The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1913-03-05
CAUSES A MUDDLE|
GOV. BLEASE'S ACTION MIGHT
ELECT A NEGRO.
DANGEROUS SITUATION
The Legislature May be Asked to
Amend the Law in Reference to
the Primary so as the Democrats
Can Name q Candidate for Con-
gress.

gress.
The Charleston Evening Post says
the action of the Governor in ap-
pointing April 20 for the election Of
a Congressman from the First dis
trict, after the State Democratic ex-
ecutive committee had fixed May 27
as the date for a primary to noml-
nate a candidate, has thrown the sit
uation into great confusion, and no.
body seems to know just what should
be done. If the matter remains as it
now stands there will be no regular
Democratic candidate to go into the
election, and it will be a free-for-all
fight in that election for anybody
who chooses to enter, with bare
plurality of the vote cast sufdcing to
elect.
Gov. Blease announced the ap-
pointment of the day for the election
or Saturday night. He states that in
his opinion the First district should
have a representative in Congress as
early as possible in the extraordinary
session about to be called, and that
the State executive committee has
unnecessarily extended the time for
choice. The committee, he says,
did not confer with him, nor take
into consideration his view, announc-
ed some time ago, that the election
should be held about the middle of
April. The Governor said he thought
the election should be held in April
and he had, in consequence appoint
ed the goth Of that month as the day
for it.
Mr.. W. H. Grimball, Of Charleston,
! who attended the meeting of the
State committee on Friday in place
Of Capt. G. H. Swan, the committee
man from Charleston county, who is
in Washington, stated Monday that
the committee had fixed the primary
for May 27 as the early date avail
! able in view Of the laws relating to
primaries held in Charleston county,
which require that the rolls shall be
filed with the county auditor 60 days
before the primary and that 80 days
be allowed for enrolment before the
| rolls are filed. He said that he did
not know what would be done to
solve the problem made by the Gov
| ernor.
None of the candidates who. have
announced for the Office was prepar-
ed to talk of the situation. All who
were seen were strong in expressing
a hope that a primary would be held
but how this was to be brought about
none was prepared to suggest. The
plan which has already been propos-
by The Evening Post-that the
Legislature be requested to pass q
special act, avoiding the special reg
ulations for fling Of the rolls, a2c
authorizing the holding Of the pri'
mary on the enrolment accepted fol
the primary Of last August-appeal
ed to great many people who con
sidered the situation, and it wa:
pointed out that it was not too late
to have such an act put through the
General Assembly, which will prob
ably be in session the rest Of this
week.
The registered vote Of the district
is, all told, probably not more thar
5000, Of which 1000, say, are Re
publicans. The Democratic vote al
an election would be about 5000
There are now seven candidates IN
the race for Congressman, and there
is held may be more before the exec
tion is held. If the seven now in the
race should divide equally the Demo
cratic strength in the general cleo
ton, each would have about $50
votes. AS a plurality Of the votes
cast is all that is needed to elect, a
candidate receiving 900 votes might
be elected, though that would be
only seven and half per cent. of the
primary strength Of the Democrats OF
the district, the vote in the last pri'
mary having been about $4,000.
"The action Of Governor Blease in
| ordering the election in the first con-
gressional district to be held on April
27, will probably mean that no pri-
mary election will be held and that
the Democratic party will go to the
polls without a regular nominee u
This statement was made Monday
morning to a reporter for The Spar
tanburg Journal by John Gary Evans,
chairman OF the executive committee
of the party in this State. Contlnu-
ing, Mr.. Evans said: "The negro
vote in the first district is larger
than in any other district Of the
State, and it may be possible In a
close race, for the negro to hold the
balance of power. In that event it
will just be scramble among the
candidates for the negro vote"