The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1920-02-13
POLITICS IN FLORIDA

The meeting of the state democrat.
Tic executive committee at jackson.
willie last week was an example of the
lax methods Of conducting democratic
party affairs in the state. We of us
who claim allegiance to the party 81
our fathers might as well be frank
about it.
There is no democratic party in
Florida
We say this without fear of success
/ full contradiction. There are thou
sands of democrats in the state, but
there is no party organization. Mat
tiers have reached such a state in the
skeleton of the party that the tail
!, is wagging the dog The state com
mittee, which is purely executive in
nature, sets itself up in legislative
capacity, refuses to listen to the ex
pressed wishes of the rank and file
qualified as electors, by its vote ex
presses disapprOval of anything that
savors of democracy, for it refused
to call together the representative
democrats in each county for con-
vention at which party affairs might
be discussed, party principles adjust
ed to the times and the emergencies
of the hour prepared against.
The state committee did nothing at
its meeting last week that is not al
ready prescribed by statute, except to
pass resolution fixing the qualifica
ton of electors. This resolution
changed the expression and not the
sense of the oath that every elector
lis required to take, as provided in our
highly discredited primary law.
The primary law fixes the date for
holding the primary and rules govern
ing all the machinery for such pr
mary. The primary law makes nc
Without such the only requisite fol
anyone participating in the democrat
tic primary in this state is that he
shall have voted at a previous primary
/ of democrats.
cratic executive committee stated at
Jacksonville last Thursday that he
saw no necessity for a convention
that the national platform. adopted at
the national convention, was all VIC
needed. Later, in the discussion OF
resolution on the floor of resolu
tion moving for convention, Mr.. Da
Wis of Alachua, said that the calling
of convention would be the enter
ing wedge for a return of the conven
ton system of nominations. In hea
ven's name, if the people wish to re
turn to the convention form is it the
peoples business or that of the few
men who make up the executive com
mittee, to make the change?
This same specie of party manage
ment was in existence four years ago.
eight years ago. What has it accom-
plished? As the Miami Metropolis
recently said: What has Florida tc
show from its exclusive democratic
party management What sort of men
seek political office in Florida? What
kind of service is the public getting
from the average Florida politician?
@The Metropolis is not asking these
questions with the intention Of an
swering them. They are questions
which almost every honest man is ask
ing himself regardless of his party
politics. Some of the best democrats
| in the state, men who were brought
! up to look upon republican as some
thing trifie worse than a moccasir
snake, are beginning to wonder il ii
would not be a good thing for Florida
| il the white republicans could organ
| ize in strong enough numbers to force
the democrats to bring out their best
men for political office. And then.
these better citizens Of Florida have
reached point where they would
even vote for the republican csndi
date If he represented a certainty OF
better public service than could be
expected from his democratic Open
emit
From the government in Washing
ton to the smallest unit of govern
ment in Florida the same sort of incf
ficiency, the same sort Of po'iticsi
grab-bagging, the same sort OF cor
ruption prevails. And the only hope
for relief is in disturbance OF the
lethargy in which the average citizen
attends to public interests. If Fltr
Ida could be startled once by repub