The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1912-03-29
POLITICAL CHAOS
RULES IN POLITICS
OF MAURy COUNTY
so MANY FRACTIONAL coNvEN-
TloNs AND PRIMARIES PEo-
PIE ARE PUZZLED.
REGULARS ARE UP IN The air
Love Patterson But Have Already
Endorsed vertrees Primary Plan.
General Disgust With the Situation
Is Expressed.

Seemingly Maury countians cave
taken but little interest in the 'aar-
mony" meeting at Nashville on Fri
day The conference was we'll at
tended by sometime regulars, irreg-
ular regulars and Independents from
other counties but Maury county fur
nished very few representatives. So
far as known no Independents went
from here and there were only one
or two of the "irregular-regulars"
who took the trouble to make the
journey to the capital city.
The plan as adopted by the thar
mony" meeting is seemingly very
lair one and had it stopped with the
election of electors and the appoint
nent of delegates to the national ton-
vention would have been fairly &C
ceptable in this county. However,
the provision for the selection OF a
new state executive committee is not
to the liking of the folks here who
are opposed to compromise of prin-
ciple. The independents figure it out
that if they go into the convention and
the liquor crowd which was in the
should capture the convention liz
uor state committee would be named
that would in turn nominate a liquor
candidate for governor. The indie
pendents of this county are not ready
to go into a meeting that might
pledge them to support liquor can
dldate and for that reason at this
time It looks like most Of them will
fight shy of the harmony" mcve-
ment.
The regulars" are really up in the
air locally There is no county in
the state where the regulars are more
intensely regular than Maury. They
have the habit of doing just what the
powers that be decree and now that
their leaders have gone to fighting
each other they simply do not know
where they are cat" The regulars
here are divided in their allegiance
between the Vertrees committee and
the Patterson thermometers. Patter-
son is the regular idol of the Maury
county regulars but they feel that in
fighting the Vertrees committee they
may become irregular the greatest
of political sins in their eyes. Pat
terson is unqlestionably a "bolter"
now, as much SO as any independent
in the state. Two years ago ne &C.
knowle6ged the democratic authority
Of the Vertrees committee, now he
has virtually repudiated it. The
question that is worrying many of
bis supporters in this county is
whether they can afford to follow
| Hill Ghu IuClCUy JCOpdlulAO luCll
party standing. Many of the regu-
lars admit that they are disguised
with the situation and within the past
week two who have been active in
the ranks have declared that they
expected to vote this year for men
and issues and not for party or fac
tIonal labels.
There has never been time when
politicsi matters were so chaotic in
this county. Officially the regulars
through their committee here have
approved the vertrees primary plan
Now can they jump the regular or
ganization in order to follow the
erstwhile game cock" of the politi-
cal walk? OF course the fact that
Patterson was the hero of the 'har-
mony" meeting at Nashville does not
increase the popularity OF that as.
sembly with the democrats of Old
Iaury.
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