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LABOR DAY ADDRESS IS
MADE BY COL ROOSEVELT
i
Speaking at Fargo, He Discusses the Problems
\ of Trades Unionism and the Great Need
of Proper Legislation for the Wage-
Earner.
Fargo, N. D. t Sept. s.—Ex-President
Roosevelt, who arrived here last even
ing and spent the night here, was the
chief speaker today at the Lat>or Day
exercises. He was listened to with
interest and respect by a great crowd,
•and his utterances frequently elicited
hearty applause. In his address he
said:
/Today—on Labor Day—l spoak In one
•sense especially to those personally and
vitally interested in the labor struggle;
and yet I speak of this primarily as one
aspect of the larger social struggle grow
ing out of the attempts to readjust social
conditions and make them more equitable.
The nineteenth century was distinctly
one of economic triumphs—triumphs in
the domain of production, including trans
portation and the mechanics of exchange.
The marvelous progress made in these
respects multiplied man’s productive
power to an almost inconceivable degree.
In the matter of the production of wealth,
as much progress was made during the
nineteehth century as during ail previous
periods since history dawned; that 19. the
changes brought in a single century
through machinery and steam have been
greater than the sum total of the changes
of the preceding thousands of years; and
these very changes and this material
progress have thrust upon us social and
political problems of the first magnitude.
The triumph of the physical sciences ,in
the nineteenth century represented prog
ress primarily In the material elements of
civilization. The most pressing problems
that confront the present century are not
concerned with the material production
of wealth, but with Its distribution. The
demands of progress now deal not so
much with the material as with the
moral and ethical factors of civilization.
Our basic problem is to see that the mar
velously augmented powers of production
bequeathed to us by the nineteenth cen-.
tury shall in the twentieth be made to ad
minister to the needs of the many rather
than be exploited for the profit of the few.
The American wage-earner faces this
larger social problem in a dual capacity;
first, as a citizen of the Republic charged
with the full duty of citizenship; and next
as a wage-earner—as a wage-worker—
who, together with his fellow-workers, is
vitally concerned in the question of wages
and general conditions of employment,
which affect not only his well-being and
that of his wife and children, but the
opportunities of all workers for a higher
development.
Must Depend on Our Own Efforts.
It is true of wage-workers, as of all
other citizens, that most of their progress
must depend upon their own Initiative
and their own efforts. Nevertheless, there
are three different factors in this prog
ress. There is, first, the share which the
man’s own individual qualities must de
termine. This is the most important of
all. for nothing can supply the place of
Individual capacity. Yet there are two
other factors also of prime importance;
. namely, what can be done by the wage
i workers In co-operation with one another;
what can be done by government—
f that is, by tha Instrument through which
all the people work collectively. Wages
and other most important conditions of
employment must remain largely outside
of government control; must be left for
adjustment by free contract between em
ployers and wage-earners. But to attempt
to leave, this merely to individual action
means the absolute destruction of indivi
dualism; for where the individual Is so
weak that he, perforce, has to accept
whatever a strongly organized body
chooses to give him, his individual liberty
becomes a mere sham and mockery. It
Is i! ipensably necessary, in order to
presi v* to the largest degree our sys
tem g. individualism, that there should
be effective and organized collective ac
tion. The wage-earners must act Joint
ly. through the process of collective bar
gaining. in great Industrial enterprises.
Only thus can they be put upon a plane
of economic equality with their corporate
employers. Only thus is freedom of con
tract made a real thing and not a mere
legal fiction. There are occasional occu
pations where this is not necessary; but,
speaking broadly. It Is necessary through
out the great world of organized indus
try. I believe this practise of collective
bargaining, effective only through such
organizations as the trades unions, to
have been one of the most potent factors
In the past century in promoting the
progress of the wage-earners and In se
curing larger social progress for human
ity. I believe in the principle of organ
ized labor and In the practise of collec
tive bargaining, not merely as a desir
able thing for the wage-earners, but as
something which nas been demonstrated
to be essential in the long run to their
permanent progress.
This does not mean that T unequivo
cally indorse any or all practises that
labor organizations may happen to adopt,
or any or all principles that they may
choose to enunciate. Labor organizations
have the weaknesses and defects common
to all other forms of human organiza
tions. Sometimes they act very well, and
sometimes they Act very badly; and I
am for them when they act well, and I
am against them when they act badly. I
believe that their existence is a necessity;
I believe that their aims and purposes are
generally good; and I believe that all of
them have occasionally made mistakes,
and that some of them have been guilty
of wrong-doing. Just in so far as they
are strong and effective they tempt de
signing men who seek to control them
for their own interests, and stimulate the
desires of ambitious leaders who may be
clever, crooked men, or who may be hon
est but visionary and foolish. In other
words, in treating of labor unions, as in
treating of corporations, or of humanity
generally, we will do well to remember
Abraham Lincoln’s saying that “there Is
a deal of human nature in mankind.’’
Whether in a man or in an organized
body of men, the power to do good means
that such power may be twisted Into evil;
and in proportion as the power grows, so
it becomes steadily more important that
it should be handled aright. Just In pro
portion as in its proper function power
is important to social progress, so in its
Improper function it becomes fraught with
social disaster.
Wise Course For Original Labor.
Outside clitics should appreciate the
necessity of organized labor, and under
stand and sympathize with what Is good
in it, instead of condemning it Indiscrim
inately. On the other hand, those within
its ranks should fearlessly analyze the
criticisms directed against It and ruthless
ly eliminate from the practises of Its or
ganization those things which Justify such
criticism and attack. This is the path,
not only of right, but of wisdom and
safety. Public opinion in the United
States is daily becoming more alert and
more intelligent and more forceful; and
no organization whether trades union or
corporation, whether Industrial or non-in
dustrial, can endure or permanently
amount to a social force if it does not
harmonize with a wise and enlightened
public opinion. Hitherto we Americans
have been over-occupied with material
things, and have neglected to watch the
play of the social forces about us. But
now we are awakening from that indif
ference; and every form of organization
representing an important economic, polit
ical, or social force must undergo a closer
scrutiny than ever before.
I think that the next quarter of a
century will be Important politically In
many ways; and in none more so than in
the labor movement. Not only are the
benefits of labor organ* tions more clear
ly understood than e' before, but any
shortcoming or vice d\ lyed in connec
tion therewith is also n i clearly under
stood and more quick* resented. The
public is growing more and more to un
derstand that, in a contest between em
ployer and employee—a corporation and
a trades union—not only the Interests of
the contestants, but the Interests of the
third party—the public—must be consid
ered. Anything like levity in provoking
a strike, on the one hand or on the other,
is certain more and mere to be resented
by the public. Strikes are sometimes nec
essary and proper; sometimes they rep
resent the only way in which, after all
other methods have been exhausted, It is
possible for the laboring man to stand for
his rights; but it must be clearly under
stood that a strike is a matter of last re
sort. Our social organization is too com
plex for us to fall quickly to condemn
those w’ho, with levity or In a spirit of
wanton brutality, bring about far-reach
ing and disastrous interference with its
normal processes. The public sympathizes
cordially with any movement for p. good
standard of living and for moderate hours
of employment. (I personally, for In
stance, cordially believe In an eight-hour
day, and in one day in seven for com
plete rest.) Where men and women are
worked under harsh and Intolerable con
ditions, and can secure no relief without
a strike, or, indeed, where the strike is
clearly undertaken for things which are
vitally necessary—and then only as a last
resort—the public sympathy will favor the
wage-workers; but It will not favor them
unless such conditions as these are ful
filled. Therefore It Is becoming more
than ever important that the labor move
ment should combine steady, far-seeing
leadership with discipline and control In
Its ranks. Dishonest leadership Is a curse
anywhere in American life, and nowhere
is it a greater curse than in the labor
movement. If there is one lesson which I,
wmuld rather teach to my fellow-Ameri
oans than any other; It Is to hound down
the dishonest man—no matter what his
condition—and to brush aside with Im
patient contempt the creature who only
denounces dishonesty when It Is found in
some special social stratum. There are
dishonest capitalists, dishonest labor lead
ers, dishonest lawyers, and dishonest
business men; dishonest men of great
wealth and dishonest poor men; and the
man who Is a genuine reformer will de
cline to single out any one type for ex
clusive denunciation, but will fearlessly
attack the dishonest man as such, when
ever and wherever he Is to be found.
Worthy Leaders Available.
For many years I have been more or
less closely associated with representative
leaders of labor .unions. Some of these
men are among my close friends, whom I
respect and admire as heartily as I do
any men in America. There are some of
them to whom I go as freely for assist
ance and guidance, for aid and help, in
♦making up my mind how to deal with our
social problems, as I go to the leaders of
anj r business or profession. I cannot pay
too high a tribute to the worth and Integ
rity of these men—to their sincerity and
good judgment as leaders. But no move
ment—no leadership—however earnest and
honest, can endure unless the rank and
file live up to their duties, and search
for such leadership, and support it when
they find it. If the best men in a labor
union leave Its management and control
to men of a poorer type, the effect will be
Just as disastrous as when good citizens
In a city follow the same course as re
gards city government. The stay-at-home
man in a union Is Just as much responsi
ble for the sins of omission and commis
sion of his organization as the stay-at
home man In a city Is for the civic con
ditions under which he suffers and about
which he complains.
All that can properly be done should
be done by all of us to help upward the
standard of living and to improve the
ability of the average man to reach that
standard. There are still in the United
States great masses of skilled and unor
ganized labor, whose conditions of work
and living are harsh and pitiable. It Is a
shocking indictment of our Industrial con
dition to be told in a matter-of-course
way in a government report that thous
ands of Workers in this country are com
pelled to toil everyday in the week, with
out one day rest, for a wage of $45 a
month. Such a condition is bad for them,
and,*ln the end, bad for all of us. Our
commercial development should be hear
tily encouraged; but It must not be al
lowed to commercialize our morals.
It Is not merely the duty of the wage
earner, but It is also the duty of the gen
eral public, to see that he has safe and
healthy conditions under which to carry
on his work. No worker should be com
pelled, as a condition of earning his dally
bread, to risk his life and limb, or be
deprived of his health, or have to work
under dangerous and bad surroundings.
Society owes the worker this because it
owes p. 3 much to itself. He should not
be compelled to make this a matter of
contract; he ought not to be left to fight
alone for decent conditions In this respect.
His protection in the place where he
works should be guaranteed by the law of
the land. In other words, he should be
protected during his working hours
against greed and carelessness on the part
of unscrupulous and thoughtless employ
ers, Just as outside of those working
hours both he and his employer are pro
tected In their lives and property against
the murderer and thief.
Far Behind Other Nations.
This opens a vitally Important field of
legislation to the National government
and to the state alike. It Is humiliating
to think how far we of this country are
behind most of the other countries in
such matters. Practically all civilized
countries have, for more than a decade,
prohibited by the strictest regulations the
poisonous match Industry; yet we had
not done anything at all until very re
cently to protect the laborers against this
horrible danger. The National govern
ment made an investigation a year ago
into this industry, which showed a condi
tion of things unspeakably shocking and
revolting. Legislation to prevent these
abuses was introduced in congress, which
was not passed. Since then the com
panies In fault have ostentatiously an
nounced that they have done away with
the objectionable conditions. I hope so;
but whether they have or not, a law
should be passed in stringent form to pre
vent any possible backsliding.
So it is in the matter of injuries to em
ployees. In what Is called “employer's
liability’’ legislation other industrial coun
tries have accepted the principle tfiat the
industry must bear the monetary burden
of its human sacrifices, and that the em
ployee who is injured shall have a fixed
and definite sum. The United States still
proceeds on an outworn and curiously im
proper principle, In accordance with which
it has too often been held by the courts
that the frightful burden of the accident
shall be borne in its entirety by the very
person least able to bear It. Fortunately,
in a number of states —in Wisconsin and
in New York, for Instance—these defects
in our industrial life are either being
remedied or else are being made a subject
of Intelligent study with a view to their
remedy. In .New York a bill embodying
moderate compensation for accidents has
already been passed. Other states will
undoubtedly follow in the same path. The
Federal government has, so far as ita
own employees are concerned, been the
first to recognize and put Into shape this
principle. However, this pioneer law was
not made comprehensive enough; it does
not cover all the employees of the Fed
eral government that ought to come with
in its provisions, and the amount paid for
permanent disability or death Is entirely
inadequate. Nevertheless, it was a great
step in advance to nave this principle of
workingmen’s compensation accepted and
embodied in the Federal statutes, and the
recent action of congress in providing for
a commission to study and report upon
the stubject gives promise that the same
principle will soon be applied to private
firms that come within the Jurisdiction of
the Federal government.
Federation Planks Approved.
Women and children should, beyond
all question, be protected; and in their
cases there can be no question that the
states should act. They should be par
ticular objects of our solicitude; and they
should be guarded in an effective fashion
against the demands of a too greedy com
mercialism. On my recent trip in the
neighborhood of Scranton and Wilkes
barre every one I spoke to agreed as to
the immense Improvement that had been
wrought by the effective enforcement of
the laws prohibiting children under the
age of fourteen years from working, and
prohibiting women from working more
than ten hours a day. Personally, I think
ten hours too long; but, be this as it may,
ten hours a day was a great advance.
Among the planks In the platform hf
the American Federation of Labor there
are some to which I very strongly sub
scribe. They are:
1. Free schools; free text-books; and
compulsory education.
2. A work-day of not more than eight
hours.
3. Releaso from employment one day In
seven.
4. The abolition of the sweat-shop sys
tem.
5. Sanitary Inspection of factory, work
shop. mine, and home.
6. Liability of employers for injury to
body or loss of life.
(I regard the demand In this form as in
adequate. What we need Is an automati
cally flved compensation for all injuries
received by the employee In the course of
his duty, this being infinitely better for
the employee and more Just to the em
ployer. The only sufferers will be law
yers of that undesirable class which exists
chiefly by carrying on lawsuits* of this
nature.)
7. The passage and enforcement of rigid
anti-child labor laws which will cover
every portion of this country.
8. Suitable and plentiful playgrounds
for children In all the cities.
Inasmuch as preevntlon Is always best,
especial attention should be paid to the
prevention of industrial accidents by pass
ing laws requiring the use of safety de
vices. At present the loss of life and
limb among the Industrial workers of the
United States is simply appalling, and
every year equals In magnitude the killed
and wounded In a fair-sized war. Most
of these casualties are preventable; and
our legislative policy should be shaped
accordingly. It would be a good Idea
to establish In every city a museum of
safety devices, from which the workers
could get drawings of them and Informa
tion as to how they could be obtained and
used.
The matter of compensation for In
juries to employees Is, perhaps, more Im
mediately vital than any other. The re
port of the commission which has be
gun to look Into this matter on behalf of
the New York legislature Is well worth
reading. The bill presented by the Fed
eration of Labor In Wisconsin on this
subject seems excellent. In all dangerous
trades the employer should he forced to
share the burden of the accident, so that
the shock may be borne by the commu
nity as a whole. This would be a meas
ure of Justice in Itself, and would do
away with a fruitful source of antagon
ism between employer and employed.
Our ideal should oe a rate of wages
sufficiently high to enable workmen to
live In a manner conformable to American
Ideals and standards, to educate their
children, and to provide for sickness and
old age; the abolition of child labor;
safety device legislation to prevent In
dustrial accidents; and automatic com
pensation for losses caused by these In
dustrial accidents.
Have Faith In Yourself.
There is a tremendous power in the
habit of expectancy, the conviction
that we shall realize our ambition, that
our dreams shall come true. There is
no uplifting habit like that attitude of
expecting that our heart yearnings
will be matched with realities; that
things are going to turn out well and !
not ill; that we are going to succeed;
that no matter what may or may not
happen, we are going to be happy, says
Success.
There is nothing else so helpful as
the carrying of this optimistic, expect
ant attitude —the attitude which al
ways looks for and expects the best,
the highest, the happiest—and never
allowing oneself to get into the pessi
mistic, discouraged mood.
Beiieve with all your heart that you
will do what you were made to do.
Never for an instant harbor a doubt of
this. Drive it out of your mind if it
seeks entrance. Entertain only the
friendly thoughts or ideals of the thing
you are bound to achieve. Reject all
thought enemies, all discouraging
moods—everything which would even
suggest failure or unhappiness.
Peculiar Church Ornament.
Lambeth “Old” church has numer
ous historic monuments, and in one of
the windows is the full length figure
of a peddler with his pack, staff and
dog. This is supposed to represent
the unknown person who presented
“Peddler’s Acre” to the parish upon
condition that his portrait and that
of his beloved canine companion
should be preserved in the church and
that bis dog should be burled in con
secrated ground.—Pall Mall Gazette.
HOKE SMITH NOTIFIED OF HIS NOMINATION
Georgia Democratic Convention
i
Met in Atlanta to Nominate
!
Next Governor.
\ “STEAM ROLLER” CONVENTION
Tributes to Hoke Smith as a Man of
National Prominence and Presiden
tial Possibility—Mr. Smith Was
Nominated for Governor by a Vote
of 233 to 78, on the Roll Call of
Counties.
Atlanta.—lt was a steam-roller
convention which met to nominate
Hoke Smith for governor, a body of
I Georgia men so exultant in their vic
tory that they were intolerant of their
defeated foeman, impatient of any
thing but celebration of victory and
laudation of their chosen candidate.
This was demonstrated early in the
convention when Joe Hill Hall, of
Bibb county, endeavored for ten mln-
I utes to put before the convention a
request for representation on the
j platform committte for the minority
| faction; it was shown more conclu
sively when at the close of the con
vention Senator E. D. Griffith, of
Haralson, tried, as the right of the
minority which brought 130 votes to
the convention, to place in omination
Joseph M. Brown, the choice of a
representative body of Georgia Dem
ocrats.
Again and again Senator Griffith
was hooted and jeered by men on the
floor until his voice was drowned in
the uproar. Twice and thrice did
J courteous Smith leaders on the plat
j form plead with their followers for a
[ “square deal for a fellow Democrat,"
but to no avail. Senator Griffith
tried in vain to speak against the up
roar, and at last Mr. Lawrence, of
Chatham, a Brown supporter and a
Savannah delegate, approached the
speaker and drew him from the foot
lights through the door at the rear.
The name of Joseph M. Brown had
never been placed before the conven
tion.
Though the county delegates came
to Atlanta with a convention vote of
238 for Smith and 130 for Brown (the
figures are Reuben Arnold’s, and in
clude the settled contests), the Smith
men making up the delegations out
numbered the Brown delegates by
ten to one, the jubilant Smith coun
ties sending big delegations and the
Brown counties intrusting their con
vention vote to but a handful of dele
gates. It was a Smith convention ail
the way. The county vote plan was
forgotten from the start and never
a roll of the counties was called until
the actual nomination for governor.
The one-sided njake-up of the meeting
rendered a roll call unnecessary, and
action 6n every motion was taken by
acclamation and with hardly a dis
senting voice raised against the ma
jority. The platform, the rules of the
convention, the election of officers
and secretaries and choice of commit
tees —all went through as if greased.
It was cut and dried, framed by lead
ers who had the confidence of their
supporters and who were not hin-
dered in their work. There was not
an amendment to the platform
drafted by Chairman James li. Gray,
except a supplementary resolution
which urged upon the national
party the consideration of Hoke
Smith as the next nominee for presi
dent. The convention steam roller
moved without a hitch and the minor
ity delegates who traveled to Atlanta
had only the privilege of seeing it
roll.
The platform of the convention,
| drafted and read by James R. Gray,
i editor of the Atlanta Journal was a
i lengthy document. It was in many
ways a reiteration of the memorable
Macon platform of four years ago,
but toward the end it grew bitter in
its denunciation of the Brown admin
istration, criticising the governor for
the Durham mine affair, for failing to
purchase the Chattanooga terminals
and for other official sins of omission
or commission. Following it Mr.
Gray read a resolution offered the
committee by a' delegate from Spald
ing county declaring Hoke Smith the
choice of Georgia Democracy for the
next president of the United States.
Hooper Alexander, of DeKalb,
chosen to place Hoke Smith in formal
nomination for governor, delivered
eloquent address. His demand that
Georgia claim a right to affairs of
national Democracy was received
with cheers, and the name of Hoke
Smith as Georgia’s choice for presi
dent brought forth another outburst.
Henry C. Cohen, chairman of the
Richmond county delegation, in a
brief speech fitting to the occasion,
seconded the nomination of Hoke
Smith for governor. He praised
Hoke Smith did not make his ap
pearance in the Auditorium until es
corted in to accept the nomination,
though there were many false alarms
of his coming when some late-comer
of prominence arrived and was greet
ed with cheers. Thomas S. Felder,
of Macon, the nominee for attorney
general, was on the floor before the
convention opened and was kept busy
shaking hands.
The Coweta county delegation bore
a big banner inscribed “We Are Pro
gressive Democrats.”
Some Salient Features of state Convention Plotform. ,
Reaffirms Faith in Party.
Condemns the Tariff.
Congratulates People on Enactment of Principles of Macon Plat
form.
Commends the Disfranchisement Law.
Disapproves Efforts to Emasculate Registration Law.
Renews the Demand for Anti-Lobbying Statute.
Approves the Railroad Commission Law and Welcomes Legiti
mate Investment of Foreign Capital in Georgia.
Purchase of Terminals at Chattanooga is Recommended.
Unauthorized Use of the Military is Condemned.
the accomplishments of Hoke Smith's
former administration and predicted
greater things for the coming one.
Joe Pottle, of Milledgeville, made
a brief but appropriate speech in
seconding the nomination.
Following him, T. C. Olive, of El
bert, made a brief speech seconding
the nomination of the progressives’
chief.
CONVENTION SIDESTEPS
PROHIBITION QUESTION
The state convention sidestepped
the Prohibition question.
An effort was made to secure an
expression in the platform indorsing
the present Prohibition law' ’ and op
posing any changes or amendments
thereto which are not indorsed by
its friends, but the effort was doomed
to ‘‘blush unseen and to waste -its
fragrance on the desert air."
The resolution indorsing the Prohi
bition law and opposing any changes
in it except such as are favored by its
friends was prepared by W. C. Bunn,
of Cedartown, and was handed by
him to Reuben R. Arnold, chairman
of the committee on rules, and in the
pocket of the chairman of the com
mittee on rules it found its perma
nent resting place. It was heard
from no more.
The resolution as drafted by Mr.
Bunn was as follows:
"Resolved, That we indorse the
present state Prohibition law and op
pose any changes or amendments
thereto not approved and indorsed
by its friends."
NEW DEMOCRATIC
STATE COMMITTEE
The new Democratic state execu
tive committee selected by the state
convention follows:
First District —H. A. Boykin, A.
D. Coleman, Clarence T. Guyton, J.
W. Hughes.
Second District—L. S. Moore, Tho
mas; E. M. Davis, Mitchell; J. G.
Dean, Terrell; C. S. Harris, Ran
dolph.
Third District—J. R. Statham,
Webster; D. W. Nicholson, Stewart;
George W. Jordan, Pulaski; W. L.
Williams, Dooly.
Fourth District—W. C. Neil, Musco
gee; C. V. Truitt, Troup; H. C. Ar
nold, Meriwether; Leon Hood, Car
roll.
Fifth District —C. D. McKinney, De-
Kalb; D. B. Bullard, Campbell; T.
R. Whitley, Douglas; R. W. Milner,
Newton.
Sixth District—W. B. Smith, Pike;
J. B. Jackson, Jones; W. B. Womble,
Upson; H. M. Fletcher, Butts.
Seventh District —P. T. Akin, Bar
tow; J. E. Rocer, Walker; Fred Mor
ris, Cobb; T. P. Taylor, Chattooga.
Eighth District—J. R. Mattox, El
berton; J. D. Matheson, Hartwell;
T. J. Barksdale, Washington; F. C.
Shackleford, Atehns.
Ninth District —W. S. Cornett,
Gwinnett; W. A. Cox, Gilmer; F. L.
Asbury, Habersham; Cleveland
Bonds, Stephens.
Tenth District —E. W. Jordan,
Washington; John T. West, McDuf
fie; W. B. Crawford, Lincoln; T. E.
Fleming, Hancock.
Eleventh District—L. V. Williams,
Ware; D. J. Mclntash, Pierce; J. L.
Kent, Johnson; R. L. Tucker, Irwin.
HERE ARE THE MEN
WHO WROTE PLATFORM
The platform committee of the
state convention was nominated as
follows:
First District—Frank Mitchell.
Second District—W. N. Spence.
Third District—R. L. Greer.
Fourth District—D. H. Hill.
Fifth District —James R. Gray.
Sixth District—S. Rutherford.
Seventh District —W. C. Martin.
Eighth District—Dr. A. S. J. Sto
val.
Ninth District—Joseph Underwood.
Tenth District—W. A. Smith.
‘ Eleventh District —Joseph A. Mor
ris.
J. Randolph Anderson, of Savan
nah, sat far back on the platform.
“I'm surprised to see you in the
camp of the enemy,” joked a friend.
"Well, why shouldn’t I come and
take my medicine with the rest?"
returned Mr. Anderson, a staunch
Brown man.
Shirt sleeves and shirt waists rub
bed elbows in boxes and balconies,
for the i ming was hot and sultry
and even ihe men who sat next to
their women folks discarded coats
early in the game. Palm leaf fans,
furnished by a wideawake advertiser,
were at a premium.
At 10 o’clock it was estimated that
there were more than 3,200 persons |
in the big building and the crowd was
still pouring in. The balconies held
a great many women, who appeared
to be intensely interested in the shift
ing scenes about them.
HOKE SMITH ACCEPTS
SECOND NOMINATION
Ex-Governor Hoke Smith, nomi
nated again for this office by the
Democratic state convention at its
meeting in Atlanta, made a pointed
speech accepting the nomination.
Governor Smith declared for a
strengthening of all the principles of
"progressive Democracy" which were
enacted into laws during his admin
istration as governor of the state,
and for adherence to the policies
promoted by "progressive Democ
racy” until all proposed measures
are enacted. He declared that all
the efforts of his administration shall
tend toward perfecting laws making
a clean ballot for Georgia, and that
the laws governing the franchise of
Georgia voters shall be strengthened,
honest ballot.
He denied that the people of Geor
gia want convenience in preference to
an honest ballot.
The speech of Governor Smith con
tained no harsh arraignment of his
political enemies. Rather he declared
the exponents of “progressive Democ
racy’’ should forgive and forget, and
unitedly turn all efforts toward the
development of the state and the im
provement of the individual citizen.
HOOPER ALEXANDER MADE
THE NOMINATION SPEECH
A tribute to the steadfast and rock
ribbed Democracy of Georgia, a de
mand that the Empire state of the
south claim her right to a voice in
the affairs of the national party, and
a peroration in which he asserted
the right of Georgia to name the next
president of the United States in
Hoke Smith, of Georgia, were the
principal features of the address of
Hon. Hooper Alexander, of DeKalb
county, who nominated Mr. Smith for
governor in the convention of Thurs
day. Mr. Alexander began his ad
dress by declaring that Mr. Smith had
been given no intimation of the
speaker’s purpose or the subject of
his address, and started the conven
tion by his reference to past candi
dates of the national party.
W. C. WRIGHT, OF COWETA,
MADE PERMANENT CHAIRMAN
In accepting the permanent chair
manship of the Democraetic state
convention, Which carries with it the
ex-officio chairmanship of the Demo
cratic state executive committee, W.
C. Wright, of Coweta county, address
ed the convention, expressing appre
ciation for the honor conferred upon
him. He declared it the duty of ev
ery loyal citizen to lay aside past
differences and unite for the upbuild
ing of the state. Georgia, he said,
had prospered under Democratic rule
and “progressive Democracy’’ is but
a modern name for the pure Jeffer
sonian type.
Early in the convention Congress
man Tom Hardwick took a seat on
the stage and immediately a tremend
ous yell of "Hardwick! Hardwick!”
went up from the crowd. The con
gressman was dragged from his
by a friend or two, who didn’t
to be straining their muscles, ana
came to the front of the stage for a
speech.
"Gentlemen of Georgia," he began,
"we are here today to— ’’
“Boom!" came an explosion from
behind, where some misguided pho
tographer had set off a flashlight.
The diminutive congressman ducked
—no man can stand a shot from be
hind—but' he soon resumed his ad
dress. Some one yelled “Watson!"
from the crowd, and Hardwick
smiled. He had a smile coming.
Thomas S. Felder nominee for at
torney general, was given a tremend
ous burst of applause when he took
a seat on the platform, and as soon
as Congressman Hardwick concluded
his brief address the yells for Felder
forced him to step out and make a
few remarks. Mr. Felder took up
the fight on the convict lease system,
declaring that not one of "the reac
tionaries” had lifted a hand to aid in
the abolishment of the system. He
paid an eloquent tribute to the past
anministration of Governor Smith
and promised Georgia an equally
good administration to come.
Reuben R. Arnold, floor leader, was
about the busiest man on the job
before the convention opened. Ev
erybody wanted to talk to him at
the same time and he was approached
by every delegate who had a pet res
olution to offer.
When the delegation from Cobb ar
rived at the Auditorium, 150 Hoke
Smith men from Brown’s home coun
ty, a cheer went up from the crowd
that nearly drowned the great organ.
M. T. McCleakey, a grizzled veteran,
bore a banner adorned with a picture
of Hoke Smith and kept it aloft.