The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-06-19

the plan this year adopted might be precedent. and likely followed in the fu-
 ture It will be harder to keep fraud out of a primary fashioned after the Sou!h Carolina plan than one on the Georsia
 plan. because, as stated. under the Geor-
 gia plan the strength of county IS nx-
 ed and certain, but under the SouIn ,,-. CaI
 oilna plan the more votes county poIs
 in a primary election the more nor has hsen
 seen in at least one Congressman Prl-
 mary in this State Several years aeo
 in a Congressional primary the vote oI
 one county in the primary was gteales ,hs
 than the whole registered vote oI tme
 county, including negroes, white Kepuph-
 cans and Democrats. .
 There is another reason for fixing m
 advance the strength a county snouiu
 have in nominating candidates Tor S1ale
 officers If a~county is practically unah-
 imous for a certain candidate for some
 State office and there is no local contest in that county, the vote will be ignt. IL is impossible to get people to the polls when there is no contest in the county. In another county. with the same Demo- cratic vote, which is practically unahl- Lmous for another candidate for the same Estate office but in which there Is iocai contest for county offices. large vote would be boiled, and that countys can didate for the State office would nave large advantage in an aggregate primary from the circumstance Of the Votess pe ing called cut by a local fight. It might be said that this would be the fauit ot the voters themselves. While that mlsht be true. it would nevertheless bring apout uncertain and unsatisfactory results. Tn some counties. county and State can1i- dates would be voted on at the same time. and in others they would De voted | on at different times. Hence, Tn some counties the vote would be large, ana Tn others small. o, In case a primary after the Georgia model is held, and If for any office no | one has a maiority, all possibility or trad- | ing in the convention could be cut on Dy nr0viding that the two highest candi- | dates run it over or that the vote re- ceived by the other minority candidates | be pro rated between the two highest
 candidates in exact proporuhon thn coInties ou tes | where the other minority candidates re- ceived votes.
 | Contrasting the condition of party af- | fairs in Georgia with that Tn South Car olina for the past few years, 1t seems to | me that a precedent for party govern | ment could he taken from Georgia with | more confidence than from South Caro-
 lima. I was recently told by one or tne m | hest informed Democrats in the country | that South Carolina was the only state
 in the Union that had the aggregate pri- | mary system; that many other states | had State primaries. but none but south Carolina had the aggregate primary sys- | tenn. Since this statement was made, | think Florida has adopted the South Car | olina plan. I do not make this asser-
 lion as fact, but repeat it as it was
 stated to me by one of our greatest Dem- | ocrats. S.. My own county is essentially white | county, and hence I would have nothing | personally and from a selfish standpoint
 to complain of from an aggregate white
 primary. However, the above are my in- | dividual views. hurriedly expressed as | to what is for the best interests or lhe
 patry at this time.
 [ will cheerfully abide by and support
 whatever the committee does in the mat | ter. It is composed of able ana patriotic l men. and. in my judgment, will wisely
 settle the question My opinion is that
 a Democratic primary fashioned some
 what after the Georgia plan Will give satisfaction and meet the requirements | of the case.