Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-09-16
HARDN|CK LOSES
DECATUR CONTEST
AND COUNTY'S VOTE
County Committee Rules
That Appeal Was Improp-
erIy Filed Subcommittee
to Meet Here Thursday

A decision against Thomas w
Hardwick in the Decatur county
contest was made Wednesday morn
ing by the Decatur county Demo
cratic executive committee. accord
ing to a dispatch received from The
Journals correspondent and con
firmed by private kilograms received
in the Clifford Walker headquarters
If the contest had been SUSTAINED
Decatur county would have switch
ed from the Walker column to the
Hardwick column and given him
majority (194) of the county unit
votes, thereby obviating a turnover
unless the Democratic state com
mittee had over-ruled the county
committees decision.
The contest is said to have been based
upon the allegation that unregistered
voters, some forty or fifty in num-
Der, were allowed to vote in the pri-
mary; that the elimination OF these
votes would take away Walkers plu-
rality of fourteen votes and give the
county to Hardwick, and that the
managers had no authority to accept
unregistered votes.
Grounds for Decision
The contest was thrown out by the
county committee, according to q
dispatch to The Journal from its
cambridge correspondent, on the
ground that a formal written petit
ton was not filed by or in behalf
Of Hardwick; that notice was not
served on the county chairman; that
Walker was not notified, so as to
give him a hearing in opposition to
the contest.
Hardwick headquarters were OF
the opinion that the contest WoulC
be decided in their favor and they
believed the state committee WoulC
not reverse the county committee
When Informed that the contest had
been thrown out, Mr.. HardW1ck salC
he would not appeal to the SuDconl-
mittee on rules of the state commit
tee or to the state committee as d
whole. He said he would go into
the turnover against Mr.. Walker
with entire confidence of success:
When Mr.. Walker was asked for
o statement, he said:
81 am glad the contest. was not
sustained. 1 want the people to de-
eide the between the policies
l represent and the policies repre-
sented by Mr.. Hardwick. Their de-
cision will be in my favor, of that
l feel certain. If the Decatur con-
test had been sustained, we We're 60
ing to contest 1000 unregistered
votes which were put in the Hall
COUNT boxes, according to our in
formation
The subcommittee on rules of the
state committee will meet Thurs
day rrorrfrg at o'ctock at the
Kimball House in Atlanta to con-
solidate the returns and declare the
result With the Decatur contest
decided against Hardwick, and with
no appeal by him from the county
committees decision. the status OF
the gubernatorial race remains the
same as first announced That is
Hardwick, IS counties, 100 county
unit votes.
Walker, 50 counties, ia county
Holder. counties, % county unit
votes
Will Call turnover
The county unit vote of Hardwick
being four less than a maj ority OF
1914, and the law requiring a rum
over primary in such an event, the
subcommittee will proceed to call a
turnover primary to be held through
out the state on Wednesday, October
6, as required by the law.
No provision is made by law for
the expense of the primary. 1t must
far as anybody has been able to fig
ure The cost will likely be 900
to $4,000. This makes it necessary
according to both candidates, for
them to raise a campaign fund
among their friends