Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-05-17
HoKE STAYS 4 PRIVATE CITIZEN.


!. Ex-Goy. Hoke Smith is wise man,
"a far-seeing politician, a keen judge
of the current public sentiment. He
demonstrated this on Saturday when
he informed his friends and support
ers throughout the state that he had
finally decided that he could not be a
candidate for governor again. They
must look elsewhere for a standard
bearer.
There is nothing really surprising
in this decision on the part of Mr..
Smith. He had everything to lose by
entering the political arena at this
time. There are no signs of any
widespread dissatisfaction with the
present administration. The people
generally are prosperous. Business
men everywhere are opposed to a
campaign of disturbance, of unset
Ting policies, such as Mr. Smith con-
Quoted four years ago, SO successfully,
and two years ago to his defeat. Four
years ago there was general air of
discomfort hanging over Georgia. 1t
was in common with a sentiment per-
yading the entire nation, bred by the
undertaking onslaughts against capt.
tai, corporations, industries in gen
eral. The common sense of the peo-
pie re-asserted itself the next year
after this, and today the political
harangrer along these lines speaks to
greatly diminished audience. The
credulity of many is not as strong
as it was four years ago, the conf
dence of vast host in the purity and
unselfish patriotism of some of the
successful leaders of that day has
been badly shaken, if not entirely de-
stroyed. The political atmosphere has
been wonderfully clarified and voters
are better able to see men as they are
and not accept them entirely on their
professions.
There is no reason to believe that
the former governo~ could be elected
this year. He would put up a great
fight, of course. He is an able and
hard campaigner. But the psychology
ical conditions are not in his favor.
High prices for cotton, the passing Of
the panic, the substitution of a feeling
Of satisfaction for that of discomfort,
the better feeling between corpora
bions and the public-these things
destroyed the god upon which some
men grew borarily great. Just
now the public is not eager for any
re-introduction of elements of frfc-
ton in state affairs, they are not
clamorous for a Moses to lead them
into a promised land that has no
existence. He is too sagacious an
observer not to note them. He is too
shrewd a man to be lead away by the
clamor of a few friends whose warmth
of personal admiration for him blinds
J their eyes to the true situation. And
50 he has kindly but positively re-
fused to be led lamb to the
sacrifice.
Of course, this does not eliminate
Mr.. Smith from Georgia politics. To
the contrary, it can only be construed
as indicating that he has merely as
sumed waiting attitude The real
prize he covets is that of a United
States senatorship. The governorship
in the beginning was to be but a STEP
ping stone to this higher honor, this
more lasting official position. AS a
| senatorial candidate Mr.. Smith would
probably be stronger than as a guber-
material candidate Many men who
would not desire TO see him at the
head of the state government would
not be aVerse to seeing him occupying
! a seat in the senate at Washington
That may seem a strange contradiction
of Judgment, but any one who has
discussed politics to any extent with
people in various parts of the staUe
will speedily realize the truth of this
statement. That he will be a sena-
torial candidate at the first opportu-
nifty no one need question. Mr.. Smith
is above all things an opportunist.
Conditions do not favor him at this
particular moment in state politics,
so he simply awaits the time when
opportunity will once more seem TO
smile upon him.