Americus times-recorder., 1904-04-21
.SUMTER'S PRIMARY
PASSES OFF QUIETLY.
Greatest Interest In Election for Years Is
Evidenced
1 HEAVY VOTE IS CAST IN COUNTY.
Counting Of Votes Continued Better Part Last Night and Exact Result
May Not Be Known Before disqualification Passes Without Friction
and All Accept the Result Gracefully Candidates and Their Friends
Worked Hard to Wn

The result of yesterdays primary in
Sumter, even at midnight last night,
was still matter of speculation ar
not until the vote is consolidated this
morning will it be definitely known
who has won.
Estimates were freely made last
night, but these may be subject to re-
vision this morning.
Never has the county witnessed an
election where results were quite as
hard to forecast, and at the midnight
hour nearly all the candidates were
still hoverIng at the polls
At that time rival candidates still
claimed the victory.
Slowly and Iaboriously the counting
of ballots progressed as the hours wore
on, the tellers handling from forty to
fifty tickets aA hour. AS 932 votes were
cast here, one can figure how the count
progressed.
And in the meanwhile interest was
at the highest tension.
The result at the eight county pre-
cincts had been received, but as Amer
icus cast larger vote than all of these
combined it counted for nothing with
ont this vote.
Sumter never saw more quiet and
orderly election than that of yesterday,
considering the large number of can
didates running.
Aud these, with their host of friends,
kept up running fire of votes all day.
Hundreds stood about the courthouse
corner watching the voting as it pro-
greseed and, as we'll as they could,
keeping tab thereon.
Each candidate looked after the
cooking of his own potato.
Various kilograms from other towns
in the county came to the candidates
during the day and all these served to
add interest to the contest, as they
were read out to the throng there.
The 'solicitorial" candidates, Ms RS.
Hooper and Williams, received many
kilograms during the day from the
other counties in which they were rur-
ming, and each absorbed inspiration
from the reading of these.
Late in the day these dispatches
pointed strongly to the nomination of
Col. Hooper by large vote.
However, Col Williams, friends in
sisted that the consolidated vote of the
entire seven counties would change
this apparent result.
The re election of Sheriff E. L, Bell
10y very large majority was freely
conceded early in the afternoon-or
even before. In fact, there has been
little if any doubt from the first as to
the result in that contest.
Brown Small, for tax collector, ap-
pears to have won the race again by a
large majority.
The race for county treasurer, tax
receiver, ard clerk of the court seemed
little mixed last night but cleared
perceptibly as the counting of the votes
continued.
But it was the Legislative candidates
who looked most longingly up the
plum tree. All the FIVE aspirants were
hopeful, and figured to their own salts
faction just how the vote had gone well
their way,
There were some surprising results
1u this sprinting match.
The senatorial contest, too, occupied
q place right in the centre of the stage
of human interest.
The combined vote of all the country
precincts, outside of Americus, gave
Mr.. Crawford Wheatley plurality of
Is votes, bis friends insisted last
night that this lead, given him in the
country, would increase here.
Both Col. Lane and Col, WheatIey
worked valiantly, not only yesterday
but throughout the campaign, and
the senatorial race was one of the most
spirited features of the entire contest.
The count this morning will deter