The National Convention of the Republican party purports to be analogous in its structure and functioning to Congress, more specifically to a joint session of Congress. It, therefore, consists of representatives of the various states (by delegates at large, who can be likened to U.S. Senators) and of representatives of the people, similar to the Congressional Districts, which are the smallest political units the Federal statutes recognize. Just as the U.S. Senators are elected by the state legislatures, so are delegates at large to the National Convention chosen by the State Conventions; whereas, the district delegates (like the members of the House of Representatives) are elected by the party representatives of the various Congressional Districts. This has always been the custom.

When the delegates to the National Convention, elected by the representatives of the various districts were announced and confirmed by the State Convention, it did not mean any more than, say, the confirmation of a member of Congress by 2the governor or the Secretary of State. It was a notarization, so to speak--nothing else. The governor or Secretary of State has no more power to appoint members of Congress than a State Convention has to appoint district delegates to the National Convention.

In accordance with this custom, the National Executive Committee of the Republican party has formulated the rules pertaining to the act of sending delegates to the National Convention. The rules provide that the Republicans send two delegates from each Congressional District, and also four delegates at large from each state. This privilege is not given to the State Conventions but to the Republican citizens. The purpose is not that the State Convention should send two delegates for each Congressional District, but that the Republican citizens should send two delegates from each Congressional District.

The demands of the Washburne and Blaine delegates of Illinois for admission to the National Convention are based on this established custom. They have been duly elected by their respective Congressional Districts as delegates and, 3therefore, contest in toto the right of Logan and his gangsters to appoint other delegates for those districts, to replace the duly elected ones. If it should happen--but we do not think it will--that the majority in the National Convention should trample underfoot the clear-cut rights of the district delegates of Illinois and admit Logan and his gang as the rightful representatives of the State, every honest and right thinking Republican would then be released from his pledge of conforming to the rules of the Convention, and would be honor bound to work in every way possible against the election of a candidate, who was appointed by disgraceful and criminal means.

He who has joined a game, assuming that his partners would play honestly, but finds out later that he has fallen into the hands of cheats who are out to trim him shamelessly, would be a fool to recognize the result of a game where marked cards and loaded dice were used. A candidate appointed by dishonest means cannot possibly be the candidate of honest people, who would rather consider it their duty to help defeat him. The German element is determined to do so. The German Republicans, or at least nine tenths of them, will not recognize a 4"nomination" of Grant engineered by crooked machinations. In case the crooks should win in Chicago on June 3 and 4, the German Republicans will see to it that the former get their well-deserved defeat on the first Tuesday in November. Without the votes of the German Republicans in the northwestern states, no Republican presidential candidate can be elected. But these votes will not go to a candidate forced on the party by Conkling, Cameron and Logan, using tricks and lies.

Let the triumvirate of gangsters take note of that. They may effect the nomination of Grant by their crooked procedures, but certainly not his election. His election would be tantamount to a dissolution of the Republican party, inasmuch as that part of it [the Germans] would resign, and without them the Republicans would be a minority party in at least a half-dozen states.