The log cabin Democrat. [volume] (Conway, Ark.) 1908-current, 1913-05-30
THE FIGHT ON BRUNDTDGE.

the opposition to Mr.. Brundidge's can
didacy for governor have confined
their attack on him to the issue that
he was unable in his race against SEN
ator jeff Davis to carry his home
county.
If this is the only reason that can
be urged against Mr. Brundidge's
election he is certainly in fortunate
position.
When the facts are fully under
stood the remarkable feature of that
race was not that Mr.. Brundidge lost
White county, but that he lacked only
hundred-odd votes of carrying it.
In order to appreciate the situation
one must be familiar with the political
history of White county for a number
of years. With the rise of the Popu-
list party to power in this state. White
county stood in the front rank and at
once became known as the leading CEN
ter of Populism in Arkansas. 1t re-
manned in the Populist column longer
perhaps than any other county in the
state.
But during all this time, though in
the ranks of pitiful minority, Steph-
en- Brundidge remained a Democrat.
Believing that the Democratic party
stood for more that was right and
true than the Populist party, and that
right and truth must in the end pre-
vail, he refused to join the majority
and fought with all his earnestness
and power to restore Democratic rule
Naturally his course engendered pre-
Juci-cs among his own people that
Were not forgotten even when the
Populist party died and its members
returned to the Democratic fold
But this was not all. Mr.. Brun-
didge was candidate against jeff
Davis, who was seeking reelection for
a second term. White county being a
center of Populism and radicalism, the
utterances of Mr.. Davis, radical in the
extreme, arousing class prejudices and
backed up by personal magnetism,
the equal of which had never been felt
in Arkansas politics, appealed with
peculiar force to the people of that
county. From the day Davis entered
state politics, White county was solid
ly, almost unanimously, for him. Not
only would it support him, but it uni
formly supported every candidate
whom Davis was known to favor. Ev-
en- when Governor Donaghey, in his
race for a second term, carried 70 of
the rs counties, White was one of the
two which gave Kavanaugh major
ity, simply because Senator Davis had
written a few letters in his favor.
Neither Mr. Brundidge nor any 9TH
er citizen of White county could have
carried that county against Senator
Davis. We doubt if any citizen of
Faulkner county against Senator Da-
Wis, although this county was by no
means as strong Davis county as
White The great mass of White coun-
TVS people were so strongly for Da
Wis that scores of them would have
voted against a brother opposed to
Davis.
Another fact which added to Mr.. |
Brundidges difficulties was that he
had served for number of years as
prosecuting attorney of his district,
during which time he waged relent-
less war against law-breakers of every
class. He was regarded as one of the
strongest prosecutors in the state, and
inevitably won the hatred of many
who had felt the sting of his legal
lash.
In addition to this, White county
suffers no little from internal dissen-
sions due to rivalry between it's towns.
Beebe has always wanted to be the
county seat and Searcy has always de-
sired to retain it. Mr.. Brundidge was
born and reared in Searcy, and in the
conflicts that have come up between it
and other towns, he has stood by his
home town and led it's fights. This
explains in part why he lost but Ia
votes in Searcy in his race against
Senator Davis, yet was defeated in the
county.
Judge Hays is doubtless good man
and would probably make a good gov
ernor. But Mr.. Brundidge is also a