Marion County GaArchives News.....Rousing Hoke Smith Club Formed in Marion County August 21 1906 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Linda Blum-Barton http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00003.html#0000645 August 12, 2003, 11:53 pm The Atlanta Semi Weekly Journal ROUSING HOKE SMITH CLUB FORMED IN MARION COUNTY Following Speech of Hon. W. J. Grace, Organization is Perfected at Buena Vista. Buena Vista, Ga., Aug. 18 - To the most enthusiastic, attentive and unanimous Hoke Smith audience, assembled in the auditorium of the courthouse in the town of Buena Vista, county seat of Marion county, the Hon. W. J. Grace, of the county of Bibb, delivered on Thursday one of the clearest cut political arguments in favor of the candidacy of the Hon. Hoke Smith for governor that it has ever been the pleasure of the citizens of our county to hear. The fact that Colonel Grace's appointment was not known of before Saturday last, and owing to the further fact that there arose some confusion about his appointment, because, by mistake, his appointment was incorrectly published, being published that on yesterday he would speak at some other distant point in Georgia, and the further fact that this county is strictly an agricultural county, and the farmers are just at this time engaged in pulling fodder, no doubt affected the size of the audience, yet Hoke Smith's friends were more than gratified to see assembled one of the more representative as well as probably the largest audiences which has assembled to hear any speaker since the reuniting of our people in this county. The auditorium of the courthouse, which has a seating and standing capacity of at least 350 was practically filled with voters, there being about 300, who had come to listen and learn, and who for two hours, with the most intense interest, heard from the speaker of the day a discussion of the peculiar claims or reasons why each respective candidate put forward for his claim on the people for the office. COL. ESTILL'S CLAIM. In substance, he made it plain to his audience that Colonel Estill based his claim principally on the grounds that he meant to be governor because he lived in south Georgia. The speaker called attention to the fact that Colonel Estill was not consistent with this proposition, only when he was a candidate for governor. That the different candidates who aspired to office from that territory, that a great number of them, as well as their friends, will remember the fact that the colonel did not remember that they were from south Georgia. That he was sure that these candidates as well as their friends had not forgotten their treatment at the hands of the colonel. That the colonel, along with Howell, Russell, and Jim Smith, was willing to "let well enough alone." That he as well as his other three running mates were absolutely satisfied for the railroad corporations to rob the people of Georgia of millions of dollars each year; to let other corporations as well as the railroads control legislation through the channel of lobbying. That they had no objection to the negroes' political equality, that they did not want the negroes' political liberty interfered with. That they favored keeping the negro in a position where, although they knew that he stood ready at any time to prostitute his franchise for money, whiskey or anything else which would satisfy his base appetite or his political equality, he could step up to the ballot box and nullify forever beneath his prostituted ballot the vote of the purest white citizen within the confines of Georgia. That hand in hand these four candidates were jointly opposing the candidacy of the Hon. Hoke Smith, who for more than twelve months, single-handed and alone, had pleaded the people's cause, in his advocacy of freeing the state from corporate oppression, negro domination, pure elections and a "government of the people, by the people, and for the people." EXCESSIVE FREIGHT RATES He demonstrated to the audience that although the charges of excessive freight rates had been laid at the feet of his opponents for more than twelve months, the only answer that had been elicited was the abuse by some of the candidates and their supporters not only of the Hon. Hoke Smith by charges which had never been sustained, but that Mr. Albert Howell had seen fit to go to the extent of dragging the honored father of Hoke Smith before the eye of the public, and his life, which had been well spent in the interest of education in the south, was made the subject of false criticism. And all this was done, it would seem, in answer to the issues which the Hon. Hoke Smith is advocating. The audience with repeated demonstrations, practically unanimous, assured the speaker that it was with him and his candidate. Col. Grace, in detail, dealt with the figures demonstrating the fact that Georgia is being imposed on by the railroad corporations in the matter of freight rates. The free pass question he handled to the delight of his audience, citing decisions from the supreme court of Georgia to the effect that the courts of the land recognized the fact that a juror could be so effected or influenced by simply taking dinner with either of the parties litigant, or their counsel. That if the courts of justice were so vigilant to see that its officers should not be subjected to the least question of influence; that a juror was human; that the judge on the bench is human, or the representative in the legislature was human, subject to the same influences and weakness; that if the juror can be influenced by simply accepting hospitality of either the parties litigant or their counsel, could the representative with the free pass in his pocket worth probably $100 to him be biased. That the juror cited effected only the interest of the individual; that what the representative did reached the interest of every citizen.  NEGRO DISFRANCHISEMENT. On the question of negro disfranchisement he absolutely, clearly established its constitutionality, not only by the courts and the opinions of the strongest lawyers in the land, and in this connection he read the editorials in the Atlanta Constitution as late as 1902, in which the editor, now candidate for governor, re-endorsed its former editorials favoring negro disfranchisement. During the day some of the friends of Hoke Smith circulated the endorsement of the candidacy of Hoke Smith, which appears below, for the purpose of, in a general way, finding what the sentiment of the people were, and, although it was impossible to give every one an opportunity to sign it, yet with the one day's effort the supporters of Mr. Smith who had charge of it are thoroughly satisfied with the result. From every quarter of the county practically the universal report was to the effect that "my sentiment is for Hoke Smith, " or "I do not know of but one or two men against Hoke Smith in my vicinity," and similar suggestions. Some requested the privilege of putting down their neighbors whom they knew were for Hoke Smith, but this was not permitted, and the names of only those who put their names down themselves, or authorized it done, were placed on the list. Following is the petition that was circulated: MARION HOKE SMITH CLUB We, the undersigned citizens of Marion county, recognizing that the principles for which the Hon. Hoke Smith is now contending are not only the principles on which popular government is based, but are in perfect accord with the p?????????? of Jeffersonian ??????????? "Government of the people, by the people and for the people" - and directly opposed to the latter-day Democracy, "Government of the people, by the corporations and for the corporations," deem it not only our duty , but a great privilege to lend him our unstinted and unqualified support in his race for our governor, hereby consecrating ourselves to the principles for which he is contending.  M. P. Wadsworth David S. Hogg J. L. Welch Henry Johnson C. T. Storey L. O. Gray J. T. McCorkle E. B. Reese A. K. Pickard J. M. Lowe B. T. Peacock Dr. W. R. Hair J. G. McMichael Chas. G. Wiggins J. W. Roberts F. L. Clements C. M. Clements S. T. Wilson Vilas Belk W. D. Mathews J. T. Minter R. M. Hair M. W. Fouche H. T. Lowe Dr. W. A. Drone W. D. Maddox J. A. Taylor J. W. Moon T. L. Rogers C. J. Taylor A. C. Duncan E. H. Hughes J. Tom Chapman J. W. Benson M. S. Holley R. J. Spinks J. M. Owens J. T. Sorrells J. H. Green H. T. Chapman W. E. Pickard J. W. Williams V. M. Fain W. M. Williams M. Hair R. C. Monk B. P. Key J. W. Steed V. E. Helms M. A. Helms ?. L. Goodroe G. W. Kiser T. J. Green T. E. Hagler L. B. Smith E. L. Duke W. S. Wells G. R. McCukle J. D. Andrews S. L. Fleming Geo. R. Lowe C. W. Pickard W. F. Parker W. W. Tyler J. M. Cook J. M. McElmurry T. J. Gill J. C. Daniel H. W. Hart W. J. Langford J. D. Wilson Geo. W. Brown D. L. Franklin Sam Stringfellow W. C. Wooten R. Brown H. M. Thaggard ?. W. Belk H. Belk B. A. Chapman J. M. Steed M. L. Lowe R. Gray Noel G. W. Martin J. E. Benson J. A. Hogg R. L. Welch ?. H. Rigsby J. A. Walker H. Highnote J. D. Hart J. E. Walton J. H. Darley?, Sr. R. W. Stevens W. P. McCukle Jabez McCukle J. R. Jordan J. M. Foster W. S. Webb E. B. Clements W. T. Christian J. L. Wilson W. W. Mulkey H. B. Mauk Joe Duke, Jr. J. E. Ansley J. D. Storey W. L. Guy J. H. Storey F. W. Lowe Dr. J. R. Hair J. W. Jackson Ben T. Reese J. E. Lowe I. W. Benson R. H. Stokes W. H. McGregor W. T. Weaver J. H. Lowe T. B. Jessey J. A. Weaver J. B. Law W. L. Green J. B. short G. W. Dillard J. C. Fussell N. W. Parker J. Gordon Lowe R. E. Clements M. B. McCrary J. T. Lightner E. L. Harvey E. C. Duke J. S. Goodroe J. T. Bland W. H. Lowe J. L. Benson T. E. Chapman J. E. Moore J. P. Hogg G. L. Stripling W. B. Short J. O. Smith W. T. Foster G. W. Cook W. W. Fain B. S. Parker J. A. Hart H. O. Lowe Chas. W. Lowe T. J. Mathews W. E. Jackson J. C. Crawford O.H. Minter W. B. Simmons W. S. Persy N. L. Holley John Pilcher H. W. Hagler M. F. Hagler W. R. Duke Pearl Dillard J. M. Chalkley P. S. Stevens P. H. Stevens W. B. Wells W. R. Upton J. H. Daniel, Jr. T. W. Benson G. C. McCrary J. A. Benson J. F. Rushin N. B. Butt G. M. Benson W. T. Bryant R. L. McMichael A. D. McMichael Eugene Reese S. M. Burt J. E. Lumpkin N. C. Phillips W. L. Foster Carlos Belk W. B. Nutt R. R. McMichael L. H. Bethune A. W. Benson J. H. Upton T. L. Story J. T. W????worth R. G. Noel B. B. Deavors W. E. Butt Dr. S. A. Murray J. W. Edwards Dr. M. R. Edwards J. W. McCrary W. C. Story Additional Comments: Transcribed from an original newspaper in my possession. This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/gafiles/ File size: 11.0 Kb