Fitzgerald enterprise. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1895-1912, 1905-07-11
LET'S HAVE A SQUARE DEAL.
(From the waycross Journal.)


and indict an entire people"
Hold on, Mr.. Howell. That was the way
the machine crushed Mr.. Query, and the peo-
pie now know it was unjust and decelttul and
we do not believe they are going to stand for it
again.
1t was understood in the beginning that this
campaign was to be square DEAL" and II the
machine is to begin this old game of exagger-
alton so early, the people should know it right
now, so that they will be able to nail the lie to
much of that which is to come.
Mr.. Guerry was called a scold, black.
guard, mud-slnger, and every other hateful
epithet that the machine could find in the syno-
nyms, and not word of it was true. Mr.. Guer-
ry did call spade spade, and he did name
many of the evils with which the state was bur-
dened but he was never scold, he never black
guarded anybody and he did not sling one daub
of mud during the entire campaign.
Now. we are not one of Hoke Smith s ardent
supporters; we have not committed ourselves to
anv candidate and will not until the nominations
are closed, but we have read his opening speech
very carefully and we are not able to find any
attempt to 'impeach whole state" or 'indict
an entire people," Neither did we see any at
eyes of the nation as state hopelessly in the
clutches of corruptors"
No, no. Clark, your vision was either dis
tended from excitement or your judgment was
distorted by machine prejudice. You evidently
was looking for something of that kind and got
your editorial written beforehand or you culled
one of Sam Small's old highly-colored diatribes
against the liquor trafic-before Sam changed
his position.
Now come, Clark, do you not think Mr..
Smiths speech was dignifed arraignment of
many of the evils threatening the state, and very
much in line with what you would have said had
you been free from the machine to say such
things? Indeed, are you not taking about the
same position on these same questions that Mr..
Smith is taking, only being milder man, with
less mental force you naturally would have said
them 10 a milder toner
Clark, do you not believe it is wicked for
corporations to use the party machinery to WELD
an unholy influence on legislation?
Do you not believe, Clark, that we should
have the Australian ballot system and that all
officers should be nominated by majority vote?
Do you stand for the domestication of all
corporations operating in this state, Clark?
Do you not believe that the railroads should
be taxed like all other individuals of this state?
Do you not think that lobbying should be
stopped in the capitol?
Are YOU not in favor of electing the railroad
commission by the people!
Now, these are questions discussed by Mr..
Smith. They we're every one in the platform OF
Mr.. Guerry and he made them popular and the
people are very anxious to have them made into
law. If you are against them, the people would
like to know it, and if you can be against them
any milder or in more dignifed way, just let
us see how smoothly you can say it.
But, Clark, do not attempt to make the peo-
pie believe Mr. Smith is trying to besmirch the
safe or convict the people of villainy because he
has talked of these things in public and has in.
timated that you were the candidate of the ring
which is opposed to nearly every one of these
measures.
We all know Clark, that Georgia is not as
bad as Missouri was, or as Wisconsin, or Lii
nos, and that our politicians have not yet begun
to graft as the rascas of those states had before
reforms were inaugurated and the truth is, we
do not want Georgia to go as far as they did, and
that is why we have been fighting those tenden-
cies so hard ever since we were big enough to
fight. If this corporation interference is per-
mitted to progress Just few years longer, we
will be afflicted with as big and villainous cor.
ruption as ever Governor Folk or Governor La
Folett had to fight. 1t required revolution to
uproot it in those states, simply because the
people were advised by machine organs that
there was nothing the matter, just as the Con-
stitution is now advising the people of Georgia.
Of course, we know there is not SO much the