The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1908-05-08

Oy the people. Inc SlSulHCanCe Va
this statement lies in the fact that un-
der the Constitution, United States
Senators must likewise be elected by
the Legislature and, therefore, accept
ing to this committee, they must not
be nominated by the people. First
the Office of Governor, and then the
next senatorial election must be held
firmly in the grasp of this dominating
and merciless machine
AN EFFORT TO
LEGALIzE GROSS WRONGS.
This plan simply legalizes a whole
sale system of disfranchiSement ana
false counting. Under this system a
majority OF one counts just as mucn
as a majority of 1000. Ii one candt
date should carry the county OF Greene
ny majority OF 1000 and the other
The county of Shelby by majority OF
one vote, one candidate would have
a thousand majority in the popular
vote while the other would have four
times as much strength in the conven-
ton. When my opponents say that
am imagining mere possibilities, call
attention to the fact that there was
difference of only eighty votes be-
tween Cox and Patterson in the great
county of Davidson, and a difference
of only seventeen votes between Sen
ator Taylor and myself in the great
County of Knox. There were, in fact,
numbers of counties in which the diff
ference in the popular vote between
us ranged from one to fifty votes.
Remember that in convention each
delegate casts in effect one hundred
notes.-the ciphers are omitted simply
for convenience of calculation. Let
us suppose that the same Democratic
vote will be cast in this contest as in
the last presidential election; let us
suppose that one candidate gets 1,644
votes and the other 1,643 votes in
Hamilton County. What would be the
result? The 1,643 voters would not
only be absolutely disfranchised, but
their proportion of the Democratic
strength would be counted for the
man they voted against, and he would
be given the entire Democratic
strength of the county.
"My countrymen, you have doubt
less had some fraud in your primary
contests, but do you believe that in
all the history of this county as many
as 1,643 votes were cast for one candi-
date and fraudulently counted for the
other? Yet this is the scheme de-
liberately provided for and legalized
by this committee.
A SCHEME TO NOMINATE A
REAL MINORITY CANDIDATE.
"Under this plan candidate might
carry twenty-five of the larger coun-
IN, bo tot hU nnn11nr m a.
iority of only twenty-five votes, and
yet would have a larger representa-
ton in convention than his competi-
tor, although he might get every vote
in every other county in the state and
have a popular majority of $4,000.
Under this plan the man who got
thirty-eight votes in the little county
of Unicoi would have more strength In
convention than the man who received
sixteen hundred votes in Hamilton,
fifteen hundred votes in Knox, fifteen
hundred votes in Lauderdale, fifteen
hundred votes in Gibson, thirty-eight
hundred votes in Davidson, and forty
three hundred votes In Shelby. These
thirty-eight votes in one little county
would be worth more to the man who
received them than fourteen thousand
l. votes Ill Lu6 Six great DCLuOCIdLlC
counties of Tennessee.
"In a paper recently sent out by
Gov. Patterson's committee, the amaz-
ing statement is made that under his
plan fraud in one county will not az
feet the vote in any other county So
far from this being true, under this
plan the effect of fraud in any county
may be multiplied over and over
again upon the general result. 1t is
easily possible under this plan for
one fraudulent vote in one county to
overcome thousands of honest votes
in other counties. Let us suppose
that candidate by the bribery of one
hundred loafers and vagabonds should
succeed in carrying the great county
of Shelby by one vote. Under the d.
rect primary he would get the advan-
tage of the one hundred votes thus
corrupted and no more. Under Gov.
Patterson's plan, because of this
fraudulent and dishonest majority OF
one vote, he will be given further
fraudulent. and dishonest majority OF
eighty-seven hundred votes, the en-
tire Democratic strength Of the
county.
VIRTUE SUBSEQUENT TO VICE.
81 ask you, my countrymen, what
sort of system is it which makes an
honest and incorruptible voter against
his will contribute to the strength and
power of vice and corruption?
LET us suppose that the whiskey
power pour it's corruption fund into
the county of Hamilton--as it will do
and should carry this county by
Il. Atr0
strength of the county would. by viz
t,,a of tbis ona vota ha delivered into