The Savannah morning news., 1902-05-03
FOR TWO PRIMARIES
COUNTY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES
MAKES ITS DECISION.
COUNTY PRIMARY MAY 29.
THEN CANDIDATES FOR COUNTY
OFFICES WILL BE NOMINATED.

tiOns Divided on Every Material
Proposition and the Chairman
Was Forced to Decide-Mr. Cum
ninSham Voted for Two Primaries
Because of Variance in Rules for
Qualification of Voters Voting
Precinct Plan Killed by Chair
mans VOte-I0O1 Registration Is
Padded, Say Union Club Men.
A Democratic primary for the nomi-
nation of county officers and the clerk
and sheriff of the City Court will be
held in this county on May 20. This
action, in connection with many other
matters of interest to the people, was
determined upon at a meeting of the
Democratic Executive Committee held
last night.
The chairman of the committee Mr..
T. NJ. Cunningham, Jr., presided, and
every one of it's members was present.
The members of the committee are A.
L. Alexander, G. NJ. Petronovitch,
Harry Willink, E. C. Gleason, William
Gibbons, b. S. Wells, A. L. We'll,
John Power John w. Smith, w. P.
LaRoche. Edward ]. Whelan, ]. I.
Morrissey, w. F. Slater NJ. w. Dixon,
John ]. Horrigan, John Juchter,
Charles A Lamotte, William T. Hus-
sey, A. A. Lawrence. Richard Wick
ham, Adolph NJ. LETTER. Arthur B.
Cummings, William T. Leopold and E.
A. NJ. Schroeder.
At the inception of the proceedings
of the committee two new members
were chosen, both by the members of
the Union Club. Messrs. H. f. Teynac
and Thomas Ballantyne. Jr., resigned
and Messsrs. Arthur L. We'll and w. F.
Slater were elected in their stead.
Upon almost every question present.
ed to the committee there was a strict
factional vote from beginning to end.
Even upon questions that seemed i'm
material to the disnterested bystand-
er. it was sufficient to have a sug-
gestion made by one side to have it
opposed by the other.
The meeting of last night was held
in the City Court room and in addi-
ton to the members of the committee
many enthusiastic partisans of both
local factions were present. These lat
ter helped to lend interest and excite
ment to the proceedings and occu-
echo what were or what they mag
tned to be the telling points of their
political favorites.
First Gun of the Fight.
Mr.. w. P. LaRoche opened the pro-
ceedings by the introduction of reso-
buttons providing for a primary for
the election or nomination county
officers, to be held on May % The
resolution provided that a white
~,
p, for the purpose of nominating can
didates for the lower House of the
General Assembly of the state of Geor-
gia from said county and a new Dem
ocratic Executive Committee of said
county; that upon election of said Ex-
ecutive Committee said committee shall
name and appoint delegates to the
congressional and senatorial conven-
tons"
Nor was this the only thing for which
the resolution offered by Mr.. LaRoche
provided Instead of being a the Court
House, the polling places were to be
located in various places in the city
and county, each of them capable or
convenient access by the voters of the
district for which it was to be sup
piled. The location of each of these
boxes was fixed, in a measure, in the
resolution offered by Mr.. LaRoche. but
1t was further provided that commit
tee, consisting of the chairman and
two members of each of the opposing
factions, should decide questions of
definite location.
War From the Very Jump.
Then the talk began. The members
of the Citizens Club opposed from the
first the proposition to hold two pri-
maries. They were anxious to have
the vote of Chatham county, for every
officers in whose election the people
of the county have a voice. cast at one
time and at one place. To this end
and expressing this view of the matter
MIR. A. A. Lawrence offered a sub
stitute resolution. 1t provided for the
holding of primary on June 5, the
day named by the State Democratic
Executive Committee, for the purpose
of nominating all state and county Off
GERS.
Chairman Cunningham made one
suggestion that complicated matters
from the start. He brought to the at
tention of the committee the fact that
the qualifications of voters at "a state
primary and at a primary held under
the regulations of the County Execu-
tive Committee were fundamentally diff
ferent; While the first made everybody
who had been registered in 1901 and
within ten days of the election in 1902
qualified to vote. the latter only quail
flied those registered in the year of
the election.
This proved a difficult problem for
the Citizens Club people to solve-in
fact they never succeeded in solving
it at all, and the impossibility of its
solution accounts for the fact that two
primary elections are to be held. The
factions divided squarely on the propo-
sition TO hold 100 primaries, the Citi-
zens' Club committeeman voting
against and the Union Club committee
men for it, but Chairman Cunning
hams vote decided the question He
decided it in favor of the two primary
proposition on the very ground he had
himself brought to the attention of the
committee.
Reasons for Two Primaries~
Mr.. LaRoche had an abundance of
reasons for opposing the nomination
of all officers at one primary. Among
others he mentioned what he declared
TO be an acknowledged fact-that the
registration lists for 1902 were noto-
riously padded, filled with the names
of alleged voters not entitled to appear
thereon. He said also. in support of
the voting precinct proposition, it was
the custom of the dominant faction to
appoint partisan deputy sheriffs and
partisan members of the police force
to help on their own tcause on election
days and this he wanted to avoid
Other discussion followed along the
same lines. Mr.. A. A. Lawrence. Col
M. w. Dixon, Mr.. w. T. Leopold and
Mr.. John Juchter made brief speeches