The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-19
CRISP ScHEMERS IN CONTROL.
THE FULTON COUNTY PRIMARY FIN
ED TO SUIT THEM.

All the Primary Elections to BE Held
on June q and the Voters Also
Called on 10 Express Their Prefer
ence on the United states senator
shIp-The Ring Has a Close Call
From Defeat Despite It's Well-Laid
Plans.
Atlanta. Ga. March 1S-After stormy
session. full of bitterness and sensational
features. the plan of Congressman Crisp's
managers and organs to submit the SEN
atorship TO the people at the June prl-
mary and TO consolidate all the state prl-
mary elections on that day was railroad
ed through the Fulton county executive
committee to-day
The term "railroaded" IS used as liter
ally describing the method by which the
plan was put through. There was most
determined opposition to it, the real SEN
timent Of a majority Of the members or
the committee being against the injection
of the senatorship contest at the primary
at which the delegates to the state con-
vention are to be chosen and state and
county officers nominated.
When Capt. E. p. Howell, chairman
of the committee. called the committee
10 order there were nearly as many mem
bers represented by proxy as were pres
ent in person. Capt. HOwelps son, Clark
Howell and T. J. Kelly advertising man
ager of the Constitution, held proxies
and were evidently on hand for the fur
therance of the Crisp plan Of campaign,
which has already been outlined in these
dispatches, the meeting of the Fulton
county committee to-day having been de-
termined on as the starting point
Last night caucuses were held both by
Capt HOwelrs side of the committee and
the opposition, and as the proceedings or
the meeting plainly show the Crisp cam
paigners came within a hairs breadth
of falling, for with their well laid scheme
the changing of the vote of one member,
coupled with the arbitrary ruling of Chair
man Howell against another, was all
that saved the plan of Mr.. Crisps friends,
which is to use the action of the Fulton
county committee as the entering wedge
10 work upon the committee of the other
counties of the state in his interest
Out of the thirty-one members of the
committee represented at the meeting six
teen were opposed to submitting the SEN
atorship question to the people at the
primary and so voted But r.. z. Dodge,
member of the city council, after haV-
ing voted against the proposition, which
was Made by Clark Howell, yielded to
the pressure of Mr.. Howell and his
friends. who, with defeat staring them in
the face, gathered about him in a state
of high excitement and changed his vote
TO the otheB side.
At the same time a member who had
10 change his vote. This would have Off
set Mr.. Dodge's vote, and blighted the
Crisp plan of campaign in the bud, but
Chairman Howell, quickly taking in the
situation, announced the result, and ruled
that the vote could not be changed. This
decision created a great deal of excite
ment in the hail. and repeated efforts were
made to secure a verihcation of the vote,
the tally of which had been kept by a
Constitution reporter, but Chairman How
ell declared that he would accept the tally
sheet of the reporter and refused to have
it verified. Those who opposed the How
ell proposition claimed that IL had been
voted down by three majority, instead of
one, which would still have left 1t a
corpse, even after the change of the vote
of Mr. Morris, had a verification been al
lowed by the chairman.
During the excitement over this action
of the chairman, Clark Howell and T. ].
Day, who held a proxy in the meeting,
came near having a personal encounter.
Mr.. Day had voted against the Howell
resolution, which Mr.. Howell declared
that he had no right to do in the light of
a telegram which was sent to Chairman
Howell by Mr. Morris, whose proxy Mr..
Day held. Hot words passed between
the two gentlemen. The fact that Mr..
Day is a great Sunday school man Is about
all that prevented fight.
Mr.. Howelrs resolution had been Offer
ed ASIAN amendment to a substitute pre-
eented by w. c. Glenn, which provided
for the submission of the senatorship to
Glenn taking the position that that was
the time for such question to be voted
upon, and those opposed TO the Howell
resolution demanded a vote upon the
Glenn substitute as amended by the How
ell resolution. They would have voted 1t
down with an emphatic thud and the
scheme TO let populists and everybody
else vote for United States senator in the
democratic primary of June would have
been knocked out after ALL To prevent
this il was claimed the Howell resolution
was a substitute for an entirely different
set of resolutions offered by w. H. Broth
erton, and in this way'a second vote upon
Hafa cd
During the meeting Mr.. Glenn charged
that the resolutions adopted by the state
committee, which had been read by Chair
man Howell in calling the committee to
order, instead of recommending the NOM
5nation of county officers at the June pri-
marfes made no reference to that
subject, that recommendation having been
stricken out by the committee.
Chairman Howell was nettled by the
charge and declared that either Mr.. Glenn
had been misinformed as to the contents
of the original resolutions as passed by the
state committee, or else the chairman of
that committee had lied. The resolution
read by Chairman Howell was in the form
of a clipping from his paper, which he
stated had been sent him by Chairman
Clay.
Mr.. Glenn declared that he had informa-
tion that there was no recommendation
as to county officers in the original reso.
lutions indirectly from Secretary Gless-
ner who certainly knew what he was talk
ing about.
This incident was finally smoothed over
Dy clark hoMeH, VINO is member OF the
state committee from Fulton county, ad-
uniting that Mr.. Glenn was correct in re
gard to the action in striking out the
RECOMMENDATION in regard to the nomi
nation of county officers at the June
primaries.
Heretofore it has been the rule in thi:
county that the duty of calling the county
primaries should deVolve uDon the com
mittee to be elected the year when tn,
election is to be held, and on this action
the whole proceeding of the committee i.
questioned as irregular and invalid 1t i,
claimed that the committee should havt
simply met and called a mass meeting fo
the selection of a new county executive
committee, upon which should devolv,
the duty of arranging for the June pri
marieS.
CAROIINA,S SIXTH DISTRICT