The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1948-03-19

VIII Los Peoples BACKING
Judge, unless you and your
State Committee and the Legis-
lative leaders take steps to let
the people vote, you will lose the
opportunity of getting the people
with you, will defeat the very
purpose of the Governors pro-
gram; and will render the state
and Democracy a disservice.
THE Legislature is in session
and l am certain that a majority
of the Legislators believe in De-
mocraey and its functions and
believe in government of, for
and by the people and would
gladly enact necessary legisla-
ton to permit the people to be a
part of this revolt against the
leaders of the National Party, by
voting; and that the same Legis-
lators dislike dictatorship, and
would then be willing to let
those Mississippians who can't be
persuaded to vote against the
Party Nominee then to vote for
him, since this is a free country
and we are supposed to give a
free people the right to a free
expression of their views by a free
election with an honest count.
There are a number of ways,
as you know and as your Com
mittee knows, that the people
could be given the right to vote.
Our law could be amended to
permit the voters in our Demo-
cratic Primary this summer to
choose electors for the Elector-
al College either who will vote
for the Party Nominee or who
will vote Independently and to
the best interest of the State and
the South. At the end of the
Primary you would know and we
would know just exactly what the
counting of the votes cast in such
people wanted, and you would
have your mandate.
"Or, as | suggested in my let
ter of February 18th, we, as Mis-
sippians, and Democrats, could, at
the Convention, select two sets
of electors, one pledged to sup
port the Party Nominee and one
pledged to act independently and
as free agents, and, in the Novem-
Der Election, the people could
choose between them as they have
a right to do.
Precinct Convention Not Answer
Il am certain that you know,
as we all know, that you
won't get an expression of
the majority of the Democrats of
Mississippi on this vital question
by this monkey business of hav-
ing precinct and county Conven-
tions. This method worked fine
in the past when practically all
Mississippians were Democrats
y and all Democratic electors al
ways voted for the Party Nomi-
nee. 1t didn't matter then how
they were selected, whether by
a vote of the people or by a
meeting of three or four in each
precinct and twenty DR. thirty
in each county Convention.
This year, however, the Gov
ernor of our State has called for
a mandate of the people.
''The Resolution of your Com
mittee demands that the Presi-
dental Electors will follow the
dictates of the overwhelming
majority of the Democrats of the
State. Yet, you insist on get
ting this instruction from the
overwhelming majority of the
Democrats by resorting to the
little hand-picked precinct and
county Conventions, and refuse
to let the True White Jefferson
ian Democrats cast their own in
dividual vote on the issue. I say
refuse to let the Democrats vote
because neither your Committee
nor the Legislative leaders have
asked the Legislature to change
the law so that the PEOPLE can
dictate as you pretend to want
them to do.
IF your Committee and the
Legislative leaders persist in
your apparent intention of de-
priving the people of Mississippi
of the right to vote, then rather
than refer to yourselves as True
White Jeffersonian Democrats,
which would be a very inappro-
pirate name, you should tell the
people frankly that you will not
let the people express themsel-
YES, because you expect to do
what you want regardless of the
wish of the people. That you
are afraid of your position but
want to rule and claim that you
have a mandate from the people
while you refuse to permit the
people to give you such mandate.
The people are not as dumb as
your Committee appar emily
thinks. They can be properly led
with facts, reason and logic by
those whom they trust. They don't
stand for having something cram