The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-18
Both Camps Marshalling Every Possible Influence
 in All Parts of State
PRESS TURNS MORE
 TO UNDERWOOD
Fight on Good and Strong Between Underwood and Wilson, and Between These It is to
 Be Settled

| Atlanta, March 17.-(Speeial, )-From ar
 Atlanta viewpoint the Underwood boom
 in Georgia is making rapid progress; il
 is apparently distancing the Wilson cam
 paign. The fight is on good and strong between Underwood and Wilson, and be- tween these 1t is to be settled, so far as the Georgia delegation is concerned, Both camps are marshalling every pos
 sible Influence in all sections of the state,
 and there is no prejudice in the state
 ment that the Underwood people nave so far gotten the best of the interviews and announcements.
 The Wilson management attempted re- gently to strike a severe blow at Under wood by publication of a recent article from McClure's magazine, in which, 1t
 appears. the most severe arraignment of the Alabama man was the statement that
 his father was Union man, al-
 though he did not fight on the Union side in the war, and that MT. Underwood be-
 came an Alabamian by accident, having l moved there, instead of being born there. Attacks Replied To
 How this could do any material damage Is not apparent, but 1t seems to be giving
 an immense lot of satisfaction to the Wilson camp. Manager c. R. Hutchens
 of the Underwood headquarters has .re-
 piled to this and other attacks by stat ing that he has no time to deal in per-
 sonal criticism of any democratic candi-
 date, and concluding: If MT. Wilson 8
 managers wish to abuse the leaders of the party I leave them in their own les peration to the thousands of loyal dem ocrats of this state, and may the Lord have mercy on their souls"
 Apparently, judging from editorial com ment. the press of the state is turning more and more to Underwood, and the most favorable to his candidacy.
 Woodrow Wilson's friends control the state democratic executive committed Whether they made a mistake or not in adopting the rule which excludes the mi nority from the state convention called on May 20 to name delegates to the dem ocratic national convention in Baltimore
 time will tell.
 County Unit Plan
 The friends of MT. Underwood and his managers are making the most or II, naturally. The same plan was tried in 1908 when Gov. Hoke Smith ran for re- election and was defeated by Joseph M. Brown. The appeal to the country coun- ties upon the ground that a plan pro-
 posing to give the successful candidate
 the entire representation in the state con vention. had the effect of shutting them
 out and putting political control in the hands of the city counties, had it's effect, and for long time no politician dared to attack the county unit plan.
 The effect of a convention composed entirely of friends of the candidate who gets the plurality in the state will be to give him the solid Georgia delegation, thus removing also congressional district representation. One candidate might
 carry two or three or four congressional districts, and yet under this plan. if en-
 other gets a plurality in the entire state he gets the states entire vote.
 On the other hand, 1t is pointed out
 that it has been Georgias custom to send
 an instructed delegation to national con ventions and generally under the unit rule; and that the effect of convention all of whose members are friends of the candidate receiving the plurality vote in the state would be the same. Still, the old plan gave the minority an opportuni- ty to he heard and to some extent to par tcipate sometimes through second choice resolution.
 Such a resolution was offered in the re- cent executive committee meeting. but opposition developed to 1t and it was
 withdrawn.