Evening star., 1896-10-06
GEORGIA'S ELECTION
All Signs Point to a Democratic Vic
tory Tomorrow.
THE NEGRO VOTE WILL SETTLE IT
Governor Atkinson Has Been En-
deavoring to Secure This.
JUDGE CRISP'S ILLNESS S
Special Dispatch to The Evening Star.

Spetial Dispatch to The Evening Star.
ATLANTA. October 6.-Tomorrow the
state election will be held. and all
signs point to a democratic majority
of about 25,OOO. Governor Atkinson ex-
poets to be reelected by 10000 majority, or
twice his majority of two years ago. The
populists have little hope of winning, but
they claim that they will get more than
| half the white votes. They are probably
right in this. Chairman John Cum
ningham Of the state populist party said
today that the negro vote would decide the
result, and he was afraid that the demo-
Gratis would get the most of it. Governor
! Atkinson has taken a great interest in the
| negro. The populsts say that it was mere
| ly for political effect. Then the democrats
| spent what little money they had on negro
! speakers and workers. Last week Boss
| Buck of the republican party issued cir
| cuiar letter to the republicans, instructing
| them to vote the populist ticket. This came
rather too late to have full effect in the re-
| mote counties. Some of the negro ora tors
! publicly rebeiled at the instructions, but
| they quietly Informed Buck that they
| would draw off.
TO Dfsfranrhise the Negro.
The negro holds the balance of power
in this state, and the manner in which his
vote has been solicited this year by the
| democrats has caused great defect ctcns and
| the most rabid criticisms. One result CT
| the play made by Governor Atkinson and
| Chairman Clay for this vote is seen in the
| tremendous sentiment in favor of some leg
| islation which Will ds1uaIify the black
| voter Already the merits or demerits Of
| the Mississippi and South Carolina suffrag.
| laws are being discussed. movement Is
| practically under way now to get such leg
| isiation as viii deprive the negro of his
| vote under the preteXt of an educa tionai
! qualification. This does rot proceed so
| much from any dread that the negroes will
| get in office as from general desire to de
| priVe the present democratic ring of its
| chief source of strength. All who know
! Georgia politics at ali Know that the men
| who ere most prominent, locally known As
the men who control" have no broad phil
| anthrop,c interest in the advancement OF
| me bihcH race But to get his vote in eiec-
! llcnS tWo-ffthS OF the educational fund is
| appropriated to the coiored schools al
| though the black taxpayers do not nav
| o"e-twentieth Of the taxes Piedger.
| Wright. DeveauX, Rucker. McHerry ard
| the other representative coiored men of the
state. make the ring pay well for their sup
| port, one item being si:J0HU a year for the
| coloret schools, and the maintenance of an
| industrial institution. These coiored leaders
nave demanded another consideration Tor
their races support. but they have not
| pressed 1t so earnestly as they have the
matter or appropriations, and that is bet
! Ter system OF caring for the convicts
here is great field for them TO work
While yet they have the franchise and they
say that the democrats must improve tbs
! fehitentiary and county chain gang sys-
| TENS or another year they will helm n.
pcpuists to get in. Governor Atkinson
himself admits that the convicts are treat
ed cruelty. and he has repeatedly called
th@ attention of the Legislature to it in
messages and addresses. Last year he
sent special representative all over the
state to investigate the chain gangs, and
the report which the agent made to the
| governor was filed with tales of barbar;.y
rracticed by the guards and bosses on the
Elen, women and children under their care
'' Playing for the Black Vote
In the present campaign Governor AT,
knson has played the black suit as his
strongest. His efforts to punish lynchers
and his pardons and communications of ne.
grces have been held out to show that he
treated the blacks with as much leniency
| as he did the whites. His pardon of the
| negro Duncan, who was under sentence o,
death, did more than any other one thins
| 10 give him the black vote. The populist.
! have excited some race feeling among tbs
| whites, and have drawn some democrat:
away from Atkinson. but the gains from
| the blacks far more than offset that
| Seaborn Wright. the nominee of the pro
| hibitionists and populists for governor ha:
canvassed the state thoroughly. and he
| Tom Watson and John Temple Graves viii
wind up the campaign at Il meeting her,
tonight. Mr.. Wright is a brilliant cam
pa!sner. but he could not take the blacl
| vote from Atkinson The most powerful
| influence the pnpulists have had was tha
| given by Sam Jones. but he confined him
! self to open letters. and did not take tn,
| stump
Judge Crisp'x Illness.
| The legislature to be elected tomorrow
will elect new set of judges. prosecu,in;
attorneys and successor to United State
! Senator John Il. Gordon. Three-four,l,s O
! the democratic nominees for the genera
, | assembly are instructed for ex-Speake
Charles F. Crisp for Senator Judge Cris,
by the way, is still a very sick man. He i
, at a private sanitarium here in Atlanta
and although he has been here for thra
weeks, very few of his friends know it, II
has severe pains near his heart and ca
stand no excitement His intimate friend
are very anxious about him, as he doe
, | not seem TO improve. and the politician
: | are arranging to administer on his politica
| estate as soon as the state election is over
| But they may be fooled, and it is to b
hoped that they will be, as they were il
, | the case Of former Senator Joe Brown
| and again in the case of Governor Atkin
. | son, who came near dying two wear
ago, when he had appendicitis The doctor
, announced that he could not recover an
= | the politicians flocked to Atlanta and hel
. | caucus to fix up a slate. The goyerno
= | got well, but he never forgot that caucu:
. . | However, should there be a vacancy in tn
. | Senate from Georgia. by reason of Jud.,
Crisp's continued illness, Governor A,kir
| son would be sent to the Senate. unies