Document:LP News Number 21 (July-August 1974)
Dallas Convention Attended by 300
Well over 300 delegates and interested spectators attended the national Libertarian Party convention in sweltering Dallas, Texas, during June 12-16. The Texas LP sponsored the event which was only the second "official business" convention in the Party's short history. Despite early disputes over the Credentials Committee report, the convention was marked by a remarkably high degree of camaraderie and cooperation between the various factions of the libertarian movement.
An enlarged and improved platform was hammered out by the delegates during long sessions lasting well into night and, on one occasion, early morning. Debate on the platform was often prolonged and always serious but rarely did animosity rise to the surface. As with the founding convention of the Libertarian Party in 1972 delegates seems genuinely interested in each others' comments and argument as they unto the difficult task of applying libertarian principles to contemporary social problems.
Committees Meet
On Wednesday and Thursday, the three convention committees, Credentials, Constitution and Bylaws, and Platform, met to prepare their reports to the general sessions of the convention. The Platform Committee, chaired by California LP Chairman Ed Clark, attracted the most attention with over 100 people sitting in on the proceedings. The Platform Committee set the tone for the entire convention as its members worked around the clock developing planks that were acceptable to all elements of the Party.