Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-05-01
Rule 10 Is IN EjJor1 " +.
TO Gag C0nUention,
Says Col. II. II. Perry

Colonel H. H. Perry, prominent
Gainesville lawyer and Democrat,
who is one of: the delegates from
Hall county to- the Georgia presi-
. Dental convention to be held in. At
lanta ON May IS. has written
communication - to The Journal in
which he scores the rule whereby
the Palmer forces propose to con-
troll the. convention with minority
vote.r~ ....'. .'.' r
Rule, 10, as it was numbered in
the specifications drawn UP by the
Democratic. state executive on Feb
ruary- 6, when it called the -presi-
Dental primary, provides that the
delegates to the national conven
ton in San Francisco shall be Sc
lected from the supporters Of the
county unit vote Under this rule
the supporters of Attorney-Genera
Palmer, who received the highest
county unit vote but not a ma
jority, propose to control the con-
Nention, name the delegates and ex.
clude the Hoke Smith and Thomas
E. Watson delegates from d voice
in what is done.
Colonel Perry will be in the con-
vention as a delegate from Hall
county, which was carried by Sen
ator Smith, His views OH Rule 10
are presented in the following COM
munication -.
"RnIs 10 Absurd" ...,..
Editor The Journal:
Il notice the position of Messrs.
Barrett and Dean, of the subcom-
mittee on Rule 10. r~fs ..~-
Rule TO carries it's ,absurdity on
it's face. Its language is. the lam
guage OF a master, not Of a servant
Or agent.
IF the committee were school
masters and the members of the
convention were their pupils, it
might be legitimate for them 70
tell us how to play the game
but such is not their relation.
Theirs is a most ridiculous in
stance of the tail proposing to
wag the dog. =.
Their position is unsound. The
committee called together a conVen-
ton of the Democratic party. But
in doing SO they had no. right to
forestall the action of that party
when assembled in convention. Their
action did not make the convention
the creature of the committee in
any sense
The president of a corporation
might as we'll say that because
under the bylaws he could call a
meeting of the directors, he could
therefore provide. beforehand the
mode of their action. when assem-
bled. -z~ 49,.
Nor did, the candidates or the
voters bind themselves to abide by
any rules made beforehand beyond
the legitimate powers of the com
mittee., The privilege of expressing
their sentiments in a presidential
primary was not. a benefaction. by
the committee. to the Democrats of
Georgia, butswas their right which
the committee did not dare deny
them. By accepting their right they
did not estep themselves from re-
fusing to l. submit to any usurped
authority of the committee.
Conventions Free Action
eff the primary was merely a
special one, confined to presidential
limits, then lit would have been
merely5a pat, affair-a political side
show and not the action of the
Democratic party as such 80
But when the committee called
for a primary and convention of
the party, it. necessarily .surren-
dered all its powers over the sub
ject to the free action of such CON
vention. The committees function
was over. 1t called into being a
power beyond and above any rule It
may have made atteinDtin&~ 10 CJll-
troll the action of this body.
They may raise the whirlwind,
but cannot direct the storm.
The position. of these gentlemen
is without precedent. Think of it.:
few designing men in any case
might cunningly contrive to get
are not generally sought after eX-
cept by those with Interior de-
signs), and by adopting certain
rules so control the action of the
party represented by the G"'cc3ta
as to commit the party to reac-
tionary interests and so shape it's
policies as to eternally wreck it..
1T would be pretty pass to
come to, that a few men should
bind and gag the convention by
such Il rule. A self-respecting- man
would be ashamed to be Demo
crat il it meInt to be subseYvient
to the dictation of IA small ca bal.
Anything like boss rule or ring rule
will never be tolerated by Demo-
Gratis. - 80
"Catncsvil.q, G&, April 30.r