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April, 1920
THE ATLANTIAN
3
The Atlantian
Box 118, Atlanta, Georgia
THE ATLANTIAN will give free space to all Secret Societies and Labor
Organizations,
On the other hand, we pat everybody on notice when THE ATLANTIAN
makes a statement ”’ , ilch we believe to be true, and such statement goes
uncontroverted, we shall Insist that it is true.
vgigStt 3 Published Monthly bv The Atlantian Publishing Co.
Vol. XI APRIL, 1920 127
Our Motto: “Pull for Atlanta or Pull Out.”
Editorial Etchings
Hoke Smith
The Logical Candidate for President of the United States
By Bernard Suttler
The Civil War ended 55 years ago. That is quite a
stretch of years even in the life of a nation. In all these
years a great stretch of our country, representing about
one-third of its area and quite one-third of its population,
has been considered as foreign country when it has come
time each four years to consider candidates for the Presi
dency.
During this period we have fought two wars, and in
both of these this boycotted section has been nobly repre
sented in men, in money, in service and in sacrifice, and
yet, in the minds of many we are still not to be considered
when we come to select candidates for the Presidency.
The Democratic party has feared and the Republican
party has not desired to do so, for the latter organization
cherishes for the South a hatred so deep, born of the in
juries it inflicted on the South, that not in a thousand
years would it permit a Southern man to be President if
in its power to prevent. So we may dismiss the Republi
can party from consideration and cfiscuss the matter from
the standpoint of Democratic policy.
During the past fifty years the Democratic party has
been mainly a party of negation, controlled by its fears.
Its usual method has been to let the opposition formulate .
its policies and then deny. Too rarely has it come out in
the open with strong declarations of righteous “princi
ples” and then fought like a bull-dog for the success of
those principles. When it has fought valiantly, dismiss
ing its fears, it has four times won.
Now, again, we are in a Presidential year. It is a
noticeable fact that in the consideration of candidates all
Democratic attention has been concentrated on the North
and West. It does not seem to have occurred to the lead
ers that the South, with a huge block of electoral votes
might be worthy of consideration, and I, for one, think
that the time has fully come when we must decline any
longer to play tail to the dog.
I am a Democrat of the Democrats, but I do not con
sider myself as belonging to, or owned by any party.
When I co-operate with any party, a litle of that party, for
the time being, belongs to me. At present it would appear
that the Republican reactionaries are in the saddle in that
party, and if the Convention proves this to be true, it will
be up to the Democrats to go before the country with a
platform so strong, so practical and so righteous that it
will gain the support of that decent fraction of good citi
zens, which is yet, thank God, still in a majority in this
country.
Trouble of a serious kind is brewing in the polyglot
North and West. The real defences of the country, when
the trouble crystalizes will be found in the South. That
being true, and it is true, we have the strongest possible
reason for putting forward a man from the South.
It so happens that we have in Senator Hoke Smith of
Georgia, a man who is superior in intellectual capacity to
any other Democrat yet suggested. His experience in
public affairs has been large and his loyalty to his consti
tuents has been absolute. He stood up like a man and
fought for the hard-pressed cotton growers and some of
them have not yet forgotten how the present administra
tion, backed by Northern Democrats and Republicans
showed us the most unfeeling indifference, and excused
themselves with base subterfuges about legality.
In the matter of the League and Treaty, Mr. Smith
refused to respond to the party lash and occupied consis
tently that position which is maintained by a large ma
jority of the American people, which is simply that we are
ready to go into any deal which will help to keep the peace
of the world, provided it is so devised that it will really
do that, and provided further that we do not sacrifice the
rights of the American people to gratify the vanity of the
gentlemen who formulate voluminous documents full of
rat holes.
I am not writing as a partisan or a follower of Mr.
Smith, but as a plain American citizen who follows no man
except when he is on the righ track, insofar as I can judge.
Many times I have disagreed with Mr. Smith on ques
tions of policy, but I have noticed that on really big things
he has usually come clear. He is one of the strong fig
ures in our public life, from an intellectual standpoint. He
has the courage to go against a majority of his own party
when he feels sure that he i's right. He comes of loyal
American stock and will never trade or give away the
rights of the American people. He has a large experience
in public affairs. He is the strongest man yet mentioned
for the Democratic nomination and now that his name is
going on the ballot in Georgia, I do not hesitate to say that .
the people of Georgia will reflect credit on themselves by
giving him an overwhelming majority.