The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-04-14
PRIMARY OR MASS MEETING

| -4O OohOCraLlC EXECUTIVE Com n1ittee
TO Decide Tom orrow Night.
The democratic executive committee of
Chatham county will meet at the court
house o'morrow night to consider the selec-
ton OF delegates TO tho state convention by
primary or by mass meeting
The matter was brought directly to the
attention OF the committee by a petition
signed by between 300 and 400 democrats
OF the city, the majority of
Whom are members of the
democratic Campaign Club, calling atten-
elon to the evils Of the present system and
It's nsuficiency as means OF expressing
| the sentiments of the democratic voters Of
the city on account Of the impossibility of
securing hall large enough to hold all the
voters desiring to participate in the mass
| meeting and for other reasons.
Chairman Charlton, In his reply. acknowl-
edging the receipt OF the petition, said:
Theoretically, believe the mass meet
ing to be the best method of arriving at the
! popular choice; practically, under existing
conditions here, it has become a matter Of
| the verlest estimate, and no chairman can
feel absolutely certain that he has executed
the wishes OF the meeting in the decision he
| renders. This condition Of affairs is REFER
able to the increased interest in politics and
the inedequacy of accommodations for the
| large gatherings which now respond to the
call for democratic action. Whist the
cause Is a source OF congratulation, feel
thaI you nave in no sense exaggerated the
eVlis TO which you so forcibly objectn
MT Charlton expressed himself more
iuiiy to a MORNING News reporter last
night upon the question Of the best means
OF ascertaintng the sentiments Of the demo-
cratic voters Of tine county.
There is no doubt" he said, that all Of
ehe OBJECTIONS urged against the mass meet.
! Ing system ars true, but the difficulty is to
I provide system that will not be oren to
similar or greater objections We tried the
primary system here in the '70s and had to
give 1t up as utterly unsuited. The
! primary was held by districts, each dis
trlct ceing given represent in the con-
veutlon according TO the number of demo-
| cratic voters it contained. Some OF the
districts In the primary elections would re-
turn more votes than there were democratic
voters in the whole county, and it was
absolutely impossible 20 get a fair ex>
| preston Of the wishes of the people. Then
| we tried having the executive committee
make two nominations. That was not
| satisfactory, and after awhile the return to
the mass meeting system was made.
The mass meeting said Mr.. Charlton,
was very satisfactory until recent years.
Formerly only a small proportion OF the
| voters or the city took any interest In the
nominate and the theater was more than
sufficient ~ hold che crowd. l have fire.
! quenty seen 1t not more than half full at
meeting of the party. The chairman had
| little difficulty in maintaining order and as
pertaining the wishes of the ajority.
We have outgrown that, however. Now
| the theeter is packed from pit to
gallery and usually resembles bedlam
more than a meeting of orderly
| citizens The crowd that gets there
| first controls the meeting, and the crowd
that can make themost noise usually wins
| 10 is impossible to distinguish a democrat
from any one else In such meeting, and an
| lS-year-old boy counts the same as a voter
! who has paid his taxes 1t is evidently time
| for a change in the systsm."
Mr.. Charlton said his OBJ ject in calling the
| committee together was to have discus
| sion of the best means of providing a satis~
factory system for the expression of the
will of the democratic voters and the con-
slderation OF the various systems proposed.
Instead OF q general primary, the idea
seems TO be now for district or ward prima-
ries TO be held in each district or ward to
select representatives to a convention which
shall name the delegates to the state CON-
vention and transact other business of in
| terest to the party.
MIR. Charlton said he is in doubt whether
the district primaries will work very well
| for the same reasons that they were
abandoned before AS the representation
would be according to the number of
| democrats voting Ia each district, there
would be too great au incentive to pile up
votes without regard Co the number of
voters, which would, of course, destroy the
| whole object of the primary.
Another proposition which will be con-
| sidered, Mr.. Charlton said, ia that of holding
the primaries by wards. allowing one rep
reSentatlve to each ward for say every
! twenty-five democratic voters in she ward
lpttInlr ha raTN-a 20 s4vns
elected meet in convention and transact the
business Of the party including the election
OF delegates to the various conventions
Whether or not this plan is feasible
has not yet been ascertained. Some
Of the wards contain a much larger num-
Der of democratic voters than othsrs. 1t is
proposed 10 this case to group the less popu-
lous wards so that the number of votes In a
group will about equal the average number
OF votes in the larger wards. This would
simplify matters by reducing the size of the
convention. The chief recommendation to
this plan is that il will be a comparatively
easy matter to ascertain the exact number
of democratic votes in ward and to pre-
vent non-resldents from taking part in the
ward elections 1t would also insure gen.
eral expression Of the wishes of the demo-
cratic voters of the city ana county.
Another plan proposed. Mr.. Charlton
said. was to divide the city into twelve
WARDS or districts OF as nearly equal popu-
lation of democratic voters as possible and
hold separate primaries in three wards or
districts either on a general ticket or for
representatives to a county convention.
This plan is favored by many.
THE different political clubs of the city,"
said Mr. Charlton, will be requested to
have their representatives at the meeting of
the executive committee, where they will
be given an opportunity to express their
views as to the most desirable plan of
choosing delegates and making nomination
hereafter, and the committee will consider
the ideas advanced and discuss the question
among themselves aud endeavor to arrive at
the best means Of securing the expression of
the preferences of the democratic voters of
the county"
NJ. d. Lane, Devereaux, Ga, writes:
Zone summer, several years ago, while rail-
reading in Mississippi, l became badly
afaAx oil t,l rhnf