The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-10-14
II Brief Summary Of Recent
Political History In FLORIDA

~ oNAS v, iclV, "hol pdi poi tCt
to be Democratic primary was helC
in Florida. 1t was participated in
by people of every shade of politica
belief Republicans, Socialists, Pro
hibitionists, ETC., as we'll as by Dem
ocrats.
There were five candidates fol-
Governor. Four of these stood fol
very much the same things+the
principles of Democracy, as enunciat
ed. time and again by the national
platforms, and as applied to State is.
sues. They were all on the right
side of moral questions, they were all
men who had hitherto served the
State with distinguished ability, they
We're all personally clean and of ir.
reproachable character. In making a
choice between them the voter was
guided merely by his personal pref
erences. There was no special diff
ference, so far as any issue was con.
cerned.
The fifth candidate stood on a
platform antagonistic to those of the
other four. The principal plank of
that platform was religious intoler-
ance, an issue that had never been
raised in this State until his advent
into it. This resulted in a condition
similar to that where four candi-
dates of one party divided the vote
as against the solid support given to
one candidate of another party.
1t can thus be seen how the candi-
date receiving the solid vote of one
faction might get more votes than
either of the four candidates who re-
ceived the divided vote Of the other
faction.
1t can also readily be seen why
the single candidate of one faction
would get fewer second choice votes
than the candidates of the other fac
ton. 1t is natural that in casting
his second choice vote an elector
would favor a candidate that stood
for the same things that his first
choice stood for. A man voting, say,
for Hudson, would vote second choice
for Knott; man voting for Farris
would vote second choice for Wood
and vice versa. AS a usual thing a
voter who favored either of these
four would give his second choice to
one of the other three, and not to
Cats, who was rather antagonistic
to all his running mates This ex-
plains the oft-raised question as to
why Cats received fewer second
choice votes than any other candi-
date. Moreover, great many Cats
supporters did not cast a second
choice vote.
A new election method was used
at this primary. 1t was so complicat-
ed that men who daily came in con-
tact with puzzling problems differed
as to the proper method of counting
the votes. The election inspectors,
as a whole, were average men, I'M
used to graphing with complex fig
ures. Many of them frankly admitted
that they did not know how to tally
the second choice votes. 1t is safe
to assume that there was not one
precinct in ten in which the second
choice votes were correctly counted. |
And, it should be remembered that
second choice votes were Just as i'm |
portant as first-choice, for they repre-
scented the votes cast in the second |
under the two-primary sys-
tenn.
The first count of votes, including |
all the errors which every one knew
had been made, gave Mr.. Cats lead |
of 260 over his next closest opponent.
w. v. Knott. The latter asked for
a recount in certain precincts where
he had reason to believe grave errors
had been committed. Meanwhile,
however, the time provided by law
for the meeting of the State Can
Board had arrived, and be-
fore Mr.. Knott could get the bene-
fits of the recounts he was institute
ing. a certificate was awarded to S. +,
j. Cats, on the face of the returns.
In awarding this certificate it was
pointed out that if errors could be |
shown sufficient to justify such ac- i
ton, the Board could be reassembled,
the certificate to Cats revoked, and
a proper certificate awarded to
Knott.
Mr.. Knott then proceeded to the
prosecution of the recounts in sundry
recincts, but he was hampereG at
very step by Cats, who threw every
egal obstacle in the way of the cor.