Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 5.djvu/77

 THE TIME ELEMENT IN POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS 63

four Ohioans are innumerable other Ohioans all joining hands and shouting. They will be custodians of mints, penitentiary guards, and street sweepers. There are other states besides Ohio. The manager of a presidential aspirant from one state, approach- ing the central committee chairman of another state, offers to open the way to the United States Senate for him by giving one of the present senators from the said leader's state a seat in the pro- spective presidential cabinet. A member of the national House of Representatives wants the speaker to appoint him chairman of the committee on appropriations ; the chairman of the party central committee in the state that the prominent member repre- sents wants the support of the prominent member's constituents for the gubernatorial nomination ; Mr. Speaker wants the party committee chairman to send to the national convention delegates pledged to the nomination of Mr. Speaker for president of the United States. Madam Rumor presents the interesting spectacle of Mr. Speaker in one Washington hotel, the prominent member in another, and the state committee chairman carrying messages and ultimatums between them !

The main defect of American party organization and proce- dure, now coming to be plainly recognized, is the mixing of national, state, and municipal concerns. Because of this miscel- laneousness, the voter constantly faces a choice between two evils, the party leader is powerfully tempted to do evil that good may come, and the unscrupulous politician fastens himself with his base aims upon true statesmen and beneficent public meas- ures. Nation, state, and city have suffered, but the state more than the nation and the cit}' more than the state.

Present efforts to disentangle the affairs of the three by sepa- rate times of action are noticeable. In a presidential year the political parties of several states hold two distinct state conven- tions, one for national, the other for state nominating purposes. Something has been accomplished by state legislation and con- stitutional law. Kentucky attains the object, perhaps, as com- pletely as any state. By her constitution of 1892, all state and municipal officers are elected in November of the odd years. In one of these odd years the executive officers of the cities, and