The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1915-08-12
THINK OF ENDING CIRCUS.
Matter of Abolishing County-to-Coun-
ty Canvass Receiving Attention.

QIeCeuluS lHG DSllOCIdll plILudls III
this State should be abolished is re-
ceiving attention in several quarters
outside of political circles. There is
feeling. to judge from many ex-
pressions. that the biennial circus,
as it has been dubbed, has outgrown
its usefulness and that its continual
tion only serves to keep alive faction
al feeling.
A great many politicians strenu-
ously oppose any suggestion looking
to the elimination of the county to
county tour and declare that it is
the only way the poor man" has Of
reaching the people with his views.
Some of these admit privately that
| the requirements for entering the
canvass ought to be more stringent
and a few of them have suggested
| that it would be good thing to re-
Quire that a candidate must file a
petition signed by certain number
of voters, say per cent, before he
could enter the canvass. This they
claim, would do away with, the run
ming of candidates who have no
earthly chance of election and whose
vote each year is so negligible as not
to amount to anything. But they in
sist that it would never do to abolish
the circus ring" because they as
sert it would sound the end Of any
but rich candidates.
This is not agreed on by all the
politicians and by great many peo-
pie. Those opposed to this canvass
emphasize the incentive to personal
abuse and the opportunity it affords
for the campaign to degenerate into
villification and the impossibility Of
the discussion of issues. Not only
this, they say, but the crowding of
the lists affords so little time to the
individual candidate that about all
they can do is to state their name
and the Office for which they are run
ming and then give away to the next,
and so on all day until the patience
of the voter is exhausted and he goes
away no wiser as to platforms than
when he came. Even if the villifica-
ton incentive and opportunity were
absent-which probably a majority
of the people will say is not-the
fact that the individual candidate
does not have enough time to dis
cuss issues, makes it, in the opinion
of many, absurd to have the canvass.
In the last State campaign party
there were about twenty-seven candi-
dates for the various State Offices,
and even allowing them ten min
utes-and many Of them had less
than half that time-meant an all
days speaking, wearying alike to
voters and candidates.
The strenuosfty of the canvass
doubtless keeps many men from run
ming for Office, for many object to
being dragged around from county to
county like actors in a show, placed
on exhibition and then hurried off to
the next county seat and this for
forty-four days. The canvass comes
right in the middle of the hottest
of the summer and the strenuous life
and physical discomforts has broken
down men in some instances and
very few go through the campaign
without some ailment.
South Carolina is the only State in
the union which has a prediction
canvass under party regulation.
Other States let each candidate run
his own campaign and there are
many in South Carolina who want to
see this State do away with the stag
ing every two years of ring Of the
aspirants for office and sending them
out to play one-day engagements at
every county seat in the State.
1t is believed by many who have
made a close study of this matter and
who have no political ambitions that
it would materially lessen the cost Of
campaign to do away with the can
vass. The candidates have to spend
money for railroad fare and board
and this makes a considerable item,
which advocates of the movement to
abolish the canvass point out would
enable poor men to run for office
where they are now barred by this
terrific expense of making the can
vass. They believe also that it would
do away with factionalism and per-
! sonal abuse and would mean
that the candidates would dis
cuss issues and not one another so
much.
1t has been stated that less than
one-fourth of the voters attend the
campaign meetings anyway and that
by eliminating the canvass there