The twice=a=week herald. (Amarillo, Tex.) 1887-1906, 1906-09-04
SMITH THE
NOMINEE
Opposes State Machine and
Advocates DlSfTanChlSe-
Tnent Of Negroes,
DEMOCRACY'S LEADER
Clark Howell, The Defeated Candidate, No
Longer Bears That Distinction, BIZ
tsT and Sensational Campaign,


Macon, Ga, Sept, 4,--Tho noml-
nation OF Hoke Smith for governor
Of Georgia by the Democratic con-
yontlon held in the Auditorium here
today ended ono OF tho bittercst and
most sensational campaigns in the
history OF southern politics, The
battle was practically settled at the
primaries held August 20 and the
convention merely ratified the peo-
pies choice.
Hoke Smith Is a native OF North
Carolina coming to Georgia when
II years Of age. For many years
he was the editor and proprietor Of
the Atlanta Journal, and was secre-
tsry Of the interior in President
Cleveland's cabinet.
Smith made the race on n plat
form opposing tho go.calcd state
machine, advocating the dsfran-
chisement of negroes and denounc-
Ing the allosod railroad domino
tion If Georgia officials" A. the
nomination IN Georgia Is equivalent
10 election, It is probable that Smiths
proposed law to keep tao negroes
from voting, framed ON the Missis-
sippi plan, win ooou become q
reality.
In his Oght against the machine"
Smith had the enthusiastic support
Of the Hon. Tom Watson. once the
Populsl candidate for vice president
As a result it Is expected that many
ponuists viii vote the Democratic
ticket this fall
Smiths chief opponent in the con-
test for the Euhernatorial plum was
Clark Howell, former speaker Of the
house, former president Of the
Georgia senate. now q national Dem
ocratic committeeman and editor of
the Atlanta Constitution. For years
Howell has been the undlsputcd
leader Of the Georgia Democracy
When he announced that he wanted
TO become governor there was no ono
TO deny him the honor-n0 ono that
Is, but Mr. IToke Smith
In an unfortunate moment How
ell wrote an editorial for his paper
In which he declared that Smith
was politically corpse and that he
couldn't be elected to the office of
dog catcher, or words to that effect.
The editorial only excited the rls-
Utilities of Smith who dismissed 1t
as one Of usual polite amenities of
an opposition organ, II is said, and
popularity believed that at that time
he had never seriously entertaind
thought of making the race for
governor.
But Mrs. Smith read Howell's cd
itorial, Then she got busy. She
told her husband that her southern
pride had been outraged and drag
ged In the dust. She declared that
the honor OF the family was at stake. |
She demanded revenge, and insisted |
that that revenge take the form ofde- |
feating Howell in his cherished am
bition to become governor. She as
sured Smith that he was the Real |
Big Noise in Georgia politics, and |
much more to the same effect.
That was over year ago. The
result is history.
There we're three other candidates
In the gubernatorial fight who also
ran. These were j. II. Estill, editor
of the Savannah News, Colonel James
Smith, a millionaire planter, and
Judge Richard Russell, a lawyer.
Russell was in many respects one
Of the spectacular figures Of the
campaign He was insistent in his
denunciation of race suicide and re-
ierred necessarily to his own large
family.
THE supreme moment Of my life"
he declared in one of his speeches,
will be when walk up Peachtree
street to enc governors mansion with