The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1918-05-09
CLARK OR DAVIS

About a month from now the dem
ocrats of the state have primary, to
decide who shall hold certain national,
state and county Offices for the two
years after the terms of the present
incumbents are up.
The only national candidates the
people of this county are concerned in
are those who aspire to fill the office
of representative in Congress for the
two years following March 4, 1919, of
the second Florida district. The two
men candidates for this responsible
and honorable position are Frank
Clark of Gainesville, the present in
cumbent, and Chas. E. Davis of Madi-
son, a leading member of the Florida
legislature.
Mr.. Davis is good man. He is a
learned and talented lawyer, legis-
lator who has been of much use to the
state and man and a citizen above
reproach. If Mr.. Clark was not can
didate, we could support him with
great pleasure.
However, we do not think the PEG.
pie of this district will do the nation
any service at this time in retiring
Mr.. Clark in favor OF Mr.. Davis or
any other man in the district. For
one thing, Mr.. Clark is a veteran in
legislation He has an acquaintance
with nen and affairs that it would
take nav man years to learn. AS
compared to Mr.. Davis he is as vet
eran officer in the army would be to
some young man just out of a train
ing camp. The legislature of Florida
compared with Congress is like a
country school compared with col
lege. Mr.. Davis knows all the country
school can teach him. Mr.. Clark is
among the college graduates.
Now, if Mr. Clark had been un-
faithful to his trusts-if he had been
careless or corrupt, or stupid, his ex-
.perience would be of little value, and
we could not replace him with a new
man any too soon. But Mr.. Clark has
made good representative. We do
not say he is perfect. Sometimes he
does things we do not approve of, and
whenever he does, as he can tell you,
we never fail to inform him of it. And
Mr.. Clark is always willing to be ad-
monished and if he sees reason in the
complaint he always admits it.
Granting that Mr.. Clark has faults
and makes mistakes, we have no guar
antee that Mr.. Davis, if elected, will
not also make mistakes. We do not
know that he won't make as many or
more errors and worse ones than Mr..
Clark. We are willing to admit that
he doesn't intend to. But that is no
guarantee to his constituents or him.
self. Taking all things into consid-
Grafton, it is likely he will make a
good many more errors and be of less
use as congressman than Mr.. Clark
for some time to come.
At this particular time, we should
not displace an experienced senator
or representative in favor of a new
one, unless the older man has done
something that demands his dismissal
Right now, the very life of this ma.
ton and that of several others de-
ponds on our Congress. Tt has the
greatest power of any agency in the
world, but every untried man in it,
membership decreases its efficiency.
If Mr.. Davis could point out any
great derelictions on the part of Mr.
Clark, and prove them, we would be
glad to support him. But we dont
think he can allege against Mr.. CLARK
anything that he wouldn't do himself
and we think that when it comes dowr
to brass tacks his foundation reason
for running is that he wants to go tc
Congress. That is laudable ambition