Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-07-30
PRINCE GEORGES RACE
FOR OFFICES NOW ON

Special Correspondence Of The Star.
UPPER MARLBORO, July 3O-Out OF
much speculation concerning the likely
candidates for political offices in Prince
Georges county there is but one certain
conclusion. and that is that State Sen
ator William F. Holmead. democrat. and
Oliver :. Metzerott. republican. Will be
aspirantS for the nomination for state
senate. Several conferences between lead
ers Of the organization and anti-o-ganiZa-
ton democrats have been held, with
view to getting together and securing
harmony. and the only compromise agreed
upon is Homead for the senate.
The organization conceded the sherlH-
ality nomination to the ants, and, it is
understood, several men have been ten
dered the support of both factions OF the
party and have declined William q.
Fisher of Berwyn. who failed to secure
the office of judge of the orphans court at
the election in 1915. was offered the nom
ination. but the attraction was not SUI
ficient to induce him to give up lucrative
situation in washington Then. IT is
stated, former Sheriff and Treasurer
George w. Hardy of Surratts district was
asked to take up the burden. but he. too.
could not see 1t, and passed 1t up. There
is talk now of the ants Offering the nom
ination to Deputy Sheriff Thomas H Car
rison of HyattSvile, and Garrison claims
to have the support of the Anti-Saloon
League of the county, a factor that VIII
cut considerable figure in the forthcoming
campaign.
Hervery G. Machen of Hyattsvile, a
son-in-law of County Commissioner The
odore B. Middleton of Spaldings district,
a prominent leader in county politics. de
clares he is in the fight to stay. River
dale district has q candidate for the dem
ocratic nomination in the person of Ossle
Klinger a former member of the Metro
poiitan police force of Washington.
klinger is doing considerable advertising
and states that he will stick until the
| tod ,n 10 N
other candidate for the Office. young
Mr.. Miller of Surratts district
So far as is known the only candidate
for the office Of sheriff on the republican
ticket is Wesley Beall. present deputy
sheriff Beall is from Mellwood district.
Coming back to the senatorial nomi-
nation, report has it that County Com
! missioner John NJ. Bowie of Queen
Anne district will oppose Mr.. Metzerott
in the primaries. If he does it will be
a pretty fight. politicians declare. 1t
is conceded that MetZerott is strong in
the upper districts of the county. but
Bowie has a large following in the
lower districts, where the bulk of the
republican vote is to be found. In
Bowie Queen Anne and Nottingham
the republican vote is practically two
to one and this is where Bowie is
strong. J. Sellwyn Sasscer of MARI
boro district has announced his can
didacy for the democratic nomination,
and it may be that he will take some
votes from Holmead. but those in a
position to know declare that the pres
ent state senator is as good as nomi-
mated. and that his only trouble is at
the election in November
There is no denying the fact that the
proprietors of saloons in the county
are up in arms against the democrats.
but just what figure this vote will play
in the election Is guesswark. It is
certain that so per cent of the saloon
keepers are democrats and, as a rule,
have always supported the democratic
ticket. Under the Blandford bill passed
at the special session of the legisla-
ture every one of them will be legis-
lated out of business November /, and
as the election occurs about that time
it is probable that their influence, if
they use it solidly. will be felt.
They swear vengeance against the
democratic candidates. and it is going
to take some clever manipulation to
offset this influence. Senator Holmead
has always been fair to the liquor ele-
ment. but the latter claim that he could
have held the Blandford bill up in the
senate and given them a chance to re-
main in business until May l. 1918, the
date of the expiration of the licenses
for which they paid.
A prominent democrat. a leader in
the fight for the Blandford bill. told a
Star reporter yesterday that no pro-
vision was made to reimburse the sa-
loonkeepers for their license money
for the reason that it was feared such
a provision might endanger the pas
sage Of the bill. He stated that 1t is
the intention to secure the passage of
a bill at the 1918 session of the legis-
lature making such reimbursement, and
that the levy for the reimbursement
would be made by the county commits
sioners in March, 1918. Such reim-
bursement. he commended. could not
have been made until the next levy in
any event. so that the saloonkeepers
lose nothing by the failure to secure
provision for the reimbursement in
the Blandford bill.
In the effort to harmonic the fac
tional differences IN the democratic
party and to nominate a ticket salts
factory to both sides, it is proposed to
give the ants two members of the
house of delegates, the sheriff and one
commissioner, while the organization
will take two members of the house.
the state senator and a majority of the
state central committee. There is talk
that all of the present state central
committee, organization people, will
retire and that new men will be Sc
lected.
1t Is understood that George n. Palm
er, power in democratic affairs in
Seat Pleasant district, is anxious to
become a member of the committee, but
his friends are urging him to accept the
nomination for county commissioner.
The friends of Lemual l.. Gray of
Hyattsville are making determined
fight in his behalf Mr.. Gray, like Mr..