The Savannah morning news., 1902-05-04
WILL BE A PROBLEM FOR PoLITI-
CAL FACTIONS.
WILL HAVE TO BE DONE SOON.
LEADERS OF THE TWO FACTIONS
DIFFER AS TO THE TIME.

LaROche in His Clubs Legislative
| Announcements.
The date of the county primary has
been settled. The next thing is for
the two local political factions to set
tie on their candidates. May 20 the
county primary will be held, and the
waring elements will then seek vic
tory at the Court House.
This week the Union Club will begin
to talk about its candidates. President
w. P. LaRoche said yesterday that
| its ticket will soon be announced. The
club will start at once to figure up the
situation, and line on it's candidates
will be secured.
Next week." said Mr.. LaRoche,
will see us busy about our candidates.
No, 1 cannot tell you who they will be.
but you may rest assured of this: the
guesses. that have been made from time
to time have missed the mark. None
Of them have struck the right men.
Our legislative candidates will be sur
prises.'
Mr.. LaRoche was reminded that in
an interview in the Morning News
some time ago, when it was thought
the county primary would be on June
o, he had said it was a noteworthy fact
that the history of politics in Savannah
showed that the side having the thea
ter the night before the election all
ways won. The Citizens Club has Sc
cured the theater for May 28, but Mr.
| LaRoche said that the Union Club had
secured a better place.
Both Wanted the Theater.
When the Citizens Club leaders
thought the theater had fallen to the
| Union Club for the night before the
election they decided that they would
have their speeches in the Park Ex-
tension, making it a great open-air
event. They were talking about this
plan and its superior excellence over
the theater idea. The sprinting done
| by representatives of the club, as soon
as the date, May 20, was decided on
showed that the expressed preference
| for the Park Extension was a good
strong play. The Citizens Club really
wanted the theater, and its members
were throwing up their hats when they
| got it.
Discussing the political outlook, a
Citizens Club leader said that he did
not expect either side to announce it's
| candidates for some time. About ten
days before the election, he thought
the announcements would be made. and
a desperate fight will then ensue until
the primary has told the story.
Will Be Ten Busy Days.
Until ten days before the election
everybody will be busy registering
voters" he said. Il do not believe that
there will be any announcements of
legislative candidates much before that
me. One thing that has seemed
range to me was the expressed de-
sire of the Union Club to have only
the legislators elected at the primary.
They wanted the county offices held
over until the general election in the
fall. l believe they wanted to see what
strength they could develop in the first
contest, so that, if it was considerable,
they could get stronger men to run
on their ticket for the county offices"
Mr.. LaRoche said that he desired to
correct the statement that he had said
that the registration for 1902 was no.
toriously padded. The padding, he
said, was done in 1901. AS a Citizens
Club leader had said he thought it
strange that Mr.. LaRoche would say
that the registration for 1901 was pad
ded, because he was leader of the forces
that did the padding in the race for
ordinary, the Union Club president was
asked if he had been responsible for
this padding. He answered in the neg
ative saying that it had been done by
the Citizens Club people, who were
then supporting his candidate for or
binary.
Satisfaction Over Two Primaries.
General satisfaction is expressed at
the action of the County Executive
Committee in ordering two primaries
for the nomination, respectively of
state and county officers. The con-
census of opinion is that this plan
offers the only solution of the diff
Guilty.
OF course the violent partisans of
the opposing factions are welded to
the primary plans these factions faith
cred The Union Club people saw if
would have been better if only the can
didates for the Legislature and a new
executive committee were to be nom
mated at the first primary to be held.
while the Citizens Club DICTIONARIES are
Just as firmly convinced that only one
primary should be held. and that this
should have suff1ced for the nominal
ton of all officers.
The registration books will close on
May 10 and only those whose names
are then on the lists will be allowed to
vote in the primary. The rules nrovide
that the books shall close ten davs
before the date of the primary and re-
strict the voting privilege to those
who have registered during the Cur
rent year. For the state primary.
which will be helc on June 5. a differ
ent set of rules will obtain and those
who were qualified to vote at the last
election held last year. who have not
otherwise lost the privilege of the
franchise, will be entitled to vote then
For the county offices there has vet
been little or no talk of opposition to
the present incumbents, and while
this opposition may develop at any mo-
ment it seems not to be altogether
probable that the present county force
will he reelected, without having to
undergo the torture of a scrap at the
polls.
The first announcement for a county
office, in fact, for any office to figure
in the voting of May 20, is made in TO-
days Morning News by Tax Collector
Thomas F. Thomson. Mr. Thomson
does not announce as a representative
of either faction.
This Weeks Rallies
The announcement of the date unon
which the primary for county officers
Will be held has caused the ward clubs
to become more active and both fac-
tions will have almost nightly meet
| ings until after the election The fol-
lowers of the two clubs are getting in
shape for the finishing touches and win
he on the alert from now until the
29th, with frequent caucuses as well a (
ward meetings.