Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-08-18
The County Democr..tio situation.

democratic situation, loo ally speaking,
and with these The Argus will cease
allusion to this weeks proceedings in
the senatorial convention of the Thir-
ty-third district at Keithsburg. In the
primaries in which the choice of the
party in the county was made for min
ority representative, the total vote of
the party in the county W as overwhelm-
lingly for Britton, who received 426 to
121 for Looney and II for Werts, the
Henderson county man. Britton car
ried not only every district but every
precinct in the county on the candidate
ballot, which ought to be &C cepted as a
reasonably fair criterion as to the senti-
ments of the democrats on the ques-
ton of choice Yet the candidate who
received but a fourth as many
votes ignored the party's expression of
choice together with its unmistakable
demand for home candidate, and pass
ed the nomination over to an adjoin-
ing county that had enjoyed the office
for two successive terms before, and
bestowed the party's honor on an aspir-
ant who had been given but II votes in
Rock Island county.
Two years ago when George A.
Cooke was running for reelection, he
made a public pledge to the democrats
of Rock Island county in explanation
of the attitude Of his county in again
Selling the nomination by means OF
mass convention held in his own county.
That pledge was that if he secured his
seat once more his friends in the lower
end would two years hence be for the
candidate for whom the democrats of
Rock Island county might express
themselves, provided only that ne be
a representative democrat in good
standing The first time Mr. Cooke re-
ceived the nomination by the means
that he did, the courts rec
ognized the extraordinary proceeding
and the democrats here accepted it as
having some justification; at least they
did their part in electing MIR. Cooke,
although he was fought throughout the
district, and the county ticket slaugh-
tered by the same element with which
his friends have now made books to
defeat the will of the party in this
county. Two years ago the democrats
protested against the repetition of the
mass meeting convention in Mercer
county, but it was of no avail. Mr.
Cooke was willing to accept his chances
in nomination so made. There were
scores of democrats in this county
whose feelings The Argus shared, who
felt that Mr.. Cookies second mass con-
vention was unwarranted and unfair to
the party in this county, but who never
theless upheld the ticket on party
grounds and did all in their power to
insure his election. Mr.. Cooke was
defeated for reelection, partly because
of the mass convention procedure. but
largely because he did not realize his |
own danger, although repeatedly warn
ed of it, He contested the election be- !
fore the house of representatives at |
Springfield and was seated. So he got
his seat anyway.
This year the democrats of Rock Is |
land county expressed themselves on !
a choice for representative in a man
ner that could not be misunderstood |
In the endorsement of Mr. Britton, |
representative democrat, and it was |
up to Mr.. Cooke to make good his |
promise. But instead he insisted that |
Mercer county should still dictate the |
nomination, and to accomplish that re-
suit ignored the party here by accept
ing terms with a faction so much in
the minority as to be scarcely worthy |
of recognition in the convention. Find
ing at the outset that they were face to |
face with broken promises on. the part 4
of their Mercer county neighbors, who.
from every appearance had already Il
made their deal with the minority, the |!
Britton delegates after waiting a suf-
ficient length of time to convince them
selves of the situation. left for home.
The ultimate developments bear out
their surmises.
There is q splendid opportunity to
elect a democratic senator from the
Thirty-third district this year, and the