Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-03-20
SENATOR PET|T|ONED
To RUN IN PROTEST
ON AUTOCRAT|C RULE
Declare Thousands of Dem
ocrats, Favoring Neither
Palmer Nor Reed Are
About to Be DISTINGUISHED

| Nothing daunted by the arbitrary &C
ton of the subcommittee Of the
state Democratic executive commit
tee in reaffirming its purpose to
disfranchise thousands of Georgia
Democrats in the preferential priin-
airy, leading citizens of Hall county
Thursday united in signing petition
placing the name Of Senator Hoke
Smith on the primary ballot in
Georgia. This action was followed
by telegram to Senator Smith, APP
pealing to him to come to the rescue
| Of his fellow Georgians and carry
| their banner in the preferential pri-
mary.
The initiative in the premises was
taken by Felix Jackson, one of the
leading bankers OF Gainesville, and
one of Hall county's most active and
| influential citizens. Within two
| hours after Mr.. Jackson set the petit
| ton in circulation, far more than the
| requisite one hundred names had
been signed to the petition, and Mr..
| Jackson had prepared telegram to
| Senator Smith.
In his telegram to Georgias senior
senator, Mr.. Jackson declares it to
be evident that a coterie of plachine
politicians in Georgia are bent upon
restricting the preferential primary
! in Georgia to a race between two ex-
'tremes, with neither of which the
rank and file of voters are in sym
pathy.
| Mr.. Jackson asserts that Attorney
General Palmer, who is being advo-
| Gated by one faction in Georgia, can
not possibly carry his own state of
Pennsylvania If nominated on the
Democratic ticket at the San Fran
cisco convention, while Senator
James A. Reed, who is being urged
| by another extreme, is not a cand-
date for the presidential nomination
in his own state Of Missouri
After the names had bEen Sc.
cured and the petition mailed to the
secretary, of4.thes state committee
MIR. Jackson addressed the following
| message to Senator Smith, urging
| that he answer the call and come
| to the relief of the disfranchised
| Democrats Of Georgia:
Gainesville, Ca March IS, 1920.
Senator Hoke Smith,
washington, D. c.
'It has become apparent TO the
| Democrats of Hall county c d ou-
sands of Georgians that the sub
committee Of the state Democratic
| executive committee is going to dis
| franchise thousands Of Georgia Dem
ocrats in the coming preferential
| primary. 1t has become apparent
| that the object is to force the Dem
ocrats of Georgia to vote for either
A. Mitchell Palmer, on one side,
who declares he stands by every
phase of the presidents admins
tration, or Senator James A. Reed Of
Missouri, on the other side, who has
opposed practically every phase of
Wilson's administration. GEL. ~
Two Extreme Candidates
Neither of these extreme views,
in our judgments. represents the real
opinion of thousands of progressive,
forward-lo looking Democrats. We are
taking the liberty Of filing today
with the secretary Of the state Demo-
cratic executive committee your name
for president in the presidential pri-
mary, to be held April 20.
1--WE do not believe that A. Mitchell
Palmer Will be nominated by the
Democrats at San Francisco, and we
do not believe that If nominated he
will be elected, or carry his own
state.
1--WE believe he is the stalking
horse of machine politicians Of Geor-
gia to throttle the voice of the peo-
pie.
1--WE know that Senator Reed is not
candidate for president in his
own state, and, therefore, is not
serious candidate for the Office.
"Some of us differ with the position
you have assumed in Washington,
but all OF us know that you not only
have the ability, but the courage, to
carry the flag of thousands of Demo
Gratis disfranchised by the arbitrary
subcommittee of the state executive
committee, and also the ability not
only to carry your own state in the
primary. but to carry your own state
in the general election, something
that Palmer cannot do in his own
state.
1--WE are perfectly confident that
you would make a president, of
the nation superior to either Reed
or Palmer, and we are perfectly con-
fident that if you should carry our
tanner and should win that the dele
gates to San Francisco would repre-
sent the best thought of progressive
democracy of Georgia, and that those
delegates would vote for that Demo-
crat who represents most truly Demo-
cratic principles and has the best,
chance to win,
I'VE know that it has been your
expressed preference to take no part
in the preferential presidential pri-
mary, but we also know that you
have publicly expressed your opinion
that the Democrats of Georgia should
have the right to vote for whom
they please.
= hose Signing
I'VE have filed your name and we
believe it to be your duty to rep
resent the thousands who have been
disfranchised some of whom pre-
fer an uninstructed delegation and all
of those who stand between the two
extremes of A. Mitchell Palmer and
James A. Reed
(Signed) FELIX JACKSON"
The petition to the state commit
tee bears the following signatures:
Felix Jackson, A. G.. Maxwell, j. Y.
Ashford, r. a. Brice, George II.
Estes. c. Z. Smith, w. D. Whelchel
James A. Rudolph, George T.. Pill
grim, j. w. Jacobs, J. d. Mauldin,
George T. Estes, Jr.; D. H. Merck,
Continued on Page 9, Column 81