The Savannah morning news., 1902-03-23
COL. ESTILL'S WINNING WAY.
HIS CAMPAIGN METHODS ARE TEL
LING WITH TuE PEOPLE.

The Politicians Are Waking Up to
the Fact and Arc Discussing the
Situation-rhe Qa;ot IIandshnkiug
Campaign Has Won Out Many
Times Before-Commissio o.
b. stevens as an Instance-COn-
federate Veterans Are for EstiIi.
Atlanta, March Pas the campaign
for Governor progresses the wide
spread effect of the quiet work that
is being done over the state by Col
j. H. Estill and his friends, is begin
ming to dawn more forcibly upon the
politicians here and those who visit
Atlanta and talk over the situation.
At first some were inclined to mini
mize Col Estills campaign for the
reason that he made no speeches, and
less was heard from him, perhaps,
than from the other candidates. Now
they realize what a strong campaign
he is making by meeting the people
everywhere face to face and discuss
ing with them in conversation the is
sues before the people, and they are
talking about it more than ever.
Some of the most effective cam
paigns Georgia has ever known, have
been made by handshaking and by
quietly mingling among the people
and talking to them close at hand in
stead of from a PLATFORM" remarked
an old time politician who visited the
Capitol this week. Even some Of
Georgia's best known orators on the
stump have come down from the plat
form at times and mingled closely with
the people, and they found it, if any
thing, more effective than the plan of
a set speech which seems to keep the
campaigner at a distance. In recent
years we have one of the most re-
markable examples of a handshaking
campaign on record, that of Col. o.
B. Stevens. commissioner of agricul-
ture. 1 would not be surprised if Col.
Stevens shook the hands of half the
voters in Georgia during his first cam
paign. Why, he was up in the northern
part of the state only the other day
and had to stop over at Dalton for
buggy, drove around the town and
within that time he had met and shook
hands with thirty or forty of the
prominent citizens of the place. It is a
thing the people appreciate and 1 be-
lieve it is the secret of many sue
cess"
A party that gathered at the capitol
was discussing the attitude of the
Confederate veterans yesterday. The
subject came up apropos of the dis
patch to the Constitution from
Wrightsville in which a Confederate
veteran there stated he had polled the
seventy three veterans in the county
on the race for governor and found
that fifty-nine of them were for Pri-
vate John H. Estill, while four refused
to commit themselves and four could
not be seen.
You may count on it that the vote
OF the veterans is going heavily for
Col. Estill.' said one of the party. Il
know he has made no special appeal
for it on the ground that he is himself
veteran, for he has made it apparent
that he is in the race purely on his
own merits. He is not running a SEN
timental race, but a business race, and
the veterans as well as others appre-
ciate this fact.
''lhen. too, Col. Estill's attitude on
the pension question is a strong one.
Col. Estill has expressed his opinion
that no veteran should be allowed to
draw pension from the state unless
he needs 1t. Other candidates have
said that deserving veterans should be
allowed to draw pensions. Everybody
realizes the fact that all of the old
heroes are deserving, but it would be
out of the question for the state to
pay bourties to them all. / believe the
veterans appreciate Col. Estill's atti-
tude on this question. They as well
as others throughout the state feel
that the burden of taxation should not
be imposed TO pay pensions to those
who do not need the money. This is
a view of the matter that everybody
is coming to, veterans and all alike,
and Col. Estill has taken the most
sensible view of it / have yet seen ex-
pressed by any candidate"
There is no doubt about the fact
that Col. Estill is making a vote win
ming campaign remarked another
member of the party. "He is getting
close to the people and his views are
views that the people indorse."