The age-herald., 1898-03-01
POLITICS GETTING
 COMPLICATED Some You'd ReSCind the County EXeGu- tiFe Committees Action. A CONVENTION IS DESIRED And a Great Effort Will Be Made to
 Have It. TO SELECT SIX LEGISLATORS Everybody Seems to Suspect Everybody Else of Laying a Submarine Mine Under
 the Local Political
 Situation.
TO SELECT SIX LEGISLATORS

And still the question of whether Jef- ferson's legislators shall be nominated by primary or convention is an unsettled one
 The county executive committee of the democratic party at its meeting on Febru-
 ary 19 unanimously decided that the six
 legislative candidates of the party should
 be selected by the old plan of the primary.
 For sometime before the meeting a
 strong movement had been on foot to have
 the legislators nominated by a convention.
 Numbers of interviews were printed in
 the papers on the question, pro or con, but
 the movement failed.
 At conference before the meeting Of
 the committee, it was decided to let the
 matter drop, and no fight was made in
 the meeting This was due largely to the
 demands of the German society, the Trades
 Council a few bimetallic clubs in inc county, and several other organizations. But the friends of the convention move ment were still unsatisfied. They claimed that this county was overwhelmingly in favor of free coinage and being such is entitled to six silver legislators.
 In the last legislature five out of six were gold men. There were at that time
 thirteen silver men and five gold men to
 be voted for in the primary. The gold
 men sent out yellow cards to the Clark, or
 gold, supporters throughout the county,
 instructing them to vote for these five gold
 men and one silver man, J. J. Altman.
 The silver mems vote were distributed
 among thirteen candidates and the result
 was that the gold ticket with the exception
 of one man went through.
 The silver men now say that they are
 determined that this scheme shall not be
 worked again, and the only way to prevent
 it is to nominate by a convention. With
 this end in view, several caucuses of prom
 inent silver men have been held during
 the past week. The executive committee
 of the Jefferson County Bmetallic club held
 a meeting Thursday and issued call to
 each of the bimetallic clubs, the German
 American union and the Birmingham
 Trades Council, inviting them to send their
 presidents and two delegates each to a sii-
 yer conference to be held in this city next
 Saturday for the purpose of considering the question of urging the county executive committee to rescind its action of nominat- ing the legislators by a primary and for the sake of the bimetallic cause to nomi- nate six ardent silver men to represent lief ferson county in the legislature. Several societies and clubs have already taken ac- ton in the matter and elected their dele
 gates.
 Another move was made yesterday when
 number of prominent silver democrats
 held meeting to take more decided action
 in the matter. A resolution is said to have
 been passed appointing committee to
 call upon the members of the county ex-
 ecutive committee who are known to be
 silver men and who have the silver cause
 at heart, and urge them to vote for a re- consideration of the primary plan which
 was adopted at the last meeting.
 The county executive committee stands as follows: Of the fifty-four members of the committee, thirty-two are avowed free coinage, Chicago platform democrats. Of
 these, twenty-three are said to favor the convention.
 np oil a number of friends of the primary plan who are not likely to stand idly by while their plan, already adopted, is being re- scinded.
 All the above discussion about the nomi- nation of the legislators naturally brings | up the question of who are the candidates for this ali-important position. So far the aspirants for the position have been slow in announcing themselves, and only seven names could be learned yesterday. These were: C. F. Moore, L. J. Haley, Dr. R. & Green of Greens, John Mcqueen, Joe H. Montgomery, R. E. Russell and c. C. Johnson. Another Scheme
 Rumor has it that another attempt will be made to have reconsadered at the meet ing next Saturday a question which pro- volQed great deal of discussion at the last meeting of the executive committee. That is the plan of voting for the chancel- Tor of this district In the primary instead of in the convention. k. P. Wetmore is the champion of ithis movement, and he is said to be working in the interest of Chan- cellor Cobbs. If this office is voted for in the primary, Chancellor Cobbs can secure a large share of the thirty voters which Jefferson has in the chancery convention. These, together with the votes he would secure in tlle other counties, would assure his election
 I. c. Carmichael is said to be the most
 active in the opposition to this primary
 plan. Indeed all of Cobbs opponents know that whoever can get a majority of votes in the Jefferson county convention will get the chance.lorsffip. A majority of the convention will get all of Jefferson s thirty votes, and as ali the other counties in the district combined have only twenty eight votes, a majority in the Jefferson convention assures election. In other words, CUbb's opponents had much rather Acaid dz,d 4.k