Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-05-14
GEORGIA DEMOCRACY
BE BRAZENL.Y .SWINDLED2

The ant1-Wllson politicians in Georgia nave car
ried the first point of their cunningy contrived
game They have succeeded in diverting the states
vote to a nominal candidate who never has been
truly in the contest and never win be- Under the
guise of advancing the interests of Mr. Underwood,
they have efectually pocketed Georgas influence in
the national convention for themselves And now
they are making ready to- press their scheme to it's
real ISSUE which is trade the states delegation
to some other candidate of their own selection
some unknown quantity. not once considered by the
people
That this was the purpose of the anti-Wilson
clique, The Journal predicted months ago; and now
that the primary is over events are rapidly proving
that such true. Already they are skulking back
IRON the virtual mandate of the people that II Con-
gresham Underwood cannot be nominated Georgias
support should then be given to Woodrow Wilson as
the voters second choice.
why do they retreat fearsomely from this
proposition?
No one denies that Mr. Underwood Georgias
first choice No suggests that the states oele-
gates should abandon his cause until it has been
demonstrated that he has no cLance of the nomina-
ton or his name is withdrawn But we insist that
if Mr. Underwood is eliminated from the convention
it will then become the inescapable duty OF the
Georgia delegates to cast their ballots for Governor
Wilson as a matter of square dealing with the peo-
pie they represent For, Wilson Nas clearly the
second choice of the voters in the recent primary as
Underwood the first choice
We concede that these politicians have tie states
delegated vote under their thumb. They can, II
they WILL treat it, not a popular trust but as
bag of political booty to be tracked and sold for
their own profit They can, if they WILL cast per-
functory vote for Mr.. Underwood and then, utterly
ignoring the rights and the wishes of the Georgia
people, slip the states support to choice OF their
own.
There is no doubt that this is what they want
to do and what they are conspiring to do but VIII
they dare to go so far and fling so brazen piece Oh
jobbery in the face of the people?
Whether they voted for Underwood or for Wilson,
the Democrats of Georgia should take heed of the
audacous fraud which is about to be thrust upon
them The interests that masked behind tie Under
wood candidacy have already, if signs mean any
thing thrown aside Thomas E. Watson, whose sup
port was responsible for their victory. They have
got out of him all they could and he is of no further
use to them. Their next logical step will be to
throw over Underwood himself This will be less
difficult and graceful task simply for the
reason that the Alabama congressman is not really
in the contest for nomination and will vanish from
the convention as a candidate after preliminary
ballot or two Their fixed and ultimate design is
ddate that Georgia does not believe in and has not
even remotely Endorsed considered
If this we're not their scheme, why should they
be so chary of the proposition to support Wilson
in the event a second choice must be declared!
That this is their bounden duty cannot be denied
with any sense of sincerity. In the presidential
primary Governor Wilson received one OF the
largest votes ever accorded any candidate in this
state, vote second only to that cast for Mr.. I'm
derwood.
1t should be noted, too that in every state where
primaries have yet been held, except in Nebraska,
Governor Wilson has been the peoples second choice
where he has not been their first. In the majority
of instances he has first, but if not first then
second.
Thus the Democratic sentiment of the country at
large supplements and confirms that of Georgia and
makes it as clear noontde that if the delegates
from this state are called upon to express second
preference, they hould-folIow the path already
blazed out by the people themselves and vote for
Woodrow Wilson In Maryland Clark has been de-
clared the first choice and Wilson the second; and
the delegates from that commonwealth must act
accordingly. In South Carolina, Wilson came first
and Underwood second. If, then the South Carolina
delegates should be called upon to express second
choices they would of necessity go to Underwood.
The fact is this point is obvious that it re-
quires elaboration to commend its essential truth
to any rght-thinking Nor the politicians
who, for the moment in the saddle in Georgia,
ignore this truth and duty without wantonlyl be-
traying the peoples rights.
The voters of Georgia have said emphaticaIIv
that Wilson is their second choice for the presiden
tial nomination. The delegates to the Baltimore
convention will be morally committed so to act If
they act otherwise, they will have proved traitor
to the state traitorous to every sense of poit
cal honesty and decency Georga's vote we repeat
is not thing to be bartered and sold. 1t must be
cast first for Underwood, and as long as he is
before the convention. 1t must be cast next for
Wilson. To do otherwise will be nothing less than
to swindle the people
The vice presidential is still uneventful