The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-10-17
BEGINNING A CAMPAIGN

If the active supporters of S. J..
Cats are to be successful in leading
any large number of Democrats to
repudiate their party allegiance, they
will be compelled to change their
tactics. They are proceeding on the
assumption that the people of Flor
ida are unintelligent observers and
that they are not capable of deciding
for themselves as to the rights and
the wrongs of the contest so recently
settled. They are assuming that the
people will swallow without trouble
a series of the most blatant lies that
the brain of man can conceive, and to
follow meekly and without question
those who have not the slightest re-
gard for the truth or respect for the
facts of history as unfolded in the
investigation of the returns of the
June primary.
The very few papers of the State
who are still clinging desperately to
the Cats movement, have had
marked out for them direct and
unvarying campaign of misrepresen-
tation. Unler orders from the secret
body which inaugurated and has per-
petuated the Cats movement, they
are now deliberately disappearing
the facts in the case, are loudly pro-
claiming that the verdict from the
supreme court was obtained by fraud
on the part Of parties unnamed, and
who in collision with the supreme
court of the State, have reversed the
verdict given by the people in the
primary held in June.
That they have not the slightest
fact on which to base their assertions
makes no difference with that class
of papers. They make the charge,
will reiterate it, time and again, in
the hope that they will make the
people believe that the dcision that
w. V. Knott was actually nominated
in the June primary, was obtained
by fraud, corruption and force
AS matter of fact, as the record
clearly reveals, the only fraud COM
mitted in the whole course of the
proceedings was one which if sue
cessful would have aided Mr.. Knots
competitor and not himself.
The charge of fraud is one that in
cludes direct attack on the supreme
court of the State, and those who
make 1t are free in their statements
corruption on the part Of
the members of that court.
But the people of Florida cannot
longer be deceived into support of a
candidate whose entire campaign is
based on an attack on the courts the
honor of election officers and the rep
utation of the people. There is ev-
cry indicatin that the people are
turning in disgust from the agitator
who for months has disturbed the |
peace Of the party and the State.
The State executive committee has
plans for vigorous cam
paign and every effort will be made |
10 get the sober and unaswerable |
ruth before the whole people.
UP to this time the Cats contin- |
gent has had everything it's own way. |
It has done all the talking, all the |
arguing. Mr.. Knott has contented |
himself with saying. up to this time,
hat all he wanted was to ascertain
The truth as to the primary vote. He |
has asserted that he would support |
MS opponent if it should prove that |
hat gentleman received the Demo-
cratic endorsement. Mr. Cats be-
gan campaign as an independent |
while the contest was still before the |
courts and has carried on, for weeks. |
IN active campaigning in his own in
.erests.
Now the regular Democratic party |
will be heard from 1t will be shown
beyond the possibility of doubt.
hat Mr.. Knott received the major
ty of the votes, first and second