The Marietta journal and courier. (Marietta, Ga.) 1909-1918, 1914-05-15
POLITICAL GOSSIP.


Considerable stir has been created
over the State by several cards OF
Chairman VIM. J. Harris calling
attention to provisions in the Prim-
airy rules which may cause much dis
satisfaction with the work of the
Convention.
Colonel Harris thought the Demo-
cratic Committee should meet and
staighten the matter out, but the
members are unwilling to do so.
There is a possibility that the Con-
vention will get into row at the
start. 1t is almost certain to be
dead-locked
The rules have set the Democratic
party back to the old days of Con-
vention nominations which almost
split the party about thirty years
ago.
Most people attend to their bust
ness and let politics go hang. That's
where they are smart, but at the
same time it keeps them from gel
ting on to the curves of the politl-
clans.
So, will explain what the row is
about
On the 18th of August the people
will vote for one governor, two SEN
ators, Judges of nearly all the courts,
Congressman, members of the Legis-
lature and other officials too numec-
Gus to mention.
The Constitution of the State pro-
vides that in the regular election in
October the voters shall vote directly
for the man who is to be governor
and that he must receive majority
of all the votes cast in the state If,
several years ago, when three men
were running, Gov. Brown had re-
ceived 100000 and Hoke Smith had
received $4,000 and Mr.. Walker had
received 1000 it would not have elect
ed Governor Brown The matter
would have been thrown into the
Legislature and the Legislature
would have elected whichever of the
two highest it preferred Now that
is the law. 1t is the Constitution of
the State. A candidate must receive
a MAJORITY of all the votes cast,
else the IppiSIature elects
The present Primary election sys-
TEN is an evolution. Just after the
war every election was a farce |
voted numbers of times before | was
twenty-one. Everybody did who
cared to, and the man who could buy
the most niggers carried the election.
When we got sick of that sort of
thing and the white people began to
get together, first in county conven-
tiOns, Court House rings ran things.
The crowd that got into the Court
House first carried the election
sent up its delegates to the State
NOMINATIONS,
The man who presided over the Court
House meeting knew what he was
there for and no matter how the
vote was he declared the result to
suit himself. I've seen it with my
own eyes.
But as the people got tired #
the rotten work with negroes who
were paid for their votes with money
or whiskey or both, so they got tired
of the corrupt court house mass NEE.
ings and adopted the Primary. II
was rotten too in spots, but for years
the effort has been in the direction
of the clean and honorable thing be-
tween the white men of the state
The tendency has been in the di-
rection of meeting the requirements
of the Constitution of the State, that
the man who serves as Governor shall.
have received, not merely more votes
IMAM any oJler man running, but al
least half Of the total vote. The idea
is that a man who serves as Goverros
must be the choice of a majority of
the people. In the campaign of 1906
there were five candidates and if
the vote had been anything like even
ly divided a Governor could have
been nominated who was the choice
of but one-fourth the people.
1t is not to be expected that the
rules provided at the meeting Of the
State Committee in Atlanta on April
4th will be changed. What l am