The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1910-04-21


Constitutional Convention was to get rid of
the Constitution which had been adopted
when the Republicans, carpet-baggers, and
negroes had control of the State. Our peo-
pie felt that it was humiliation to rest I'M
der fundamental law framed by such peo-
pie. Besides, the granting of State aid to
private enterprises and the lavish waste of
public funds, had gone to such lengths, that
it was universally felt that the Treasury
should be protected from public plunderers.
Again, General Robt. Toombs, who had fled
to Europe after the failure of the Confed-
eracy, had made careful study of railroad
management over there, where public owner
ship, or public control, prevails; and he de
sired to create a railroad commission which
would protect the people from the extortion
of railroad monopoly.
Therefore, wher the people elected their
best men in 1877, and sent them to Atlanta,
they had in view the laying down Of the gen
eral rule which should control the conduct of
natural and artificial citizens. (The artificial
citizen IS the corporation, created by law.)
The Constitution, nowhere, undertakes to
prescribe how our political parties should
hold their conventions, make their nomina-
tons, and conduct their campaigns. But, in
laying down the law as to elections, the
trainers of the Constitution are conczusiUezy
presumed to have had in mind the political
customs which have prevailed in this country
almost from the very foundation of our Cow
eminent. Since the days of George WASH
ington, we have had, as in England and Con-
tnental Europe, what is known as pa1ty8
Government We have always had, as they
have abroad, more than one political party.
It is great calamity to this country that
people are not split up into greater num-
Der of political groups. Where there are only
two political parties, 1t Is azaoays practically
certain that the same influences qOiW control
both Plutocracy rides the Republican party
as long as Plutocracy gets what it wants from
it; but when the people turn against the Re
publicans, Plutocracy simply secures control
of the other party. When you see such men
as Thos F. Ryan and August Belmont con-
trolling the national Democratic party, you
don't need to be told that the people have
nothing to hope from it. For instance, when
Mr.. Cleveland was elected, we had the most
corrupt and greedy corporations in full con-
troll. It was under his second term, that the
tobacco trust and the sugar trust got the
legislation which has enabled them to rob the
people of so many hundreds of millions of
dollars.
AS there are always a number of different
political parties, it is always necessary to
make nominations, and the Constitution
makers of Georgia were bound to know that
fact. Each party decides for itself, how it
shall make it's nomination. But if the nomi-
nation is made in way which violates the
manner in which our fundamental law pro-
rates political power, between the larger and
the smaller counties, aor0ny IS inflicted upon
the people. The method prescribed by the
Constitution for representation Of the vaa'ious
counties IN the Legjs7ctro ought to dictate
the method in which the various counties
b. 4oI