The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1912-03-16

Harmon or Underwood in the west.
but will have the active cooperation
of their friends in his effort to secure
western delegations.
The hope is that by dividing up in
,this way and working the somewhat
thread-bare 'favorite son" racket, the
combination will be able to control
enough delegations to the Baltimore
convention to prevent Governor Viii
sons receiving the nomination.
The Journalhas charged that such
combination exists, and now it is not
even denied. 1t is admitted that Har
mon and Clark do not even propose to
open campaign headquarters in Geor-
gia, but will leave the field to Under
wood.
They say it is courtesy to Under
wood" to make no contest with him
for the Georgia delegation. When
was this new rule of political ethics
adopted in Georgia? Who adopted it?
Why was it adopted? 1t is said that
Harmon, Clark, and Underwood are all
candidates for the Democratic nomi-
nation. None of them lives in Geor-
gia. Why then should the combination
deem it courtesy due to Underwood
without opposition from the other can
didates?
The explanation offered is that the
relations between Georgia and Ala
bama are intimate, and therefore the
other candidates should keep out Of
Georgia because Mr.. Underwood lives
in Alabama. This is about the most
absurd proposition that has been ad-
vanced in Georgia politics in several
years at least.
They call it Courtesy: we call it
dupIicity-plain unadulterated du
plicity such as seems to have an I'M
controllable fascination for the ma
chine politicians.
II is unfortunate for them that over
Jealous and misguided friends are
placing them in a position that must
be very repugnant to the people Of
Georgia who love fair play and believe
in straight politics. The truth is one
of the worst things against the candi-
dacy of any of these gentlemen is the
company in which they are found. The
old 'line-up" of politicians is sufficient
to defeat any man who permits his
candidacy to be managed by them.
The candidacy of Mr.. Underwood
was Matched in New York by an Ala
bama editor and two or three other
people, as charged by John E. Lathrop,
the Washington correspondent of the
Newark News, an independent paper
of New Jersey. Until it was found
necessary to have southern candi-
date, Mr.. Underwood was not deemed
of sufficient Importance to receive even
slight consideration as presidential
possibility; but a few political wealth
ercocks discovered along about De-
cember that neither the candidacy of
Harmon or Clark would go in the
south, but that Wilson was the over
whelming choice of the southern peo-
pie; they therefore concocted the
scheme to run Underwood in the south
to the exclusion of Harmon and Clark
in order that Wilson might be weak
ened in one of his strongholds.
This is the proposition that the peo-
pie of Georgia are asked to subscribe
to: Defeat Wilson with candidate
who has (perhaps invoIuntariIy), been
made a part Of political combination
to help stem the tide of Wilson's popu-
lar favor in the south because the
other two candidates were unable to
do so.
Whether Georgia should send a Will
son delegation to Baltimore or not, we
believe from the best information we
can obtain that Governor Wilson will
be nominated in spite of the combina-
ton. 1t seems now that he will have
sufficient number of delegations from
the west and the east and the north
and the south to assure him of the
nomination and to defeat those schem-
ing gentlemen who are seeking so
adroitly to substitute their own ia
vorites in the different sections of the
country for the popular choice.