Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1911-11-28

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The eighteen counties Of = the
Ninth congressional district. with
an aggregate OF a unit votes,
present q battling study In state pcli-
tios as far as the gubernatorial cam-
paign Is concerned Some OF the ooun-
ties may be properly classified with ref
erence to the relative strength of ths
three aspirants, but In q vast majority
of them there has been 50 little cryz-
utilization Of sentiment a. to make e
impossible to indicate with any dsxrea
Of certainty which OF the rivals has the
better chance.
The district covers Q large area. ana
most Of the counties are inaccessible
because Of their remote location Il
stretches from point within 20 miles
OF Atlanta to the North Carolina and
Tennessee boundaries Of the state, TAX
ing in all OF the mountainous section
Of northeast Georgia. from the routs
Of the old Atlanta ami Knoxville RAN
road east to the South Carolina border.
Understanding the geographical forma-
ton Of the district and considering its
vast area. It is easier 70 recognize the
difficulties In the way of getting an ac-
curate line on the politics Of the several
counties.
THE CHIEF DRAWBACK.
But the remote location of the counties
and the inadequate means of communi-
cation with them directly are not the
least obstacles that interfere with fair
and impartial summary OF the senti-
ment throughout the district. The pro-
nounced apathy OF the people-the men
who do the voting-is the chief draw
pack This apathy. which seems more
pronounced than elsewhere in Geor-
gia, may be attributed to the re-
mote location OF the counties Neither
candidates nor campaign managers have
penetrated this section as yet. and mani
festations of even mild interest are
sporadic.
The best that can be said Of the dis
trict. In fairness to all of the candf-
dates, is that, considered as q whole. Il
is much like Hall county-nghting
ground-with the chances about even az
between the contestants.
And in classifying Hall county a.
fighting ground, it Is wen enough to
observe that this doesn't mean It Is q
fertile field for the campaign orator.
The same seems to be true OF the entire
district, with one or two possible ex-
captions. It has been demonstrates
in Gainesville that the people Will not
interest themselves in public political
meetings. They will NOT turn out. ana
all of the orators In Georgia couldn't
enthuse the men who do the voting.
But the candidate who gets into the
Ninth district and makes the best sys-
tematic canvass is the candidate who
will have the better chance of winning
in this tier Of counties. This doesn't
mean that the candidate himself must
make house to house canvass, talking
directly withN the voters. but IT does
mean that the candidate twill have the
better chance whose friends concern
themselves enough to make such cam
vass for him.
TIME ENOUGH REMAINS.
Although less than two weeks remain
before the primary, there Is stfIl tins
enough for the friends OF the candidates
to canvass the Ninth district, and
the man who gets in with the most e.
fective work Of this sort will come out
of the Ninth district ewith majority Of
its unit votes on the night Of December
7th.
There are three counties In the Ninth
district that have four unit votes each.
They are Hall, Gwinnett and jackson.
They are. according to alphabetical ar
Banks. Cherokee, Dawson.
Fannin, Forsyth. Gilmer, Habersham.
Lumpkin, Milton. Pickens. Rabun, Ste
phens, Towns. Union and White.
Judge Russell and Ex-Governor Brown
each have natural claims that should
give them an advantage In parts Of the
Ninth district, and In some cases this
advantage is apparent, II reports ars
to be believed
Judge Russell has lived In Jackson
county for many years. and his judi
cial circuit embraced counties in that ter
ritory This should give him an advant-
age in these counties.
Ex-Governor Browns country home "a
in Cherokee county, and he has a long
line of family connections who are still
prominent there. Moreover, he has q !
wide personal acquaintance in Pickens,
Gilmer, Fannin and other counties of
that immediate vicinity: also. he is be-
lieved to be strong throughout the noun
tain section because he himself is a son
OF the mountains. and this is supposed to
help him in a number Of counties upon
which he has no direct claim.
COL. POPE BROWN
Col Pope Browns advantage, or rather.
his strength, comes from the fact that,
he is the only farmer in the race, and
that he is recognized as the prohibit
ton candidate. The district is largely.
if not entirely agricultural. and most OF
the counties have been legally dry for
many years.
of the relative strength Of the candi-
dates in the several districts would be-
more or less arbitrary, owing to the sew
eral conditions that have been mention-
ed It is possible, however, to consider
the counties on their past political his
tory and the different personal cam
paigns.