The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-08-15
MISSISSIPPIANS
 BALLOT ON NEW STATE GOVERNOR
1000 Citizens Seek Pub- lie Office in
 Election

Jackson. Miss. (UP)-A hve-foot
 ballot, listing the names of 1000 persons seeking public office In
 Mississippi today engrossed voters and may mean the end of power
 for Theo Gilmore Bilbo. spectacu- | lar and politically ambitious gov
 ernor.
 The ballot named four persons
 seeking the office which Governor Bilbo will vacate at the end of 1881. It also carried the names of thousands that seek county and
 state positions.
 Primary election campaigns ended last night with a roar of speaking and oratory. None of the candidates used the
 radio in a last minute plea. None has used the radio during this campaign, but, instead. resorted to soap-box oratory from a farmers pork barrel, or wagon. In this respect Mississippi fa perhaps the last frontier of the old style farmhOuse-t farmhouse cam paigning. Large cities are few and far between. The majority of the voters live in small rural commun- ities.
 Governor Bilbo, who Is serving his second terms and is ineligible to succeed himself, went into the
 campaign with vigor. He ended his campaigning last night, as always, before n country crowd, which hailed him as ono of the states greatest men. His style was simple, yet unique. Four years ago he campaigncd with brick and a school book in his tattered valise. The brick, he
 said, represented roads that he
 would build. The school book, he shouted. represented free text books which he would provide if a pub
 lie printing office was built. The public printing plant was not built, neither did he succeed
 in having the legislature pass his big road building appropriation. Supported Mitchell. So, during the past several months, he has tourned the state for George Mitchell, quiet, gray haired attorney general In his cab
 met.
 Mitchelrs opponents are bitter enemies of Governor Bilbo and represent n different faction in the state democratic party. Representing southern Missisip- pl is Hugh White, giant phys ically, who capitalized upon his strength in college by becoming q
 great football player. and now n
 well-tO-do lumberman and mayor of Columbia.
 With him in the race are Mike
 Conner, politician of long experi-
 cnce, lawyer and ono time speak
 CT of the state house of represen-
 tatives, and Hall Johnson, former
 congressman from Mississippi. who
 is from Hattiesburg and is recog- niZed as ono of the states most
 capable lawyers.
 BilbO's Errors.
 None of the three opponents of
 Mitchell have forgotten to capital
 ize on errors said to have been
 made by Bilbo and which they charge are accountable against
 Mitchell because he, as q Bilbo
 cabinet member, did not block
 them.
 The vote in Mississippi is divid-
 ed into two classification--the city
 vote and the country vote.
 Governor Bilbo Is recognized ns the strongest Tn the rural ulStricts,
 which actually hold the balance of
 power. He has. during tho past
 month, visited all of the S2 coun-
 ties.
 Pre- election quarrels in many of
 the counties have occurred and In
 many today extra precautions were made by police to avoid bloodshed and fighting.
 The ballot form Is the same that
 has been used in Mississippi for the past half century. Mississippi
 does not use voting machines. neither Is the system of voting tabulating modern or speedy. City returns arc expected to be tailed shortly after the polls arc closed tonight. but in the country dls- tricts the vote tabulating will be low coming into the capital.