The Augusta Courier

STRICTLY PERSONAL

By ROY V. HARRIS

When you read this, the September 8 Primary will be over.

It is being written before the results of the Primary are known. However, even though I do not know what the results will be I would like to comment upon the race.

In the first place, I would like to say that the man who has lost more face and more prestige as a result of the campaign than anybody else is Governor Talmadge.

There are many reasons for this. It was Governor Talmadge who gave M. E. Thompson his first shot in the arm. When Governor Talmadge stated that if more than one of his friends ran for governor that he was going to Lovejoy and watch M. E. Thompson get elected governor, he created a bandwagon psychology in favor of Thompson. Governor Talmadge is the man who put Thompson in the race by this statement. Otherwise, Thompson would have been a nonentity in the race.

Thompson capitalized on this statement and urged all the weak sisters to get on his bandwagon.

Then Governor Talmadge made a lot of his friends mad when he gave a statement to the newspapers indicating that Fred Hand had lied about Marvin Griffin's pardon. The governor had told too many people that he had this pardon locked up in his safe before the incident happened and all of these people spread the word that the governor had told them that he had it.

I do not know whether the governor had the pardon or not, but I do know that he told me he had it and he told a lot of other people over Georgia that he had it. This has become pretty well known over the state and it has left the governor in a ridiculous position.

Then too, the Governor promised Fred Hand that he would take no part in the race. He stated to me on several occasions that he would not take any part and he would just vote for his choice. In addition to making the promise and telling other people this is what he would do, he announced to the people of Georgia through the newspapers that he would take no part in the campaign.

Yet, he had the officials at the state Capitol putting all the pressure they could in behalf of Marvin Griffin. While Fred Hand was repeating over and over on the stump Governor Talmadge's promise to him and reminding the people of the fact that the Governor had publicly stated he would take no part, Governor Talmadge was working night and day for Marvin Griffin. He was calling people and urging them to consolidate behind Marvin. He was talking to them in his office.

These same people whom the Governor called and these people he talked to in person knew that Governor Talmadge had stated publicly that he was not going to take part in the race.

After the Governor had called these people and seen them in person, they went into the various counties and told the Governor's friends that the Governor wanted them to vote for Marvin Griffin. These people thought something was funny when they were reading in the papers that the Governor was having no part in the campaign and yet his leaders were telling them that he had asked them to help carry the county for Marvin Griffin.

This one thing caused the Governor to lose a lot of the goodwill that he had built up in Georgia during the past four years.

Then too, Dixon Oxford, after a conference with the Governor, took over the Highway Department. Jim Gillis said that under the circumstances he was going home and that he would not be back until after the election, if ever.

As soon as Gillis got out of town all the stops in the Highway Department were pulled out and Oxford put the call on everybody. They went after the contractors and the Highway employees. Oxford even called bankers who had state deposits in their bank and urged them to support Griffin. The bankers got the idea that the purpose of this call was a vague threat to remove the deposits unless they would support Griffin. The people of the state charged this to Governor Talmadge and it has caused him to lose a lot of respect. Tom Linder had the support of the old-time wool-hat boys who followed Eugene Talmadge and the Governor's activity behind Marvin Griffin has alienated this group of people.

Likewise he alienated most of those who voted for Fred Hand.

Fred Hand's friends felt that Fred had been stabbed in the back by the Governor. They still feel the same way.

They know that in 1947 Fred Hand was one of a few men who were responsible for the legislature's electing Governor Talmadge and they know that had not Fred stood by Governor Talmadge as he did that the Governor could not have been elected by the legislature and would probably have never been governor.

They know that Fred Hand supported him in two races for governor and as Speaker of the House stood by him as a great tower of strength.

He stood by the Governor when Marvin Griffin was not Lieutenant Governor and could not help him. He stood by the Governor and supported his legislation when Marvin Griffin was making no effort to help the Governor at all.

Fred Hand's friends know that he stood by the Governor in the House of Representatives when the Governor was forced to call on other friends to help him out in the Senate because of the inefficiency and careless leadership he had in the Senate.

Therefore, Fred Hand's friends believe that since the Governor took an active part in behalf of Marvin Griffin after he had promised Fred Hand not to do so that he stabbed Fred in the back.

They feel that if the Governor were going to actively campaign for Marvin Griffin that he should have so advised Fred Hand before he permitted Fred to get into the race.

Then there is another thing that Governor Talmadge will never be able to erase from his record.

When he supported Marvin Griffin he supported a racketeer and he knew he was supporting a racketeer.

It is going to be difficult for him to explain why he chose a racketeer as his candidate for governor.

When Governor Talmadge ran for Governor in 1948 and 1950 he denounced the pardon racket of the Rivers Administration.

Yet, the Grand Jury of Fulton County says that Marvin Griffin ran this pardon racket. They had sworn evidence before them and they found that Governor Rivers passed the authority to grant pardons to Griffin, that Griffin held hearings and granted pardons when the Governor was out of the state and that he so handled the granting of pardons that it amounted to a brokerage business for a select few of the "Inner Circle".

Governor Talmadge has done a good job in advertising Georgia to the people of the nation and he has raised the estimation of the government of this state in the eyes of the people. Now by supporting a known racketeer for Governor he has whittled away some of the prestige he has enjoyed in the past.

It is one of the things that will haunt him the rest of his days and like a ghost it will keep rising to haunt him.

So, I say that Governor Talmadge has suffered a worse defeat than any of the defeated candidates in the race and that he has made a record of which he cannot be proud and one of which he must be ashamed the rest of his days.

He let some of his friends get him in a wreck during one of his campaigns that resulted in a broken leg and his being put in a hospital. This wreck almost took him out of the race in 1948.

The friends who wrecked him in 1948 were well intentioned friends, but were acting at the time very unwisely and very foolishly.

Once again he has let some friends lead him. Once again, they led him into a wreck.

This wreck will be known as the wreck of 1954.

Figuratively speaking, he has at least broken a leg and this time the leg may not heal like it did in 1948.

Regardless of how the election results and regardless of who gets elected the Governor has been in a wreck and how serious the damage to him is to be remains to be seen.

My friend, Jim Gillis has also lost prestige because it wasn't clearly known during the campaign which of the candidates he was supporting.

He may have been supporting more than one.

At least this is the opinion of the public generally.

However, Mr. Gillis will probably be able to overcome his loss of prestige and the people may understand why he took the course he did take.

But there is one thing that stands out above all others in this race and that is that too many people do not vote their conscience on a basis of principle, but they diligently search for the winner.

Another thing that stood out like a sore thumb is the fact that too many people in this state were seeking a candidate who would give them something personally instead of a candidate who promised to give them a competent and a clean administration of the state affairs.

And that brings up the worst thing I know about politics.

It takes a lot of money to be elected Governor and the cost of radio, television, newspaper advertising in the making of a campaign is prohibitive.

Now, you can't run without doing these things and you can't run without money.

There are plenty of people who are willing to contribute. But the ones who are willing to contribute expect some special favor from the State. They either expect highway contracts, deposits of money in their banks, to sell the state something, or to be protected in one of the rackets.

Now, if a man can convince this group of people whom I call racketeers that he has a good chance to win, he can get all the money he wants.

The thing that astounds me is that the people of the state do not know what's going on in these campaigns and they seem little concerned.

If this trend continues you are going to see the government of every state in this nation and the federal government controlled by racketeers.

The reason for this is the fact that legitimate business people are asleep. They do not recognize that somebody must pay the freight. They seem to think that all these campaigns are run without money.

The business people do not contribute and consequently they are defaulting in their duty and surrendering to the racketeer the control of the government of their state.

We are never going to have good government until the business people recognize that they must help pay the freight.

It is easy to get money out of gamblers, bootleggers and people who want rigged contracts with the state.

They will contribute in enormous amounts.

The business people of the state must recognize that he who pays the fiddler calls the tune. Unless the business people of this state recognize this fact and they are willing to assume their responsibility for the government of their own state, then they should quit criticizing governors and other state officials who run rackets for the benefit of their friends.

A straight-laced candidate is handicapped in the raising of campaign funds. One who isn't particular about his obligations fares better.

The whole situation boils down to this: Unless the good people of this state are willing to participate in politics openly and to help pay the expenses of campaigns, then they are surrendering the government of this state to people who are willing to contribute and to people who are willing to stick their necks out and are willing to participate.

The duties of citizenship require all of us to take part in the management of the biggest business in Georgia and that is the state government.

When we are afraid to open our mouths or to take part, it means that we are slackers in our duty.

After the results are known, we will have more to say about the campaign.

THE AUGUSTA COURIER, SEPTEMBER 13, 1954