Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-03-15
Hon. r. o. Cochran Stirs
South Georgia Voters
In FOrcefuI Address
Candidate for United States
Senate Wins NJ a n Y
Friends by Strong Ar
guments- His Speech in
Full.

guments-Hi Speech in
/ Full.
BAINBRIDGE. GA. March
l4.-Pledging himself always
the champion of righteous meth
DDS in business and the enemy
of fanaticism and experimental
laws that destroy confidence
and wreck progress, Ralph 0.
Cochran, Of Atlanta, spoke here
to a large crowd to-day IN
forwarding his campaign to
succeed Senator Hoke Smith to
the United States Senate in the
coming election. Mr.. Cochran
outlined in convincing figures
the great industrial prosperity
and the progress of which the
South is capable and pledged
jail his energies to the accom-
| plishment of the full realization
of these possibilities.
Mr.. Cochran s speech was as
| follows:
have entered the field a free man.
as candidate for the United States
/ Senate to succeed Senator Hoke
Smith. | have no enemies to punish
or friends to reward. l have not been
Identified with either of the political
factions in Georgia in previous years,
| but | have always reserved the right
to vote my convictions as conditions
existed \ free man as a voter, free
! man as a candidate, a free man as
, one of Georgia's Senators, / shall ever
be, IL honored by election to this high
position-and God knows no man
should be so honored whose previous
relations. whose breadth of thought
and sentiment do not encompass the |
entire people Of this great State.
Appeal to Business Men.
am one among that considerable |
number who are classed as business
men of our State. The energies of /
the previous years of my life have !!
been largely expended in the actiYi- !
ties of business. | have labored BY /
tunes and to promote the financial in /
terests of those who have ntrusted /
their affairs to my care. | feel like l 7
am in touch with the best business IN |
terest of the State, and that ! am IA /
miliar with the conditions that exist. /
A plain man, a business man. | ask /
of you your suffrage. And, indeed, :
the tremendous awakening along in |
dustrial lines, and the stupendous |
business interests of the entire South, |
and Georgia in particular call out in |
clarion tones for conservatism, famil /
iarity and breadth of conception Of |
those who represent these great, ma |
terial interests in legislative halls, |
that they may be promoted and safe
guarded. ] shall always be the cham
pion Of righteous methods in bust |
ness; but, on the other hand, | shall
ever be the enemy of fanaticism and |
experimental laws that destroy conf |
dence and wreck fortunes.
on this occasion l want to tell You !
that if / have any one characters ic
more conspicuous than others it is my |
catholic views and breadth of senti-
ment on all questions arising out of
the relations of our people. There is
nothing in my views contracted on re
ligion, morals. politics or business. l
disown any disposition TO be narrow |
or fanatical on any question that may |
arise among our people ! recognize
the right of every man 20 think as ne
pleases and express his thoughts. In
deed, this is the land of the free and
the asylum of the oppressed. / ha 5e
my views concerning religion, con-
corning moral questions, concerning
politics, concerning society; but l |
shall never obtrude them on those who
differ with me. | recognize in every
other man the inalienable right Of free
and untrammeied thought and ne
expression of same, on all matters,
and the probability Of their correct
ness, as much SO as l claim for my
convictions and their expression. tn
is American freedom; this is the sun
light of thought, the emancipation
day of humanity.
From Middle Class.
! am frank TO tell you that ] belong |
10 the middle class of our people
who are neither too rich nor too poor,
who are neither too learned nor too
ignorant; but who, in the last aua'y-
sis, control the destiny OF this Coun-
try and the fortunes of men-and
pray TO that Providence that permits
you and me to enjoy this earthly eX-
istence that when | shah have entered
the Great Unknown what little that
shall be remembered Of me shall re-
late to my love for the common peo-
pie, my humbleness in life and my
fidelity to the best cause of human-
ity. Nowhere on earth do YOU find
iruer patriots. stronger friends of the
home. more sincere worshipers OF The
great Deity. than among that great
class generally known as the com
mon people" of every land.
/ have entered this race with no
purpose OF advocating new-fangled
ideas or numerous isms as the pan9-
cea for our real or supposed ills ]
have no long list of reforms that l
wish to present TO you. / do not be-
ieve in the degeneration of man and
his ultimate ruin. l have every con-
fidence in the American citizen, and l
believe all he needs is "a chance.
This race that ! am making is one
absolutely devoid of tricks and sub
terfuge ! have nothing to conceal,
and l regard the statement as truth
that the best politics is no politics. l
am out in the open, and shall appeal
to the manhood of Georgia to elect
me TO the United States Senate.
! have no paid press backing my
candidacy; l have no bags OF gold to
buy my way to this lofty position
ana IL / had them 1 would not betray |