The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-09-17
The Political Picnic.

Inc political picnic season in Georgia is
just about now at its hight. For two
weeks or therea bouts the news columns of
the MORNING News have contained the
dates and details of picnics past or to
come, at which prominent and eloquent
gentlemen" made, or were on the pro-
gramme to make, political speeches.
The political picnic habit is compare
lively new with the people still, from APP
pearances, it seems that it is destined to
become permanent. 1t had its beginning,
probably, with the Farmers Alliance.
AT any rate, the alliance picnics at which
political speeches were made were
the first of the kind to attract much
attention. That was five or six years ago
Since then the other parties have
adopted the custom, until to-day, in
this part Of the country, very nearly as
many political stumps are to be found
on picnic grounds as elsewhere. AS to
how much of political factor the picnic
is, that would afford an interesting
scientific study for students of theoret-
ical politics. The practical fellows must
have come to the conclusion some time
| ago that there was something in it," or
they would not be giving so much time to
picnics.
The picnic habit, by the way, is not
peculiar to southern politics. 1t has got
firm hold upon the north But
those cold blooded fellows up there
do not go into the thing as
we do in Georgia. In New York
state, for instance, they make the picnics
a matter of money getting. In Georgia
the picknickers carry well laden dinner
! baskets with them, or the community and
! the candidates pay the cost of the enter
tainment; at all events, it is not money
making scheme. In New York the mana
| gers of the picnic sell concessions to
| caterers, peanut and lemonade vendors,
and other small traders who provide
/ means to touch the pockets of the attend
ants. If the picnic is managed as pri-
vate enterprise the profits so into the
pockets of the managers; if it is managed
| by political organization, the profits 90
into the campaign fund.
! 1t may be all right to raise campaign
funds in this way. But the scheme seems
/ to be too much like that of tariff taxa
/ ton, in which the consumer is made to
/ pay for the things he uses more than
they are worth in order to benefit some
/ body else. The Georgia scheme Of free
/ trade in picnic lemonade, peanuts and DO
( litical speeches is much more desirable.
The press reports from San Francisco
are of tenor likely to get
Gen. Antonio Ezeta into trouble,
If he is not an expert at ex-
planning. A late dispatch says: Gen
Ezeta proves to have a fascinating in
hueuce over sentimental women For
several days past he has been deluged
with tender missives and flowers, which
have been sent to his hotel by these ad-
mirers. One handsome Spanish girl, who
has been more persistent than others of
her rivals, has REGULARLY waited at the
/ entrance TO the hotel in which Ezeta and
his comrades are held as prisoners, in or
der to catch glimpse of her hero and
follow after him TO the court ROOM
When this is read by persons on this
coast who are interested, Gen. Ezeta may
hear something drop.
If the republicans are correct in their
! assertions that the sheep raising business
| in this country has been ruined by the
new tariff law, why are those Colorado
ranchers so terribly wrought up because
| somebody killed few of their sheen the
other day. The ranchers have taken
| their guns and gone of vowing they will
shoot or hang the miscreants that
troubled their tiocks. Would they do that
. l.gs Hoo