The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1902-05-17
NEWS OF CENTRAL CITY
Advertiser Bureau.

Advertiser Bureau,
Selma, May 16
Matters political in old Dallas have set
tied down and everyone Is In waiting
attitude to see whether there Is going to
be q State Convention or primary
There Is very little talk on the streets
about the question one way or the other.
This Is a Democratic people and they
believe In obeying the voice of those In
authority. II the Democratic Executive
Committee sees proper to order a Demo-
cratic primary there will not be whim-
Der from the rock-ribbed Democrats OF
Dallas. A large majority, however. are
for an oId-fashiored Convention. but the
primary element is entitled to respect
and consideration, for In the ranks OF
those who favor a primary are some OF
the truest of true men who stood by the
old Democratic ship when the waves OF
reconstruction were rolling high. There
il no bitterness here on the subject OF
primary or a convention. There are sew
eral questions always asked In discussing
the problem, such as: What 10 best for
the party? Is a State primary practical7
Can we get along without a convention to
promulgate q platform? Will not pri-
mary be too expensive on the candidates?
Do a majority of the white Democrats Of
Alabama desire a primary? VIII not the
power of the Black Belt be gone II
primary is resorted to?
All of these questions are discussed in
a quiet way by the politicians. who are
taking great interest in the matter. The
rank and file of the party are perfectly
Indifferent as to which plan Is best The
local affairs of Dallas have been settled
in primaries ever since the famous Boy
kim Phillips convention. which came SO
near ending in bloodshed. 1t has worked
well in local politics, but great many
are Of the opinion that the machinery OF
a State primary will be too ponderous TO
handle. There are a great many converts
to the Georgia plan-that is. let every
man running for State ONCE nave MS
name put on the ticket In the different
counties, elect delegates to a State con-
vention. and then allow each man his pro-
rata strength in the convention. There Is
a growing belief here that this will be the
plan that the State Democratic Executive
Committee will adopt, and II SO, 1t is pre-
dicted that it will give general satisfac-
ton.
Local politics is quiet. The only sign
that we are on the eve Of a campaign Is
the fact that John F. Burns and w. B.
Craig are out among the sovereigns ask
ing for their support for State Senator.
So far the voters, as a rule. have not
lined up on either side between these
two men and the matter seems to have
settled down to a contest as to which Is
the more popular and which one can bet
ter serve the people of Dallas in the up
per branch of the Legislature. Later on
the partisans of each gentleman may
line up, and many predict that the race
for Senator in Dallas this year will be a
memorable one.
j. III. Lumpkin Is serving his first term
as Tax Assessor and will have no oppo-
sition for reelection. He is, perhaps, the
most popular man in the county and
even IL anyone desired to run against him.
there is no one so far with the nerve to
do so. John ]. Babcock says he will be
a candidate for Tax Collector against the
present Collector, Cliff Morrison. who,
reports say, will endeavor to succeed him
self Mr.. Morrison has made a good Col
tector and has a great many friends who
will back him Mr.. Babcock was a can
didate before but coming out late did
not make much of a run. He says he is
going to start in time this year. He is a
good man and has a fine record as O Con-
federate soldier.
The Board of Revenue seems to be the
plum that is going to be most sought af-
ter. Dr.. Phillips, who represents the
Fork District. Is the only man. 1t seems.
who will have waik-over. though it is
possible that Capt. Sam Kirkpatrick. who
represents the city, may not have any
opposition. There was good deal OF talk
on the streets yesterday however. about
l.. w. Hubbard being a candidate. Mr..
Hubbard is In Mobile attending the Grand
Encampment of knights Tempiar, and
he could not be seen. From what your
correspondent could gather. the move
ment seems to have been started by Mr.
Hubbard's friends in his absence, and 1t
will not be known whether there is any
foundation for the talk until he returns
home. Mr.. Hubbard and Captain Kirk
patrick are both good men, and II they
run against each other, 1t matters not
which is elected, Dallas County will have
a safe man on the Board of Revenue.
The report that ex-Representative
Louis johnson would be a candidate for
member Of the Board of Revenue against
Col. Atlas ]. Martin created a mild rol'ti-
cal sensation here. 1t WAS generally
trct ght that Colonel Martins long service
on the Board. his well-known business
qualifications and his great personal fol-
lowing would deter anybody from enter
ing against him. 1t is known that a
great effort has been made to induce Mr..
johnson to enter the race for the Legis-
lature, but it seems that he does not care
to go to the Legislature again. He made
d Hiic IcPieSchhotiNo "HSH az "eS SAAN'
before, and he would probably be elected
this time if he had cared for the position
But If rumors can be relied on, he wants
to become a member of the Board to sue
coed Mr.. Martin. He Is a successful
farmer and a good business man, and IL
he does decide TO run against Colonel
Martin, the Nestor of the Board, 1t Is
going to be hard fought battle.
From the Southside district. Sam Rey-
nolds will not be a candidate to succeed
himself, and the race is between j. A.
Minter of Tyler, a successful young
planter and business man. and Col. Bob
Meyer, ex-Tax Assessor of Dallas. Both
are good and true men. but Mr.. Minter
has the advantage from the fact that over
half of the white voters in the thirteen
beats on South Side are centered In three
big beats adjoining Mr.. Minters home.
Both are very popular and while Captain