Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1920-02-24
H0OUer asked to STATE
W/hether He Can quality
Under Still AnOther Rule

democratic primary ana Will give
me a reply at your earliest conven-
fence. With assurances of highest
regards, 1 am, cordially yours,
HIRAM L. GARDNER,
Secretary State Democratic Ex-
ecutive Committee of Georgia.
February 23, 1920"
Evolution of Rule
The rule of eligibility for candi-
dates in the primary has undergone
remarkable and interesting process
of evolution in the past two of three
weeks.
AS will be recalled, the Democratic
state executive committee met in the
Kimball house in Atlanta at 10
o'clock on the morning of Friday,
February 6, and at that meeting
adopted a resolution ordering a state
wide preferential primary to be held
April 20 for the purpose of ascer-
tanning the choice Of the Democrats
of Georgia for the presidential nomi-
nation of their party.
A subcommittee of seven was ap-
poi.ted to draft the rules and regu-
lations for the holding of the pri-
mary. On this subcommittee were
named the following:
James ] FIynt, Griffin, chairman,
he being chairman of the state COM
mittee; Hiram L. Gardner, Eatonton.
secretary. he being secretary of the
state committee; Fermor Barrett, To-
Goa; Miller S. Bell, Milledgeville; H.
H. Dean, Gainesville; J. H. Miner,
Eastman; T. H. Parker, Moultrie.
The subcommittee met on the aft
ernoon of Friday, February o, In
Chairman Flynt's, room in the KIM
ball house, and drafted rules and
regulations to govern the primary.
After that meeting Secretary Gard
ner gave to John W. Hammond, the
Atlanta correspondent of the Macon
| Telegraph, the Augusta Chronicle
and the Columbus Enquirer Sun,
dictated copy of the rules which had
| been adopted. Mr.. Hammond states
that Secretary Gardner dictated the
rules to him in his office In the
Kimball house, and that he wrote
them off on his typewriter, word for
word, as they were dictated to hlm'
Version No. /
The rules thus issued by Secretary
Gardner were widely printed IN
news papers over the state. Mr.. ham
mond furnished them to his papers
the Macon Telegraph, the Augusta
chronicle and the Columbus In
olirer- Sun--and also furnished them
| to the Atlanta Constitution and the
savannah Morning News. .They- were
published not only in these neWspa-
pers,. on the morning tueaay'
February Z, but were published also
! in several afternoon newspapers OF
I tbes sa me date, including The Atlanta
Journal. So far as can be learned
Secretary Gardner made no correc-
tiSn in the published version. lhese
rules as thus given out and thus, pup
fished contained Version No. OF the
eligibility of candidates of the prl-
mary, and this version was as foI-
| lows:
| Every candidate for the DEM
ocratic nomination for president
must flc with the secretary OF
the state executive committee
statement or certifca$e Of his
| candidacy on or before April /.
Provided, however, that in any
case where 100 OF more white
| Georgia Democrats file with the
committee by that date a petit
| ton requesting that the name OF
|
lot, his name shall be SO placed.
| Acting upon this rule, several hun
! dred "White Georgia Democrats" OF
Hall county, headed by Col. Fl. H.
| Perry, a prominent Gainesville law
yer, and including such men as the
| Judge and solicitor of the superior
court and the mayor of Gainesville
signed petition requesting that the
name of Herbert Hoover be placed
upon the ballot. They took it Tor
granted that Mr.. Hoover was "a
man. within the meaning of the rule
above quoted, and presumably they
felt that his democracy was satlsfac-
tory to them. Their petition was
duly forwarded to Secretary Gardner.
Several other movements looking to
Hoover petitions were started in va
rious parts of the state. 1t looked
as if Hoover was gaining Roadway.
Version NO.
After these petitions had been re-
| ceived, and after it had become ap-
! parent that Hoover was to be rae
tor in the Georgia primary. the SUD
! committee held in Atlanta last
Thursday afternoon, February 19, a
secret meeting. AS result of the
| disclosed to the public, it was the
subcommittee decision that Hoover
must avow himself a Democrat be-
fore his name could be placed upon
| the ballot. and in accordance with
this decision Secretary Gardner was
directed to address him letter re-
| uuesting him to state whether he
| considered himself eligible.
When the news of this meeting
leaked out to the public through the
newspapers, various explanations
| and numerous protests were imme-
| Giately forthcoming. The first in
formation concerning the meeting
was to the effect that the subcom-
mittee had amended the rule Of eligi'
bility so as to require that candi'
dates in the primary must be Dem
cCrats. This. however, was denied
10y Chairman Flynt, who said the
committee had merely interpreted
the rule to have that application il
. the case Of Mr.. Hoover.
Then Secretary Gardner came for.
ward in a card addressed to the
editor of tie Atlanta Constitution ii
which he asserted that the rule orig!
nalIy. adopted on February was 81
rule requiring candidates to be Dem
ocrats and further asserted thai
there had been no change in the
rule, and he gave it as follows If
Version No. 2:
Each candidate for the Demo-
cratic nomination for president
shall file with the secretary Of
tI1ts committee, by noon on
April l, notice of his candidacy.
The name of any Democrat quail
fled for the presidency shall be
placed upon the ballot on the
petition of one hundred or more
qualified white Democrats, said
petition to be filed prior to noon,
April !.
Version NO. 3
1t will be observed that the Ian
guage Of the rule in Version No