The Marietta journal and courier. (Marietta, Ga.) 1909-1918, 1910-05-06
HON. GORDON LEE
IS IN THE RACE
Sees No Reason Why He
Should Not Run And
Formally Announces.
To the People of the Seventh Congress-
ional District

To the People of the Seventh Congress.
ional District
While primary for the nomination
of a candidate for the sixty second
/ Congress from this District has not yet
| been called, | nevertheless find that
owing to the fact that one candidate has
already announced for the position and
begun an active campaign, there seems
to be quite a general desire for a final
expression from me as to what my at
titude to that question will be. l am
therefore sending out this letter as my
answer
Some three years ago Judge Moses
Wright and l entered into an agreement
III which it was stipulated that he should
not be a candidate for Congress in 1908,
Che having been recently elected Judge
-ot the Rome Circuit for four years. and
that | should not be a candidate for
Congress i'll 1910. We did this in good
faith and without any idea that such an
arrangement would meet with serious
opposition from the public. Very soon
afterwards published in my card of
announcement two years ago, the result
OF my agreement in so far as it related
to myself. From that time until the
present | have been the recipient of
cards, letters, petitions and personal
expressions running into many thous-
ands i'll the aggregate, protesting against
my retirement at this time, basing their
objections upon the fact that nv ser
vices i'll Congress had resulted in much
material good to the District, and that
my accumulated experience had better
fitted me for further and more useful
service. These objections on the part
of the people had grown so numerous
that i'll October last, before his resigna-
ton from the bench, I wrote Judge
Wright advising him that my name
might probably go before the primary
this year, and have his answer thereto.
If the matter involved in this agree.
ment between Judge Wright and myself
had been one of private nature, and
over which we had full control, without
reference in our respective duties to
the public, the agreement would have
to stand i'll all particulars, so far as l
am concerned; but, inasmuch as the
matter sought to be disposed of by that
agreement was public offlce-a public
trust which it was the right and duty
OF the people to bestow upon whomso-
ever they deemed best fitted for the
service, when the time arrived for max
ing choice, and that agreement if ad-
hered to, limited their right to a free
and unrestricted choice of their repre-
sentative in Congress, it is plain to me
now, and | presume is equally so to
Judge Wright, that we erred in seeking
to restrict or to interfere in any way
with this free exercise of their franchise
by our constituents. We were at that
time both public officers in the enjoy
ment of public honors and emolunents.
and under oath to serve the public to
the best of our ability. To whatever
extent that or any other private agree
ment between us trenched upon the
rights of the people to choose their own
officers, to that extent we were wrong.
Impressed with these convictions. and
Ill order to ascertain definitely and reli.
ably the views of the people upon the
question as it related to myself, l sent
out letter of inquiry over the district
some months ago, asking if it was the
wish of the people that my name shonld
go before the primary this year The
affirmative responses to that inquiry
have been greater III number than any
candidate for Congress has ever received
votes at primary election III this dis
trict OF this fact | am prepared to
furnish indisputable evidence. This
direct referendum of the question to the
individual voter, and the reply thereto,
lett 1t no longer matter of doubt in my
mind as to the course l should pursue.
II Judge Wright should insist upon the
binding force of the private agreement
between us, the issue will be between
him and the people who ask that my
name go before the primary. I am in
dulging the hope that he will not object
to our giving the people the greatest
possible freedom of action in selecting
anyone they prefer to serve them in the
next congress.
The peoples will has been, and shall
be my law.
know of no reason why should re-
fuse to allow my name to go before q
primary under these circumstances. nor
can l understand how anyone should OBJ.
Ject, except for selfish reasons. If the
people prefer some other representative
they should have the right to say so