The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-31

We una the following concerning you:
In speaking of the conference between
! himself and DIT. Duncan this morning to
| the Morning News correspondent Senator
| delger advanced a rather remarkable
! ground for his refusal TO treat with the
| Chatham county representatives or to lis
| ten 10 the wishes Of the municipal govern
| ment OF Savannah in the matter of local
/ legislation. He takes the position that
! the present mayor and council are not mart
| ana parcel of the regular democratic or
! gahIzatlon, and for that reason he as
ueIhocrat, Is under no obligation to give
/ ear 70 their wishes. The Citizens Club fac
| uohI senator Geiger said. he recognized as
! the regular democratic party in savannah
pohtlcs, because last summer the Liberals
| VINO were successful in electing their full
| ticket, declined to abide the primary. In
! support OF this position Senator Geiger re-
| teiIe" 70 the c0ntestng delegations sent
| 70 the gubernatorial convention bv tbe two
| factions in Savannah. and a. the C,itiza,
| Cluo men were seated he takes that as
| me Htlal recognition of regularity. Since
that tlme, he says, he knows of nothing
thdt mas happened 10 alter the situation
anu give the Liberals claim to the title Of
| regular democrats The senator savs he
does not live in Savannah. but he 1Sno,,,e,
| something about local politics there aud
| Is satlsfled that the contention over tba
| COMMISSIONS Is factional fight in which
| ne proposes to stand by the crowd that he
tnlhks is entitled to be classed. as the req
| ular democrats" VIC iee
ASIDE from your recognition of tho 5a,,
ocracy OF these representatives. don't Won
| know that under your oath YOU are ho1nd
10 IeSlSlate for the whole communit,, or1
not Tor a faction? In other words. are Won
member of the democratic party sitting
an a democratic organization. or are Won a
senator of the whole people iegisIating for
| the whole people?
| iOu are IN error, senator, in saving that
Hothihg mas happened since the guberna
| toIlal convention to alter the situation In
| clallty 10 you, senator, l ascribe this
| statement to your ignorance of CURRENT ee
Ialrs' Tor understand the mails are some
tlhes irregular in Bryan. and Won NAV
nave lalled 10 learn that last fall demo-
| CrdIc convention was held to nominate
democratic candidates for the supreme
| court pench and that the Liberal Climb
| participated therein and one of the nreeart
| representatives from Chatham placed in
| nomination one of the Justices now uno1
| 'ne oShch. You must read the papers more
CLOSELY, my dear senator; you NAV miss
| something else of interest. You know he
| VINO would legislate for Chatham bv what
ne fesps IN the newspapers should be
| cdreIul ana read everything or he NAV
| 40 ms constituents injustice as we'll nc
ulscreult his own intelligence. 1 can com
| mend TO your attention the advertising
column of the Savannah papers They
make interesting reading and they will
uoupi4ess. give you valuable assistance in
enhghtenlng you as to what are the wishes
| OF the people of Savannah on imnortant
| subjects of legislation
again, senator. don't you remember that
'he tnfee members from Chatham SAT with
you IN the caucus of the democratic mem
ptrs OF the general assembly last Novem
Der, and took just as prominent a mart in
me seIectlon OF democratic candidate for
| Ohiled states senator as you did? Won
We're certainly in that caucus because 7
! see an the Morning News of Nov Is. 1895
mat MI Geiger had had a conferences
W." Mr. Norwood in regard
70 the latter's name heinz
| placed in nomination by the former. Yo1
uIu not apparently agree to do this. how
| ever, Tor 1t is recorded that Won voted
| Tor candidate other than Mr. Norwood
only mention this to show you that
soihethlhg has happened TO alter the
situation and give the liberals claim TO
the ute or regular democrats" and that
! you must have known at the time of vour
| interview that something had haDnened
IN passing, allow me 10 remark, senator.
that Whatever may be sard of newspa-
pefs as source from which to draw in
| formation on affairs about which vot,
can have no intimate knowledge. and
ABOUT which you are called on to legislate
| lney are certainly excellent historians of
the events Of The day and, it may be said
that when one is afflicted with a passion
for talking too much ones inconsistent
out
Let us look at this question of regular
democracy in another light Suppose the
voters Of the Liberal Club. instead of he
ing democrats, as you said they were in
october. 1896, had been soreheads. as YOU
seem to intimate when you talked to the
! reporter in October, 1897, and had voted
for your opponent, where would you have
been! Instead of your bosom swelling
now with pride al the thought of your
senatorial honors and your mind wander
ing to Washington to feed your magma
ton upon thoughts of congressional great
ness, you would only be plain Mr.. Geiger.
an honest kindly old gentleman whose
ambition had been nipped in the bud
You remember that you only received in
bingham 1859 majority and in Bryan about
IS. q have not the Bryan figures before
me, but l think 1 overstate your majority
there. The bingham figures are officiaD
Add these together and you have 234 ma
jorlty, with which you would have reached
the Chatham line. Place against that the
lowest majority given TO legislative
candidate on the Liberal ticket, 623, and
Mr.. Garter would have defeated you by
81 majority. a little figuring in addition
and subtraction serves to show you
what obligation you owe 10 the
democracy of the Liberal Club Think
over these figures and let me beg of you
for your own sake, my dear senator. never
again TO let your lips frame words of dis
arrangement of the regularity or democ-
racy of the Liberals. OF all the men UNI
der heaven you are the most surely estop-
ped from denying their claim of democ-
racy.
In spite of all this, at the last session
of the legislature you saw tit to oppose
the wishes of the people of Chatham, not
| because of the "irregularity' of the rep
| resentatives, but because the then mayor
and aldermen of Savannah were opposed
to the repeal of the measures. So they
were; but shortly after that those estima-
bic gentlemen were politically speaking
scattered to the four winds, and their
| places knew them no more One of the
| very men you said did not represent the
! people of Savannah, although he was their
| representative in the House, was elected
| mayor of Savannah. True you have seen
fit to say something about his majority be
| ing small, but, senator unless my memory
| serves me false it was larger than the
! combined maiorites Bryan and Efingham