The Grenada sentinel., 1906-06-23
GEN. McCLURG SUGGESTS
State Convention For Candidates
For Minor State Offices
People Mainly Interested in Governor
aud Senator and Largely Indifferent
to Other State Offices-Canvass
Costs Immense Money.

In a communication published in
the Clarion Ledger of June 10, EX-
Attorney General Monroe McClurg
makes some suggestions as to the
made Of nominating some OF the state
candidates in the coming. What Mr..
McClurg says is entitled to the most
Thoughtful consideration Us he is one of
the states most prominent citizens.
Below is the Generals s letter:
| throw out this suggestion for con-
Sideration by the Democracy of the
state, especially by the Democratic
! Executive Committee.
\ State convention should be held
to nominate one or two candidates for
the several state Offices, including rail
road commissioners, for places on the
primary election ticket next year, eX-
cept candidates for governor and
United States senator. Candidates for
Governor and a popular expression of
choice for United States senator
ought to run the gauntlet Of the pri-
mary, because the people Of the State
generally take direct and vital in
tereSt in those offices. 1t is next to
cruel, in my humble judgment, for
the party to require other candidates
to make the rounds at tremendous
cost Of time, energy and money. to
near the candidates tor governor and
Senator speaks TO the crowds and get,
if any time, at all, at the tail end, five
minutes to merely announce.
II TO,
the great mass Of the one hundred
thousand electors in the state are not
much concerned as to which individual
Democrat shall be auditor. treasurer,
encouragement. secretary Of state,
land commissioner. railroad COM
missioner. and so on. They are in
tenSely interested in selecting their
candidate for governor and in express
ing their choice for senator. and they
will sit all day, as they must do, to
hear all these candidates speak, but
tired out and satisfied, as to them,
and generally Indifferent as to the Sc
lection of any particular Democrat for
the several other offices, they go home.
Except here and there where a partic-
ular candidate may have, because of
some local friend or influence, an ad-
vantage, the general rule is that no
special interest if felt in any particu-
lar man.
Besides personal experience, Icall
every candidate, whether successful or
not, during the last three state cam
paignS, to say whether the view | now
present is not the correct one. We
will have, according to present indica-
tiOnS, at least five candidates for the
Office of governor, two for senator,
and at the least thirty more for the
state Offices below that Of governor.
1t will cost much money. time and
physical struggle for each to make a
canvass Of the state to 20 practical
good, with the exceptions | mention.
Let each county act in its own way
to select delegates to a state cOnven- |
tion to be called by the Executive
Committee for the purpose of nOmina-
ting for places on the primary ticket |
one or two candidates for the several |
State offices. This plan will do no
violence to the primary election law !
because any more may run for any Of
flee nevertheless. 1t will prune out |
the applicants to Il stand and save
many persons a great deal of worry
and expense. We have a fixed prece-
dent in nominating by state conven-
ton in 1900 candidates for presiden-
tial electors to be voted for by the peo-
Pile
So much for suggestion. Let's |
have a convention and curtail the long
list of candidates and save much to
hem anG TO thelDeODle.