The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1915-08-12
RADICAL CHANGE IN
POLITICS PROPOSED.
EFFORT TO ABOLISH COUNTY.
TO-COUNTY CAMPAIGN..AR.
GUMENTS PRO AND CON.

Columbia. August 4:-That the
/ county-to-county canvass, which has
been conducted every two years just
preceding the Democratic primary
in this State should be abolished is
receiving attention in several quar-
ters 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 it's continual
tion only serves to keep alive fac
tional feeling.
A great many politicians strenu-
ously oppose any suggestion looking
to the elimination of the county-to-
county tour and declare 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 can
vass ought to be more stringent and
a few of them have suggested that
it would be a good thing to require
that candidate must file a petition
signed by a certain number of vo-
ters, say 5 per cent, before he could
enter the canvass. This, they claim,
would do away with the running 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 abol-
ish the circus ring" because they
assert it would sound the end of any
but rich candidates.
This is not agreed in by all the
politicians and by a great many
people. Those opposed to this. can
vass emphasize the incentive to per-
sonal abuse and the opportunity it
affords for the campaign to degen-
crate into villifcation and the i'm
possibility 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 running and then
give away to the next, and so on all
day until the patience of the voter
is exhausted and'goes away no wiser
as to platforms than when he came.
Even if the villifcation incentive
and opportunity were absent-which
probably a majority of the people
will say is not-the fact that the in
dividual candidate does not have
enough time 70 discuss issues, makes
| it, in the opinion of many, absurd to
have the canvass.
In the last State campaign party
there were about twenty-seven cand-
idates 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 strenuosity 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 hur-
ried off to the next county seat and
this for forty-four days. The can
vass comes right in the middle of
the hottest of the summer and the
strenuous life and physical discom-
forts has broken down men in some
instances and very few 60 through
the campaign without some ailment.
South Carolina is the only State
in the Union which has a prediction
canvass under a 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
staging every two years of ring of
the aspirants for office and sending
them out to play one-day engage
ments at every county seat in" the
State.
1t is believed by many who have
made 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 canvass. The candidates have
to spend money for railroad fare
and board and this makes a consid-
cradle 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 canvass. They believe
also that it would do away with
foot;ono1icpo opd porsopol ohuco on1