The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-24
FISH CARRIED CHATHAM.
HIS MAJORITY OVER JUDGE GOBER
327.

The Highest Vote for Local Candi-
dates 1.431-The First, second and
Fourth Districts Not Counted to
Local Candidates-AbOut sixty
short Votes Cast-The Result
Highly Satisfactory to the Liberal
Leaders-Features of the Day mt
the Polls.
Judge William II. Fish carried Chatham
county at yesterdays primary by ma
jority of 327 votes. The only contest in
the primary was between Judge Fish AID
Judge George +. Gober for the full term
of six years on the State Supreme Court
bench. However the primary presented
other features of local interest, which We're
watched closely.
The total vote cast in the election was
1853. The vote for the candidates on the
local ticket was about LOO perhaps few
votes more, but the exact number could
not be learned for the reason that in most
of the districts an accurate count was not
made, because of the fact that there was
no contest. 1t was learned, however, that
about sixty votes We're cast for justices Of
the Supreme Court only, and the result
can very readily be arrived at from this
fact
The contest between Judge Fish and
Judge Gober in this county was a most
interesting one. It is well known that Hon.
f. G. duBignon has been urging the claims
of Judge Gober. and Mr.. duBignon's
friends were equally warm in their sup
port of that candidate. Therefore, come
pretty good work on this line was done
around the polls.
Along about noon many were led to be
lieve that the vote between the two can
didates for the supreme bench was close
one, and it was even stated in many quar-
tiers that Gober was in the lead. The
chances are that Gober was in the lead
about that time in the Fourth district box,
the largest in the county, and that all
came about by reason of a rather peculiar
circumstance.
Some of Judge Gober's friends circulated
the story that in case of his election he
would secure the pardon of Pat Kearney,
who is now serving a life sentence for the
murder of Jack Wyness, and also OF Pat
COnnors, who went up for fifteen years
for manslaughter. One Of those who were
persistent in circulating this report even
claimed to have a letter to that effect.
Others said that close friends of Judge Co
ber's had told them this would be done.
Now Kearney was a favorite in the
Old Fort district, and likewise ConnOrs.
The very idea of getting these men out of
the pententary started a tide in favor of
their supposed friend, and many vote
for Gober went into the Fourth district
box, and in other boxes that would Bnot
otherwise have gone there.
This feature of the situation led to the
belief early in the day that Gober was in
the lead. number of the prominent law
yers were around the court house putting
in some good licks for Judge Fish, and
they became somewhat stirred up over the
matter. They gave little side lectures to
some of the workers but that did little
good. Then some of their political friends
got to work. and within two or three
hours nearly as many Fish votes We're
turned into the boxes, The Gober men
felt satisfied they were safe in the Fourth
district box, illustrating clearly the fact
that there is danger in security. on this
idea their efforts there We're somewhat re-
Taxed, and in the afternoon very few Co
Der votes appeared.
Judge Gober carried only one district in
the county, the First. The others all gave
Fish good majorities. In the First dis
trict the vote stood, Gober 49, and Fish,
126, a majority of Il for Gober. The Sec
ond gave Fish a majority of I3, the
Third a majority of 1856 the Fourth a ma
and Eighth a majority of H. Chief JUS
tice Simmons and Justice II, r. Lewis re-
eeived each the fun vote of 1463.
The vote of the representatives varied
but little. The total vote, as made OUT,
was: j. J. McDonough, 1, 430 Thomas H.
Mcmillan, 1,42S, and W. p. LaRoche !, 43O.
The vote for delegates to the congress
sional convention was as follows; H c.
Cunningham, ], 431; J. H. Esdl, 1929; Ed
ward Karow, 1,419; b. A. Denmark. 1,429,
I. J. Davis, l,424, and A. L. Alexander,
1,4S1.
The vote for delegates to the senatorial
convention was: John Flannery 1885, r.
NJ. Huh, 1,43l; e. A. Well, 1.4S0; DR.. VIII
liam Duncan, 1,431; c. d. Baldwin, 1,430
and w. B. Stillwen, 1890
The Third district was the only one
with the exception of the country dis
tricts, which was properly counted. in
that district the total vote for Chief JUS
tice Simmons was 296, while the highest
vote for any candidate on the local ticket
was PSI, a difference of twenty-nine votes
This shows that there We're twenty-nine
votes in that district simply for Supreme
Court justices. The vote on the local
ticket in the Third district ranged from
255 to 267, the majority of the candidates
receiving either 266 or 267 votes.
In the country districts the total vote
was 20, while all of the local candidates
with the exception of Mr.. LaRoehe re-
ceiVed 26 votes, Mr.. LaRoche being given
II. In the First, Second and Fourth dis
tricts there was no count of the ticket on
account of the fact that there was no
contest, and each of the local candidates
was given the full vote of the district
which was as follows: First, 266; Second,
2S3, and Fourth, $50.
In the First district there were twenty
one votes for Justices of the Supreme
Court only; in the Second there were not
quite so many, and IN the Fourth there
were only five. 1t may be reasoned from
this, therefore, that the total actual vote
for the local candidates was 1,400
Another feature of the election was the
appearance at the polls all day Of a num-
Der of the former members Of the Citizens
Club, friends Of Commissioner Of Public
Works Harry Willink, who were doing
some hard work in behalf Of Judge Fish.
They paid no attention 10 the primary SO
far as the local end Of the ticket was con-
cerned but brought up number of voters
TO vote simply for justices of the Supreme
Court and nothing else. Most of the short
tickets, as they were known, containing
only the names of the Supreme Court ius
tees may be attributed 20 their efforts