The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1902-07-01
Stark County Hot Air so
Characterised.
THE COMMON PEOPLE
Up In Mahoning are Making q
Great kick--PoIiticia q M are
Busy With Explana-
tions.

The people of Mahoning county, ac-
cording to dispatch from Ellsworth,
are up In arms against the arbitrary
action of the politicians in applying
the law and keeping the voters of the
at the primaries. The dispatch is as
follows:
Ellsworth, June 2S.-Many Republic
cans in the western part of Mahoning
county are very much dissatisfied over
the congressional situation. They
want to send delegates of their own
choosing to the Salem convention.
They prefer Phelps, of Alliance, as
their nominee, rather than Jim Ken
nedy, Of Youngstown. They are no
party to the scheme that made the
assessment for candidates $3.50 for the
purpose Of freezing out all opposition
and then holding no primary. Are
they afraid to give the people chance
to voter
The Youngstown politicians are very
anxious to atone for their blunder.
They are Offering all sorts of excuses
for the $3.50 assessment, insisting that
they never meant it. 1t is claimed
that they figured out 1t would take
that amount to hold primaries and in
sisted on a deposit of the full amount
in order to make sure of expenses.
This story hardly holds water when
1t is known that they had decided not
to hold primaries at all il but one can
didate announced. 1t would have TAX
en- two at least to insure the primaries.
The assessment then would only
have to be 1915 for each, and the ratio
would have decreased as the candi-
dates multiplied.
The application of the unit rule was
equally as bad, Canton politicians in
sist, as 1t naturally deprives candi-
dates OF what they legitimately win In
different sections of the county. In
Stark, every candidate can name the
delegate from the precinct that he car
ries, which is claimed to be the only
just method. .
The Vindicator. of Youngstown, has
the following from some worried Re-
publican up there;
"All this hot air, from over there
(pointing in the direction of Stark
county, about Mahoning county's
high tariff assessment for the pur-
pose of keeping candidates from other
counties from invading Mahoning, is
tCmmyrot." THE men who are cir.
culating statements to that effect do
not believe them themselves. 1t is
being done for a certain purpose, and
1t does not require a very keen dis
cernment to discover the purpose.
What worries political leaders and
candidates in the other counties more
than the high tariff assessment is the
fact that Mahoning is united on one
man. The belief existed in those coun-
ties that the factional differences in
MahOning were of such character that
they could never be amicably seIued
and that part reunited. This belief
obtained, no doubt, when the promise
was made that in the event this coun-
ty went into the convention its choice
would receive the support Of delegates
from the other two counties sufficient
to nominate him.
If there is any bluffing to be done,
1t is being done outside of Mahoning
county. In the first place this county
never fixed the assessment of candi-
u.
the committee did do was adopt q res
olution requiring a deposit Of $3.50
from each candidate. This was for
the purpose OF securing to the commit
tee the sum necessary to cover the ex-
pense of the primaries in the event
there was not more than one candi-
date. Should there be two or moro
candidates, then, the resolution pro
vided, the expense of the primaries
was to have been borne by them in
equal shares. Whatever balance re-
mained, 1t was further provided, must
be equally divided and returned to
the candidates.
But, before the amount Of the de-
post was fixed the committee resolved
to adopt the unit system of naming
delegates. That Is to say, the candi-
date receiving the highest number OF
votes in the county was to be permit
ted to select the entire delegation.
This resolution was given Just as
much circulation and prominence as
any other adopted by the committee
"The fact Of the matter Is, none of
the Stark county and Columbiana can
didates would have come into this
county, even had no assessment been
required. Not one of them could have
hoped to carry the county and under
the system adopted their efforts would
have been In vain unless they could.
The milk In the cocoanut is just this.
Politicians over there were doing a
little bluffing themselves when they Of
fered to support Mahonins county
man for the nomination II he could Sc
cure the solid support of his home del
egation. They figured that there was
not a man In sthe county who could
command that support They were
mistaken. We have called their bluff,
and now 1t looks very much to me
as though they are casting about for
some sort OF an excuse for backing
up on their own proposition.
I'm my opinion. however, there aro
very few people In either Stark or CO.
lumbiana who regard the action of this
county In the light N is heiup haId m