Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-08-19
Woman Who May Be Next
Chief Executive of Texas
Has No Time for Political
Speeches During Season

TEMPLE, Tex, Aug 16.-This
business Of running for governor
bothers Mrs Miriam Amanda Fergu-
son.
Politicians will keep, but ripe
peaches will not.
And every few minutes some pesky
reporter comes into the kitchen and
interrupts, and just as she gets set
tied down again with a bushel of
fruit TO peel here comes another
photographer.
She changed her dress for the first
few, but now she just washes the
peach juice off her hands, puts on
sunbonnet and steps outside to be
posed.
Come to the governors mansion
next January" says Mrs. Ferguson,
land I'll give you some of these pre-
serves, spread with butter on thick
slices of home made bread
She Is Confident
She's not elected yet, nor even
nominal ted by the Democratic party,
which has always meant election in
Texas. But she ran second in the
first primary among nine candidates.
And she is confident that she will
win over Felix Robertson, in the
run-off primary August IS. The No
vember election is just a Formally.
They always elect Democrats in
Texas.
And if Mrs. Ferguson wins, it will
be the defeat of the ku kluX Khan.
by a woman. and she believes, the
clearing of the Ferguson name of
the stain left by the impeachment
and removal from office of her hus-
band, Farmer jim" Ferguson, who
was governor in 1915.
Husband Can't Run, So
That is really why Mrs. Ferguson
is in politics. The courts refused to
permit Farmer Jim's" name to APP
pear on the ballot as he had been re-
moved by the state senate on charges
Of accepting loans from persons in
terested in certain legislation; de-
| posting state funds in his bank and
for refusing to sign a bill for an
appropriation for the University Of
Texas.
I'VE were sitting on. the front
porch" says Mrs. Ferguson, in tell
ing of her advent into politics, ''and
Jim said to me: Ma. why don't you
run? There is no law against you
being governor"
SO ma just joined the race. In the
! July primary she polled 10000 votes
while Felix Robertson headed the
field of nine candidates with 1855 900
! votes.
Among the other seven candidates
! nearly 400, 900 votes were distribute
| ed. These include nearly 800, 900
| votes given to two auti-klan Candi-
| dates and whose support Mrs. Fergu-
son may fall heir to.
who'd Be Go7ernor?"
If she receives the combined anti
| khan vote, she'll beat Robertson by
| 100 900 votes, political dopesters say.
F'erguson's enemies say: "Slick
! trick" that Of Jim's making his wife
run for him when the courts would
not let him. "Ot course. he'll be
the governor if she's elected" they
add.
That isn't the impression in the
| Ferguson household. when Jim
was in office" says Mrs. Ferguson
he was the governor-but [ did ad
wise him. Now that I'm going to be
elected (she says that quite conf
dently) Ill be governor. OF course
I'll expect counsel and advice from
! him "
Ma Is IN her early SOS. Her darb
hair, streaked with gray. falls about
her face. SHADING her brown eyes.
Girls Help
I'm too old to bob it, and she
smiles, like my girls
The Ferguson girls are helping ma
in the campaign. There is Ouida
30, who is now Mrs. George s. Male
Of Austin. and Dorrace, 20.
II haven't done a thing but house
work all through this campaign.
| Dorrace complains. I'm not even