The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-12-16
REPuBLIcANs OF FLORIDA.
viii Meet at Jacksonville To-day to
Recin the Campaign.

tallahassee, Fla, Dec. B.-To-morrow,
-. Jacksonville, the Florida Republicans
I'LL prepare for a campaign they have
,,rg been planning. the result of which
IKE, nome will be the capture of the cleo
,- vote of Florida in 1900 for Mr.. Nc
80 Tse Republican State Central Commit
ard the Republican Congressional
r,,,oittees of both of the Florida dis
.~.-Ts will meet, and it is expected that
e,-srl- Florida Republican, who amounts TO
srr,htng at all in the party councils will
be- present.
~ holding the state and congressional
-,,r,sutions will be decided upon; that a
l,, head of the party in Florida will be
.fsated TO take the place OF or at least
- ,.t temporarily in the place of, Judge
N Long of st. Augustine and Wash
i7gfon. D. c., who has recently been np-
a,srted by the President TO be United
states consul al Cairo, Egypt; that some
s.ri5n in the nature of a protest will be
.,tsn relative 10 the proposition of Mr..
pc of Wisconsin, to reduce the repre-
r-,t;on of the Southern states in the
rsyt Republican National Convention; that
-. formation or reorganization of the
aortv organization in this state will be
artlar1nted; and that counsel will be taken
rog,riing many party matters of imme-
st5ra interest and importance. The big
1ong and Gunby and Eagan and
r,,,bh and Robinson and Scarlett and Joe
10 and some others-will, 1t is expected,
all be there.
rbe Republicans claim to have a major
,tT of the intelligent votes in this state.
They realize that for ten years past the
-roat mass of the uneducated negroes in
H. sfate have neither voted nor have they
or Iaa lIs h11f
also realize that the undisputed right of
tba negroes to vote if they wanted to and
were ORGANIZED is what keeps the whites
Of the state united in support of the de-
roocr9cv. The problem before the lead
ers is how they shall quietly eliminate
the negro to great extent from politics,
without offending him, and thus get their
marty in a position where it can draw upon
The large body of whites, whom they
claim are in sympathy with their party,
but are deferred from voting its tickets
because of the fear of negro domino ton. -
They know that the elimination of the
negro from politics has been generally
considered a job for the Democrats TO
perform. but in Florida conditions are diff
ferent from those found in other South
ern states. The Democrats here are sat
isfed that no trouble is coming from the
negro as long as the whites stand to-
gether and they have been standing to-
gether remarkably. So far, indeed, as
the Democrats are concerned the negro
is already sufficiently eliminated from
Florida politics.
It seems to be quite generally admitted
that a wen oreanized VIII te Republican
party in Florida just at this time would
he matter of very grave concern TO the
Democrats of the state. The Democrats
are reputed strong in Florida, but it is
largely because they have no Opposition
worth the name. On national questions
they are about as much divided as are
their brothers in such border states as
Maryland and Kentucky, the chief differ
ence being that here those who dissent
from the Powers that he have never yet
gotten wei organized and have not seen
their way clear to affiliate with a Repub-
ican organization of such dark complex
ion.