Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-05-15
Nomination. Lam
vEXES LEADERS.
Democratic Executive Commit
tee Must Determine How Far
Unit Method Shall Apply.

One Of the particularly tough nuts
the state Democratic executive COM
mittee will be called upon to crack when
it assemblies to call the next general
state primary probably for August
is the question of the manner of noini-
mating Judges and solicitors general in
Georgia
There are some very sharp and en-
phatic differences of opinion among
politicians and aspi1ants for Office with
respect to this matter and it will re-
quire more than ordinary diplomacy
upon the part of the state comuzttee to
settle it with approximate satisfaction
10 all parties conce' ned
There are those who szoutly approve
Of the county unit plan of nominating
state house officers and governors. but
who, nevertheless, view with ala1m that
same plan with regard to the neminat-
ing Of judges and solicitors, They
point out that this plan might give
some large counties absolute control of
certain judicial circuits, to the utter
exclusion of the small counties therein
This, they affirm. would surely be UNI
democratic and unfair
There are others who maintain, Just
as stoutly. that the county unit being
fair and democratic within the state in
a large class Of elections, IT is fair and
democratic in ALL that the principle
applied to the governorship applies no
less surely to the judgeships and solic-
itorships. They aver that while II
might work to the seeming disadvan-
tege of one or two circuits. it surely
would be the fit and proper thing in the
vast majority of them. hence should be
adopted
Will Petition Committee.
Little If any doubt exists that the
committee will call a general primary
under the county unit plan; certainly
in so far as the COVE rnorship and the
state house officers are concerned II
doubtless will be petitioned to make an
exception of this in the matter Of Judge
ships and scholarships Whether IL
will agree to this petition is the prob
lem vexing good many ambitious
Georgians today Some are firmly Of
the opinion that it will; others are
equally as positive that it win not.
When, in 1895 the legislature d.
vested itself Of the right of electing
Judges and solicitors general and placed
It directly in the hands Of the people. it
provided that these officers might be
nominated by the various circuits. but
that they must be elected by the state
at large
There was at that time a very vigil
liant and aggressive Populist party in
Georgia-it had 45 members of the leg
islature of 1896 98-and the election Of
| judges and solicitors was arranged aft
er the fashion it was for the frank and
avowed purpose of preventing the cap
ture OF one or more iudgeships and So
llicitorships by the Pops
This rather queer and extraordinary
legal status Of the judgeships and So
licitorships. as concerns the selection
of the holders thereof, will be urged
before the state committee as a reason
why they should be treated as things
apart from the general scheme of
things political in Georgia and be sub
iected to special rules of nomination.
without reference to the other Offices.
That the state committee will see
anything conclusive in that argument
is a very wide open question