The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-04-17

April 1 you made the office of Secretary
of State your political headquarters. For
six months. therefore, you not only drew
salary from the state, but made ths
state pay a part OF your campaign ex-
penses by occupying it's property free OF
rent. Moreover, your resignation did not
take effect until nearly two months after
1t had been filed with the Governor and IN
all likelihood you would not have resigned
then but for the statutory requirement.
which requires the Secretary of State
to keep his Office open daily
Sundays and holidays excepted CSee Code,
section 17S). You could not leave your Of
flee without violating the law and the pub
lie will now understand that you were not
controlled in your notion, after all, by no.
tons of old-fashioned Democracy You
resigned because you could not, a one and
the same time, be in your office and rove
about over the state, looking after that
uprising of the common people, con-
corning which we have heard so much.
I'm your reply to my last letter. you
refer TO Mr.. Berner and myself as run
ming mates and in your Fayetteville
speech you endeavored to arouse sympa-
my for your cause by crea ting the impress
sion that Mr.. Berner and I were in collu-
sion to encompass your defeat. Your per
sonal organ, and the political mentor the
Atlanta Constitution, has had a good deal
to say on the same line. This insinuation is
so malicious, so palpably absurd that no
man of intelligence will be prejudiced by
1t; YET, l am not willing even that an in
timation of unfairness or dupliclty shall
be made against me without protest In
the speech referred to you made a bonn
bastic plea for fair methods, and asked
that each candidate be made to stand up-
on his own merits; that separate tickets be
voted for in each county, and that the
choice of delegates to the state convention
De determined by the votes cast for the
several candidates. respectively. You
charge, in effect, that Mr.. Berner and I
have entered into a combination to defeat
the will of the people, and with refresh
ing modesty, if not circumvented by the
schemes and wiles of your opponents in
this race, the unrestrained expressions of
the Democratic voters would be favorable
to your candidacy. Now, assuming that
you are sincere in your demand for
fair methods, and in order that
you may not have cause to an
prehend the danger of comb;
nation between Mr.. Berner and myself 7
come to you with a proposition which II
accepted by you and Mr.. Berner and made
effective by the action of the state execu
tive committee, will render impossible any
COLLISION between Mr.. Berner and myself.
or between you and Mr. Berner. 1t is this.
Let US unite in asking the state execu-
tive committee to reconVene and adont
the following rule, viz: Upon the consoli-
dalton of The vote in each county the
county executive committee shall divide
the delegation among the three candidates
in exact proportion to the vote cast for
each, to the end that each candidate NAV
have the full benefit of every vote cast
for him in every county of the state
This plan is absolutely fair; but IL oh
jectionable, either to the committee or 10
yourself and Mr.. Berner, / submit a seq
ond proposition, as follows:
Upon consolidating the vote in each
county, the county executive committee
shall divide the delegation among Tho
three candidates in exact proportion m tho
vote cast for each; provided, that in the
event any candidate shall receive ma
Jority OF all the votes cast then he 10
have the entire delegation of the county
IF you should be the choice of n major
ity of The Democratic voters of a county
would like to know how a combinatiop
between Mr.. Berner and myself could eff
feet your interests. On the other hand
If you should not be the choice of a ma.
jority of the voters of a county. bv what
right would you claim the whole deIeoa.
ton? Suppose. for illustration, that in the
primary contest In Fulton county. on June
6, Mr.. Berner should receive 800 votes
should get 500 votes, and 5O1 votes
should be cast for you. Would Won
claim to be the choice of a major.
lily Of the Democratic voters of Fulton
countyT-and would you. on the strength
of this claim, insist that it is fair tbat
the delegation be instructed for YOU?
submit TO an intelligent public that II ,s
not In accord with your oft-repeated pro-
testations of fairness to accept a countv,s
delegation under these conditions No
candidate should have in the state conven-
ton the delegation OF a county. unless he
is the choice Of majority of the Demo-
in that county Under the rule adonte5 I,,,
the state executive committee. al jts iatc
meeting. II Is possible for minority can
didate to obtain the entire delegation of