Birmingham age-herald., 1895-03-26
A POINT OF LAW
Which the Contested Ninth Congress sional District Case Has Sprung
 That Will Prove of Interest.

Yesterday Commissioner Thad sWeath- erly resumed the taking of testimony in behalf of the contestee in the election con- test of T. II. Aldrich vs. o. w.. Under wood. a
 Mir. Roscoe Mcconnell was examiucd. He said his firm rented the residence at 1919 Seventeenth street. South Highlands, to MT. Aldrich, his last lease expiring on October l, 1894. Witness said that sixty or ninety days prior to the expiration of the lease MT. Aldrich requested him to get new tenant, and in tue conversation the latter said he was going back to Cincinnati, Alabama.
 Testimony was taken in Cincinnati last Saturday on this point, apd in it's report Of the matter the Enquirer of that city says:
 Dispositions were taken yesterday in thu congressional election contest of Oscar w. Underwood against Truman H. Aldrich from the Birmingham, AIa. district.
 ''The question raised is one of residence, and will prove of national interest, as be- ing the first time that the point has been raised. Congress has been considered the sole judge of the qualification of it's mem- bers, and the states can neither increase nor diminish the number of representatives in the national legislature or prescribe their qualifications.
 s'Instances have been known where men who were non-residents of the district hay been elected. Ben Butler was defeated in his own district and elected in another, as was Sunset Cox. At least one United States senator has been 0 resdeut of the state be represented, James Lane of Kansas, who was congressman from the I.awrenceburg (Ind) district, and advo- cated measure that rendered him popular in Kansas. He was invited to stump the latter state, the result of which was that the legislature elected him to the United States senate, although his citizenship was still in Indiana.
 "A few years ago Judge George Gibson, at that time 0 resident of Louisville, Ky, was elected to the Indiana legislature and succeeded in retaining his seat, being re- ferred to throughout the session as the gentleman from Kentucky
 tsThe constitution and statutes are silent upon the subject of residence, and the question as to whether or not non resi- dent representative is contrary to the spirit of American institutions, the letter of the law being silent, has not yet been tested, and is to be tried in the present case, the contention being that Aldrich is a resident of Cincinnati, and cannot, therefore, rep- resent district in Alabama.
 ssSeveral witnesses were examined, but nothing very positive was shown, except that the wife of the contestee lives on Mt. Auburn, while he makes occasional visits to her. She makes tax returns in her own name and pays bills with her own checks. Further evidencs will be introduced to- morrow, and something more positive may be developed. The dispositions were taken in the office of Howard Douglass, MT. Douglass and George Harding appearing for Underwood, and John w. Herring of Birmingham for Aldrich."
 The constitution of the United States, article 1, section 2, paragraph 2, says:
 ''No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the age of 25 years, and been seven years citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen.o
 MT. Aldrich stated to an AGE HERALD reporter yesterday afternoon that he had not been citizen of any state but Alabama in eighteen years, and that he didn't own q dollar's worth of property in Ohio. He said his wife owned property in Cincin- natl, and that they also owned property in much time at their New York home as in Cincinnati. He added that he was in Ohio only two days last summer,