The Springdale news., 1914-06-12
SENATOR CLARKE IN COMPLETE CONTROL AT ALL SESSIONS KIRBY HAS SMALL FOLLOWING

The Democratic convention at Pine Bluff adjourned Thursday about l D. m. The vote for United States Senator was taken about noon and after this it did not take the convention long to complete it's work Little Rock was chosen as the meet ing place for the convention in 1916.
 Friends of Senators Clarke and Robinson were in absolute control of the convention. All of them were familiar with contest proceedings in- stituted by Judge Kirby before the State Committed and had they been turned loose would have ended the matter within thirty minutes after the convention was organized. At a caucus of the Clarke delegates be- fore the convention convened Senator Clarke insisted that Judge Kirby and his friends be given respectful hearing, and that if any new evi- dence indicating fraud in any way way be presented that it be inVesti gated In fact Senator Clarke ex- hibited spirit of fairness through out that was most commendable, ano won the appreciation of all For days before the convention met his friends endeaYored to get an expression from him as to who he wanted for chairman of the conF Fention, but he steadfastly declined to make a choice, saying that anyone whom the state committee might select would be en- tirely satisfactory to him. Seeing that he was determined in the mat ter, a few hours before the conyen- tion was called to order friends of Senator Clarke and Senator Robin son got together and decided on the officers of the convention. These were Judge John NJ Elliott of Pine Bluff and Heartsill Ragon Of Johnson County, who were elected as tenn porary officers and later permanent officers
 \ special committee was appointed to consider the contest of Judge iKr- by, the committee being composed of both Clarke and Kirby delegates. This committee was appointed We'd nesday afternoon, and reported Thurs day morning, the majority report rec ommending the nomination of Sena- tor Clarke, and being signed by E. C. fIorner, Ernest Neill, T. I. Hearn, Wood Rainwater. and Jas. R. Catham. The minority report, signed by Allen Windham and Isaac Mcclellan, rec commended that committee be sent to Poinsett County to make an inves- tigaton.
 Committee Report.
 The majority report, which was first presented to the convention, was as follows.
 TO The Democratic State Conven-
 tion:
 Your committee on contest, 10 whom was referred the matter of rec ommending procedure for the further progress of the contest of Kirby vs Clarke, beg leave to report as fol- lows
 'First-That the distinct issues pre- scented by the petition of contestant and the response of contestee involv- es the vote in Poinsett county. The complaint states two principal cases of action. The first is that a large number of persons were permitted to vote without having previously paid poll taxes for the fiscal year 1912. The state central committee deemed this to be an irrgularity impractic- able of contest, because from con- mon notoriety and the evidence pre- sented, similar objections could be presented for investigation in nearly every county ill the state. This feat ure of the complaint was considered by the state central committee only for the purpose of determining Wheth- VI VI loC LAilS pi acute tAlSttu lo tth extent that indicated plan to permit unauthorized persons to vote in un- limited numbers.
 The state central committee found that there was no evidence to justify this belief, and found that this feat ure of the contest was a mere irregu- larity, and they thereupon disregard ed 1t. No new evidence having been presentd to the committee on this subject, that part of the committees finding meets with the approval of this committee, and it therefore ap- proves the same.
 Second next principal ground of contest is that the returns from Poinsett county as made and declared by the county central committee and