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THE JEFFERSONIAN
Vol. 111. No. 22.
GWBERNATORI/V, CAMPAIGN NOTTS.
A subscriber writes asking why Dr.
Broughton did not preach on “Come ye
out from among them,” when Hoke was
a participant in the profits of the Pied
mont bar. This inquisitive subscriber
thinks that the Doctor ought to have
asked Hoke to come out from among the
bar-rooms, instead of letting him wait
Until the Prohibitionists in the legislature
voted the bar-rooms out from among
Hoke.
This question being somewhat per
sonal, we pass it up to Hoke and to Dr.
Broughton.
Judge Hines alludes feelingly to those
who insulted us Pops in the years gone
by—making the argument that no old
I Pop can vote for Brown.
Ah, Judge, did any mortal man ever
denounce us more venomously than Hoke
Smith did? Was not his utmost influence
brought to bear to have the Democratic
Executive Committee disfranchise the
white Populists ? Did you not know that
Hoke Smith was back of that Tom Felder
crowd, which, in 1892, howled Mr. Wat
son down, in the State house in Atlanta?
Was not the demonstration against your
friend so violent that a cordon of police
men were necessary to protect his life?
Did you not know that Hoke Smith
was active in the preparations of those in
sulting demonstrations which were to be
made against Gen. James B. Weaver, our
candidate for President—preparations of
such a character that the Populist meet
ing had to be called off for fear of riot
and bloodshed?
•
Yes, Judge, we knew of all this, and
more, when we finally decided to support
Hoke Smith for Governor, the first time.
We wanted that Disfranchisement law
which will liberate the Whites from the
fear of Negro Domination and give op
portunity for political independence in
the South. Consequently, while we did
not choose Hoke Smith originally— and
would never have done so— we stood
loyally by our friend Hardwick, and
fought it out.
Populists who could overlook the way
Hoke Smith had treated us, need not gag
at anybody on that score.
As well might a man say, in his selec
tion of table diet, that he preferred the
old hen to any of her frying-size chickens.
You, Judge, can do as you like, but as
for us, we’ve had as much of the old hen
13 we can stomach. If any of the Pops
would rather go for the frying-size chick
•as, we have no complaint to make.
A Weekly Papei b Y THOS. E. WATSON and I. D. WATSON.
Atu Thursday, May 28, 1908.
Ever since the adoption of the State
constitution of 1877, representation of
counties in State Conventions has been
based upon it.
For thirty years, six counties have each
had three times as many votes as eacn <..
the small ones, and the twenty-six “next
largest” counties given twice as many
votes as the other small counties.
Now, who was it that was dissatisfied
with this system? It was founded on
law, and was our settled practice. Who
wanted it changed?
Were the delegates to the Macon Con
vention instructed to make a new rule?
If so, where and when?
•B
'bhe delegates to the Macon Conven
tion had no instructions from the people
'o deprive the country counties of their
Constitutional rights—why, then, did
they do so?
That they did so is now apparent to
everybody. We frankly admit that we
had never heard of any contemplated
change, and did not know until the Dem
ocratic Executive Committee published
the new rule that it was embraced in the
Macon platform. Not suspecting Hoke
Smith of revolutionary intentions, we had
never closely read his Macon platform at
all. We had supposed that it was simply
a reproduction of his campaign principles.
But now, when it is known that this
new feature is in the Macon Platform
which was prepared by Hoke Smith, we
are keenly interested in the study of
Hoke’s motive.
What was he up to, when he slipped
this plank into the platform, without ever
having opened his mouth about it in
public?
He did not put the new plank in by
accident, did he? He must have had a
motive. What was it?
We think Hoke’s musings were to this
effect, after his tremendous victory in
October, 1906:
“The Populists are now back in the
Democratic Party. Thev have taken out
advice and are seeking their reforms in
side the party. They had enough votes
to elect Hines governor in 1894 —and we
had to doctor the returns, here in Atlanta.
At least half of the white voters of Geor -
gia believe in Populist principles—and in
Watson. These Pops live principally in
the country counties. With Watson and
his Populists inside the Democratic party,
the country people will rule the state,
as the Tillmanites do in South Carolina.
How am I to avoid this terrible calam
ity?
“vve must overthrow our constitutional
system, change the practice of thirty
years, and give to the big cities the lull
advantage of their numerical superiority,
in this way the twenty-six ‘next largest’
counties will lose heavily, and all of the
small counties will be dwarfed into politi
cal insignificance.
“Thus Watson and his friend swill be
in my power and if ever he runs for the
U. S. Senatorship— which I am crazy to
have, myself—we can overwhelm him.”
We think that is the sum and sub
stance of the musings of Hoke, and that’s
why the new rule was slipped into the
Macon Platform.
Mr. Watson did not want office, but
Hoke could never be made to believe it.
Nor did Watson want to play political
boss anywhere; but Hoke couldn’t be
lieve that, either.
Jealous of his ally, even in the hour of
his great triumph, when that ally was ’
asking for no share of the spoil, and was
praising Bloke in The Jeffersonian, it
would seem that Hoke deliberately
planned to violate well-settled precedent
and to outrage the spirit of the Constitu
tion, if not its letter, by making a new
rule which would forever rob the old
Pops of their constitutional rights!
W hat will be the natural consequences
of the new rule?
It must be applied to congressional dis
tricts, of course, for we can not suppose
that the Democrats will have one rule
for the state campaign and a different
rule for the congressional campaigns.
How will the new rule work in the Au
gusta district, for instance?
That city will always name the Con
gressman. The ten country counties, in
a hot race, can not give one of the can
didates a majority which can not be over
come in Augusta.
We’ve seen that tried.
Even when the struggle was apparent
ly a fair fight, we saw Bill Fleming beat
Tom Hardwick more than 3,000 votes,
because of Fleming’s strength in Au
gusta.
That being the case when the contest
is fair, what will happen when such a
man as Boykin Wright is managing the
election? Why, he will do as Bovkin
Wright did in the Black-Watson cam
paigns. The polls will stay open until
the country counties will have been heard
from, and then the ballot-boxes will be
(Continued on Twelve, third column)
Price Five Cents.