Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1924-08-21
Vituperative. Bickering BY All
Factions Played a Prominent
Part in Stirring Fight
PUBLICITY THRU PAMPHLETS
Written for The Leader
By EDWARD P. HOWARD
Thru Autocaster Service)

/
| The admission of Missouri as
a slave state was one of the dom
inant issues of the campaign ;oi
| 1924, which, failing before the
people, was decided by thu
House of Representatives. The
bitterness and sectionalism O
1.-THE contest never has been equal
lied, the attacks on Crawford be
ling measurably approached only
lby the intensity of malignlty
with which President Wilson
was assaulted in some quarters
! The North was openly against
the South, the East desperately
against the West.
Arguments, powerful, logical
illogical, true and untrue, in
trigue, scurrilous attack and vi
Imperative pickering marked the
contest up to the very moment
of the count. As today, the Yves
tern farmer interest was arrayed
against the Eastern industrial
forces.
Adams made deliberate appeal
to New England and the North,
charging that the South was donli-
mating the entire nation in that every
President for twenty-four years had
come from the South. This phase OF
the campaign inflamed both Northern
ers and Southerners to point that
Rwas reached only. in the Civil War.
Owing to the difficulties of travel
the speechmaking was OF stationary
character. The candidates had no
opportunity to appear before the
country. Likewise, the press hadNnot
reached any widespread circulation,
and while it played an important
part in the contest locally, chief de-
pendence was placed on the pamph-
let. The pamphleteers were buoy day
lin and day out. Before the fight was
ended these organs of publicity de-
lve1oped into a mass of literature OF a
djsgraceful and, judged by present
day standards, highly dishonorable
character.
Few of the pamphlets produced
were of a positive character. Mostly
thew were negative, devoted to at
tack and villifcation rather than to
giving reasons why their favor1te
sons, they in whose. interest th1y
were written. should be elected. Jack
son was openly attacked as a mur-
derer, a military despot without re-
gard for the Constitution or Tor law.
The Jacksonites swung their acio al
Crawford, charging him with being
a Federa1ist. Crawford was clearly
the fayorite, but this charge hurt
North Carolina and New Jersey prac,,
ticallv deserted him. Still he retained
the advantage. According to custom
the partv was to caucus in congress,
and make the nomination. CRAWFORD :
CLAW were nervous. They combined
to attack the infamy of the caucus
system, denohncing it as anti7fepuD-
lican. the agency for obbery OF the
peoples rights. Martin Van Buren,, OF
New York. genius in politics and with
powerful organization back OF him.
tried his best to check the reform
wave. but the combined scheming OF
the opposition could not be overcome
The caucus was called. The CALLER
les were. packed to suffocation, but
the members were only scantily repre-
sented An effort was made to adjourn
but Van Buren,. battling for Cray y, :,
ford, opposed it because no mutua,ly
convenient date could be set. The
people, he said, expected a nomination
Then came the ballot: Crawford O.
Adams 3, Macon /, Jackson /. Craw-
ford was declared the nominee. but
"a votes out Of 26l did not satisfy
| the people~it meant nothing, and SO
the scramble for office went to the
people.
en- with paralysis, doctor having
administered Iobelia to him. Every
possible pressure was brought TO bear
10 have him Withdraw, but he stead
lastly declined. "His pitifu1 condition
was alluded to by his supporters and
denounced as hypocritical propaganda
by his enemies. It was gu lite obvious
that with four candidates there would