The Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 191?-19??, 1919-04-16
BLACK AGAINST THE FIELD

Nearly ~ years ago, hOu JdS' -
Black, a leader of a staunch littl
band of mountain Democrats, VIII
were democrats from principle an
not for the spoils of Office, asked rec
ognition at the hands of his party
but recognition was denied and h
went down a victim of machine pol
itics, He lived then as now in tn
Republican, stronghold of Knox coun
ty, where Democrats, are few and ia
between. His friends and kindred
his own brother even, were Repub
leans, But Jas. D. Black accepted de
feat without, murmur and stucl
legally to his party for Is years, ask
ing nothing more than the privilege
of voting year after year for his par
TVS noininees, the tickets often in
Gliding those who had helped defeat
hts own Aspirations. Four years age
Mr.. Black, now one of the state:
most prominent and successful law.
yers, modestly asked to be nominated
not for Governor as before, but fol
the little Office of Lieutenant Cover
nor, in order that the fighting Demo.
Gratis Of the Eleventh District might
at least have a place on the ticket
A strong effort was made to deprive
him Of this honor, but the people al
the polls placed him upon the ticket
and builded wiser than they knew,
In the political cataclysm that follow
ed, when the Democrats had to fight
for the very life of the party, Judge
Blacks name was a tower of strength
for weaker men on the ticket and
when the votes were counted, his
name. like Abou Ben Adhem's led all
the rest. He led his hard pressed
ticket with 10000 majority, while
all others trailed behind Some got
in by the skin of their teeth and
others failed to get in at all. Knox
county, overturning Republican ma
jority of upwards of 1000, went for
Black and hundreds of mountain Re-
publicans followed his leadership and
saved the Democratic party from a
crushing defeat. The Eleventh Dis
trict, the rejected stone, had become
the foundation of Democratic sue
cess with It's unexpected Democratic
gains. A grateful party should re-
cognize Mr.! Blacks services by pro-
noting him to the Office of Governor
with the same unanimity that the Re-
publicans have recognized the man
who would have won but for Judge
Black. Aef1an of his recognized abil-
ity, his timeLtestedi democracy, his un
questioned loyalty and his wide
spread popularity should head the
Democratic ticket this year without
another exhibition of machine poll
tics and sleight-of-hand perform. Ances
in securing nominations and fasten-
ing about the neck of the Democratic
party a load that will drag it down
to the bottom of the sea.
Some of the men seeking places
on the Democratic ticket are impos-
sibihties. Some are good enough in
a way, but are controlled by others
with axes 0lgrind. Some are stir
ring the pool just to muddy the wa
tiers. The politicians are pulling
ropes, putting men on and pulling
others off, looking not for the inter
ests of thee party but to their own
scheming and selfish ends. Candi-
dates are being brought out not be-
cause theysiare fttedi for the offices
apportioneda to them on this slate or
that, but because they are suppos-
ed to beaable 10 beat somebody else
equally united who'is lined up with
somebody else's gang.
Those who want to vote for man
for Governor for merit and not for
partisan reasons, have choice Of
two men Of standing and ability who
have been weighed by the rignsters
and found wanting for their purposes.
These men announced themselves ear
" and are appealing not to politi4
cans bot 70 the people For support
The Kentuekiah supported Judge
Black in both ofohis previous cam
paigns--for Governor in 1900 and
for Lieutenant Governor in 1915. It
sees no reason why it should not
do so again, if the purpose is to elect
the ticket after it is nominated. It
at the same time recognizes Judge
JAo. D. Carroll as a man of guber-
notorial stature. The two candidates
seeking to enter a race already made
up between Judge Black and Judge
Carroll ought to stay, out. It is only
100 days until the primary. They
cannot even visit the 120 counties
Of Kentucky for one day each in that
time. Their proposal to engage in a
rancorous and fractional fight, as
leaders of rival factions, can only
bring disaster to the party, by max
ing L impossible for a divided party