Newspaper Page Text
Brantley County’s Chief
Products Are Naval Stores,
Lumber, Pulpwood, Livestock,
' Tobacco and Honey.
*♦ toLUME 34 — NUMBER 36
f Griffin Wins for Governor by Landslide Vote
SWEEPING THE COUNTRY
WELL, BOYS, HOW DID IT HAPPEN ANYWAY?
We Thompson people are asking ourselves what hit
us over the state in the primary election.
Although Thompson carried Brantley County by 183
votes over Griffin, his nearest opponent, the state seems
to have given Griffin a landslide victory.
I was badly fooled in my estimation of the first two
places on the ticket. It was my sincere conviction that
Thompson would lead and Griffin would be second.
Yet, in the last two weeks of the campaign I sensed
that Griffin was gaining and that Gowen was being built
up at the expense of Thompson.
1 was correst in my prediction that Linder would run
third, Hand wurth and Gowen fifth, but wholly wrong
in the prediction about the two leaders’ positions.
Here are some of the factors that caused Griffin to
win:
1. The Talmadge organization in Georgia “went
down the line”. They managed to hold most of the rank
and file of the Talmadge voters in line for Griffin.
The Talmadge organization is now the most power
ful political machine ever seen in Georgia politics. It has
been built largely on the race issue and will continue to
hold sway as long as radical agitators try to force mixed
schools on the people of Georgia.
. Although the friends of the other three leading can
didates knew they were just as much opposed to mixed
schools as Griffin, the Talmadge organization has man
aged to convince a majority of the voters that the Tal
madge candidate is their best bet on the race issue.
2. The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution
managed to gut Thompson with Hand and Gowen. Hand
was their nominal candidate but they gave more news
space to Gowen than they did to Hand.
Political leaders opposed to Griffin had originally
planned a two-man race between Jim Gillis and Griffin
but the Journal-Constitution persuaded Hand to make
the race and these newspapers thereby set the stage for
one of the wildest scrambles ever seen in Georgia politics
and the consequent election of Marvin Griffin.
If Hand had not announced for governor, Thompson
would not have run at all. And Gowen would probably
have withdrawn in favor of Gillis.
At the Georgia Press Institute in Athens last February
I told James Saxon Childers, editor of The Atlanta Jour
nal, and Jack Tarver, business manager of the two At
lanta papers, that their man Hand was in for a bad lick
ing, but these boys are only “the hired hands” and they
had to go along with the ownership, the “head men” at
the top.
I congratulate The Journal and The Constitution in
helping Marvin Griflin so much by building up Hand and
Gowen. They succeeded in electing the man they wanted
the least.
GRIFFIN A LIKEABLE PERSON
Although 1 opposed Marvin Griffin for governor for
what I considered good reasons, he is a very likeable man
personally.
If Griffin will set himself to rid the state payroll of
the parasites and grafters and determinedly chart a course
of rigid honesty and economy in government, he could
make Georgia one of the best governors in state history.
There are literally thousands of parasites on the
state payroll who do not earn their salt as state workers.
There will be thousands more who will clamor for sinicure
jobs with the state.
The race issue will be one of the hardest issues to
deal with in the next four years. The vast majority oi
Georgia citizens, both white and colored, are anxious to
keep separate schools and thereby keep the public school
system.
If the races are mixed in the schools, then Georgia
will reluctantly resort to private schools. This "would be
calamitious, not only to the white race but more so to the
colored race.
Governor-elect Griffin should have the cooperation
of both races in solving this momentous question. The
state could be set back another 100 years by forced mixing
of the races in the schools.
WE ARE NOT MAD AT ANYBODY
Well, boys, the Griffin juggernaut hit us Thompson
people and bowled us over, but I am personally in a good
humor with everyone.
I am so used to political defeats that they no longer
bother me much. What effort 1 put forth tor any candid
ate is always because I think he is the best man for the
office.
When my man is defeated. I know many people, the
majority^ have been made happy. And so why should I
worry when so many people are happy?
M. E. Thompson made a courageous race. That man
has guts. He is now the peerless loser in Georgia politics,
tut lie takes his defeats like u .man
And 1 know Thompson will cooperate with lUrYm
Griffin in trying to make the next four years the best in
tn? state’s history.
Srautlry Enterprise
By Carl Broome
NAHUNTA. GEORGIA THURSDAY, SEPT. 9, 1954
I
Official Returns for Brantley County
GEORGIA DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
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FOR GOVERNOR:
Marvin Griffin 17 77 63 86 27 125 93 23 511
Tom Linder 0 102 37 49 46 86 81 23 443
M. E. Thompson 53 49 119 78 35 268 32 60 694
FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR:
W. K. (Billy) Barrett 21 56 113 37 36 114 63 33 473
John W. Greer 23 59 70 71 37 161 50 22 473
S. Ernest Vandiver 29 78 31 73 19 166 51 61 508
FOR COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE;
Phil Campbell 3 124 30 56 36 153 40 11 453
Clark Gaines 12 17 39 35 8 109 26 50 296
FOR CONGRESS, BTH DISTRICT;
Iris Faircloth Blitch 48 86 73 90 36 281 97 66 777
W. M. (Don) Wheeler 21 115 115 101 55 168 61 41 677
W. A. (Wes) Wraggs 16 17 22 16 14 43 34 17 191
FOR STATE SENATOR:
Cecil Roddenberry 50 147 100 104 28 159 117 58 763
Jos. B. Strickland 53 97 118 114 81 361 92 67 983
FOR REPRESENTATIVE;
Roy Dowling 32 43 48 47 32 213 41 71 529
Bill Harris 63 194 173 160 77 302 168 53 1140
WINNERS
MARVIN GRIFFIN
Elected Governor of Georgia
CONTRACT LET
FOR REVAMPING
WATER SYSTEM
SIOO,OOO to Be Spent
Rebuilding Nahunta
City Waterworks
The City of Nahunta has let the
contract for rebuilding the city wa
ter system to two companies, one
for constructing the water mains
and the other for the 100,000 gallon
overhead tank.
Contract for the .mains was to
Murray - Pew Construction Com
pany, Atlanta, for $57,000, plus ad
ditional water mains to the stock
yard area. Lowest bidder on the
tank was $25,000 by Taylor Iron
Works, Macon.
Expenses incidental to rebuilding
the city water system will run the
total costs to SIOO,OOO or more.
Meters will be installed in the new
system and customers will pay ac
cording to the amount of water
they actually use.
Work on the pipe —-e .to. the new
begm 4 80 day;
iron Sept. 8. Th* entire project
will 'be completed within 120 days
trorp the time of starting to work.
S. ERNEST VANDIVER
Elected Lt. Governor
OKEFENOKE REA
MEMBERS MEET
SAT SEPT. 11
The Okefenokee Rural Electric
Membership Corporation with head
quarters in Nahunta, will hold its
Annual Membership Meeting, Sat
urd<" r Sentember 11
The meeting will be held at the
Nahunta High School Gymnasium,
registration beginning at 9:00 A.M.
and the meeting will start at 10.00
AM
This is the time for the members
tc rneot and disucss the operation
of their business and elect directors
to govern their business.
The Okefenokee Co-operative
has over 1300 miles of line and ser
ves over 3600 members in nine
counties. The Co-operative serves
electric energy to rural residents in
Brantley, Camden, Charlton, Glynn,
Wayne, and Were Counties, Geor
gia, and Nassau, Duval, and Baker
Counties, Florida.
The nominating committee nomi
nated for election: R. L. Bernard,
Brantley County, Horton H. Howard,
Wayne County, and William A.
Norman, Charlton County., to fill
three year terms on the Board of
Directors- The members have tire
opportunity to make further zerm
natio^ from the floor at the meet
ing.
“A special feature of the meeting
OFFICIAL ORGAN BRANTLEY COUNTY AND CITY OF NAHUNT
MRS. IRIS BLITCH
Leads in Congress Race
will be the drawing for prizes con-
tributed by appliance dealers and
our business friends. The grand
prizes will be a 21-inch Philco tele
vision set contributed jointly by
the Country Store and Co-operative,
and a Gould ‘Balanced-Flow Water
Pump’, given by the Co-operative,
said Pete J. Gibson, Manager of
the Co-operative.
All members and friends of the
Okefenokee Rural Electric Member
ship Corporation are invited to at
tend.
Knox Cemetery
Will Be Cleaned
Off September 14
The Knox Cemetery will be clean
ed off Tuesday, Sept. 14, it is an
nounced by M. F. Wildes.
All people who are interested in
the Knox Cemetery will pleas?
come on that date, Tuesday ,Sept
14, please come with your tools for
beautifying the cemetery.
Pilgrim’s Rest
Cemetery Will Be
Cleaned Sept. 21
The Pilgrim’s Rest Cemetery
will be cleaned off on Tuesday,
Sept 21, it is announced
* Pilgrim’s Rest is located two
miles south of Waynesville. All
people who are interested, in the
cemetery will please come on Sept.
21 and bring tools for cleaning off
the burial ground,
For the Sportsman Brantley
County Has Deer, Turkey,
Quail, Foxes, Coons;
Also Good Fishing.
STRICKLAND AND
HARRIS WIN
COUNTY RACES
VANDIVER IS
ELECTED AS
LT. GOVERNOR
Marvin Grifin appeared Thurs
day to have been nominated for
Governor of Georgia in a land
slide of popular and county unit
votes. M. E. Thompson had con
ceded him victory.
Ernest Vandiver also appeared
to have been victorious in his
race for lieutenant governor. He
also carried Pierce by a wide
margin.
Brantley County’s two unit votes
went to M. E. Thompson in the race
for governor but Griffin won over
the entire state, according to latest
reports of unofficial returns from
the 169 counties.
The vote of the three leaders in
Brantley County was Thompson
694, Griffin 511 and Linder 443.
The other six candidates received
a few scattered votes over the
county.
In the hotly contested race for
state senator in Brantley Jos. B.
Strickland came out the winner by
a vote of 983 to 763. In the race for
representative Bill Harris topped
Roy Dowling by a vote of 1140 to
529.
Iris Blitch won Brantley County
over the incumbent congressman
Don Wheeler by a vote of 777 to
677. Wraggs polled 179 votes. Be
cause of the long ballot the coun
ting was slow in the Nahunta pre
cinct, the polls workers staying on
the job counting votes until three
o'clock in the morning.
Smyrna Cemetery
Will Be Cleaned
The Smyrna Cemetery at Smyrna
Primitive Baptist Church will be
cleaned off Wednesday, Sept. 22,
it is announced by W. R. Strick
land.
All who are interested in the up
keep of the Smyrna Cemetery are
requested to come Wednesday, Sept.
22, with tools for cleaning off the
burial grounds.
ROYAL
THEATRE
Nahunta, Georgia
TIME: Monday thru Friday
8:00 P. M.
Saturday: 7:00 and 8:30 P. M.
PROGRAM
THURS., FRI., SEPT. 9 - 10
“Killer Ape”
With JOHNNY WEISMULLER
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
“The Last Roundup”
With GENE AUTRY
Mon., Tues., Sept. 713-14
“Gypsy Colt”
With Dunne Corcoran and
Ward Bond
Wednesday, Sept. 15
“Saadia”
With Rita Gani
Thurs., Fri., Sept. 16-17
“The Steranger
Wore a Gun”
With Randolph Scott and
Claire Trevor
Saturday, Sept. 18
‘Stagecoach Drviar
Will* Wdp Wilxm
