The age-herald., 1898-01-28
THE CONVENTION SENTIMENT Capt. L. C. Harrison Tells of the
 DirefuI Results OF A PRIMARY ELECTION MT. Kennedy, of Bessemer, Says the Cause of Silver Should Be First and Individual
 Interests Secondary

Speaking to an Age-Herald reporter yes- terday as to what method the democratic executive committee of Jefferson county should adopt for nominating candidates for the legislature and selecting delegates to the state, judicial and chancery conven- tions, Capt. A. c. Harrison former mem- Der of the committee, expressed himself emphatically in favor of the plan suggested by W. c. Garrett in this paper last Sat urday morning.
 Tn the first place. said Capt. Harrison, from the most reliable sources from va- rious sections of the country I learn that very large majority of democrats are heartily in favor of the plan suggested by Mir. Garrett
 ''The fundamental principle of democ- racy," continued Capt. Harrison, lis ma jority rule, and he is the best democrat who yields the most cheerful and cordial acquiescence to the will of the majority This is essential to party discipline and party success. Acting upon this principle when the Chicago convention adopted the last democratic platform I accepted it's declarations as the creed and supreme law of the party and worked in good faith with the party, although some of those declar- ations were not in entire harmony with my views.
 "I have every reason to believe and do believe," declared Capt. Harrison, "that the great majority of democrats in Jefferson county want to nominate and elect six straight free silver democrats to the leg
 slature, and this majority should have it's way
 How can this be accomplished? In my judgment only through the action of a county convention in nominating six can dldates, thereby making them essentially and emphatically the party's choice for the legislature, excluding all others from the party's support and concentrating the party's solid vote upon the nominees of the convention. It is almost childish to talk of limiting the number of candidates to six in any other way, and the experience of the free silver democrats in that di- rection in 1896, when their every effort to reduce the number of free silver candidates for the legislature to six failed utterly, is sufficient answer to the suggestion that if more than six candidates start fin the race they will, somehow or other. voluntarily get together all by themselves, hold cau- cus agree upon and nominate, of their own number, six patriotic gentlemen, make sacrifice of all the other more patriotic gen. tlemen and have a clear field for the elect Just think of it. The proposition Is absurd enough to convulse a practical poll tician with laughter. If such a thing has ever been done I have no knowledge of 1t.
 .Furthermore, the nominee of primary election Is, almost invariably, a minority nominee, especially where there are more than two candidates for the same office. Not so in a convention, where a candidate necessarily becomes the choice of the ma- iority before he can secure the nomination.
 '.In my opinion," declared the captain. 'the free silver democrats can have no well grounded assurance of nominating six candidates for the legislature and send ing solid silver delegations to the state chancery ands judicial conventions other wise than by means of county conven- ton; and in that way party harmony and success will be most certainly promoted. for then we will have party discipline and cohesion and majority rule"
 w. T. Remedy of Bessemer, was In Bir- mingham yesterday to attend meeting of the executive committee of the Jefferson Bimetallic Democratic club. He said: "rhe silver democrats of the county, ex- cept a few who are supporting gold men. are for a convention for the selection of state nominees and primary for county nominees This" he said, would prevent trading and would prevent the contest from degenerating into mere scramble for office, in which the principles of the party would be lost sight of, which would be the case if we have either primary or a convention for all. In the great fight for silver. the cause should always be flrsts and individual interests second"