The morning news., 1894-11-03
HOW BACON ONISTOBESENATOR
The Real Battle Fought in The Evans
Atkinson Campaign.

sue of Men as OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
of the Candidates and the Financial
Question Appeared to Cut Little Fig
urs-The Other Three Candidates Had
Largely Local Following.
There has probably been no senatorial
race in years that has been watched
with a. closer interest or more widely dis
cussed here than that upon which the
democratic caucus in the legislature has
just acted, because, perhaps, it was
thought that there was a stronger prob
ability than there has been in some time
Of the election Of a South Georgia candi-
date.
Maj. P. w. Meldrim returned yester-
day from Atlanta, where he watched the
progress of the race and the work of the
caucus with much interest. Maj. Meldrim
was a strong friend of Mr. Louis F. Car
rard, and said he was surprised at the
statement made to the effect that Mr..
Garrard's friends in the legislature had at
any time proposed to unite with those of
Mr., Turner in the interests of another
candidate.
! said that I enjoyed the condolences of
Mr.. Garrards friends, and the first
ever heard of any such proposition was
when read it in the paper this morning.
4 was surprised at the earnestness Of
the friends of Mr.. Garrard and Mr.. Tur-
ner They thought that in the event
Mai. Bacon failed to get the caucus nomi-
] ma 10 fret ba1I hat r,oo fpr. ,tvr
would unite on one of these two candi-
dates. The friends Of Maj. Bacon, how.
ever, insisted that he would go through
on the first ballot, while the friends of
| the other candidates would at one
time admit the probability Of this course
and at other times they would insist that
he could not get the required majority.
| "Wednesday evening it was pretty well
| determined that Maj. Bacon would get
| majority on the first ballot My specific
| information was that he had IS votes
| pledged to him, and with three of his
| friends absent this left him 80. Mr.. How
ellis vote made the $50 which he received
in the caucus.
Il did hear that an effort would be made
! not, however, on the part of Mr.. Car
rard's frends-to have certain gentlemen
| of the state consent to have their names
| hecting from the support of Maj Bacon,
| but it is not true that the friends of Mr.
| Garrard ever proposed for a moment to
| support any one but Mr.. Garrar9: No
expression was heard at any time from
| the friends of Mr.. Turner but to the same
effect Even after it was known that Mr.
| Evan p. Howell would support Maj. Ba-
| con the other friends of Mr.. Walsh de-
| termined they would stand true to HIM
There We're great many men who sup
| ported GarTard, Turner and Walsh who
were not opposed to Mai. Bacon, and even
il Maj. Bacon had failed to obtain the
nomination on the first ballot, it would
have been most extraordinary for his
friends to have left him so long as he was
in the lead There might have been some
few changes, but it is hardly less than
desertion to leave the support of a man
when he is in the lead.
The only bitterness that seemed to have
existed in the fight was evinced in the
! speech of Mr.. Turner against the Con-
stituton, he charging that the Constitu>
ton had advised the chairman of the
| Democratic party should call him in from
the stump. Then some Of Mr.. Walsh 5
friends felt very sore about Mr.. How
ellis leaving MI Walsh for Mai Bacon,
but Mr.. HOwells course was justified by
many on the ground that as the short
term would be given Mr., Walsh, and as
there was no probability of Mr. Walsh s
nomination, Mr. Howells vote might
have been thrown away, and rather than
throw it away he had voted for Maj. Ba-
con-"
DO you think that the speech of Maj.
Bacon, or the speeches Of any of the
candidates had any effect in changing
votes?" Maj. Meldrim was asked.
The support given the avowed candi-
dates" he replied, was so fixed that very
few if any of the votes were changed ty
any speech made by any one of the candi-
dates during the campaign. The calcula-
tion made the night before the caucus
was, SO far as Bacon is concerned, Veri-
fled by the result No one of the other
three candidates polled as many votes
| In the caucus as it was expected they
would do. 1t was supposed that Mai. Ba-
con had lost votes by his speeches and
that Turner and Garrard made votes by
their speeches, but the result proved that
these opinions were in a large degree
erroneous.
The real battle had been fought in the
Evans-Atkinson campaign, The result
shows that while there was no agreement
between the parties, nothing like bar
gains, there is simply a community Of in
terests among a set Of highly aggressive,
earnest young men throughout the state
who in the main We're personal friends Of
each other, and who would naturally sus-
tain each other While I am confident
there was no such thing as a fixed slate,
the result was practically the same as IL
there had been. In the main, the same
men that fought and worked for Atkinson
fought and worked for Bacon and for
nearly every man who was elected Judge
or solicitor general. II can be seen that
If the number of bright brainy, aggros.
sive young men throughout the state
unite. prompted by a community Of inter-
ests,' it makes an almost irresistible force.
They bring into the fight the strength ana
energy of youth, supplemented in a large
degree by large legislative experience
and local influence in their respective Sec
, tons.
Il do not think" Mat Meldrim said
in response to a question that the fnan-
{ cial question controlled the nomination.
% Very few of the members seemed to un,
derstand it,. The support given Mr. Tur-
ner was in a large part from his own sec
ton, and that OF Mr.. Garrard and Mr..
{ Walsh was the same way. Personal
E friendship and geography in a large part
determined the support OF the three men
5 who opposed Maj. Bacon. The speech OF
] Mr.. Turner, his prominent support OF Mr.
Cleveland and the administration seemed
to meet the approval OF the audience
+ f, f..H