The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-06-08

In an editorial few days after the
second primary-said editorial bearing
the stamp of Welsh rarebit the night
before and big sight-draft next
morning-you said:
THE people became aroused TO the
blunder they had made in giving
Claude LEngle so large vote, but
only imperfectly and too late for rec
tification- IL they had been brought
to see the colossal folly they had COM
mitted a week sooner, or If the last pri
mary election could have been post
poned for a single week. Toomer would
have been the nominee instead of
L'Engle. and the state would have been
saved the humiliating necessity of
sharing with Kansas the infamy Of be-
ing considered the breeding place of
political freaks
In the first primary, there We're six
candidates for congressman at large,
and 50,532 votes were cast, of which
EEngle received 22,074. In the second
primary, LEngle received $1,000 votes,
and Toomer, his only opponent, 1880.
LEngle received in the second race
5000 more votes than in the first one.
Toomer. representing the combined OPP
position to LEngle, received in the sec
ond race 5,098 votes less than all the
candidates except LEngle in the first.
You are doubtless familiar with the
story Of little Johnny and how the cat
got out of the well. Johnny's teacher
gave him a mathematical example: If
a cat was in a well 100 feet deep,
climbed up two feet every day and fell
back three every night, how long would
it take the cat to get out Of the well.
Johnny covered his slate with figures,
then told his teacher, "1f L had two
more states, I'd have that cat in hell
in two hours" That was the proper
ton in which Toomer was gaining on
LEngle, and II the primary had been
postponed a week, as you suggest, it is
easy to imagine where Mr.. Toomer
would have landed.
In Marion county, in the first pri-
mary, LEngle received S19 votes. All
his opponents received 712- In the sec
ond, L'Engle received S99 votes; Toom-
er, 442. And TONERS friends worked
| hard for him.
| In the day after the last primary the
editor of the Star exchanged congratu&
lations with the following supporters
| of LEngle: The pastor of one of Ocala S
biggest churches. Three of our leading
physicians, one of them an old ia shion-
| ed democrat if there is one. Three law
| yers, two of them prominent in politics
as we'll as their profession. The pro-
| prietor of Ocala's biggest wholesale
| business. Two successful merchants
A well established and skillfu1 electric
ian. a naval stores operator and mer-
chant-a leading man in business and
politics in his district-from the south
ern end of the county. Two of the
| most prominent educators in the coun-
ty. All these. men are as well posted
4 on public affairs, as broad-minded and
as competent to pass judgment on men
and measures as any editor in the
state The Star is glad to be success
full with them. 1t would not be asham-
ed of their company if they were de-
feated..
| You finished your grouchy spiel with:
| Let us endeavor to profit by the les
sons of this campaign, laying them UP
| for use two years hence; and let us
| take care that that is the time limit OF
Claude L'Engle's tenure of Office
1t is democratic custom, established
/ by years of precedent, that if man is
elected to office and makes good to
give him second term. You proceed
1 to condemn L'Eng1e before he has been
| tried. On sober second thought, do
| you consider this fair.
We beg to inform you that the artf-
| Gle in question did you no good in
ocala and Marion county.