course, the historic ambush ground of "snappers." Roscoe Conkling set a Republican precedent by his conven- tion of February 25, 1880. Twelve years later David B. Hill secured the Democratic delegation, though the real choice of the New York Democracy would have been ex-President Cleveland. The dates of that rapid action tell the story without comment. January 21, 1892, the Democratic national committee issued its call for the national convention of the twenty-first of June. Five days later, January 26, the New York state central committee called the Democratic state convention for February 22. Thus but four weeks were given to party deliberation, where twenty were available. The earliest previous date of a Democratic state convention, April 21, shows the radicalness of this action. County and town committees were correspondingly snappish, and many primaries were held upon but a day's imperfect notice.

Such is the play of advantage within the party. But also, a party's committee fixes the dates of its action with reference to the dates selected by opposing political committees. The com- mittees of parties out of power may favor late conventions in the hope that the party in power will meanwhile make some mistake or meet with some misfortune in the conduct of government.