Birmingham state herald., 1896-10-08
A GREAT DAYS WORK FOR ALABAMA
(Continued from First Page.)

Resolved. That it is the sense of the members of this association that they feel l highly honored at the compliance with 1 the request of the Commercial club of 1 Birmingham and the compliment to the l citizens of Ala bama.
 l Resolved, That the thanks of this as- | soctatlon are hereby rendered to Secreta- 1 ry Herbert, and that the chairman hereby l appoint committee of ten, with power l Of said committee to increase it's size, for | the purpose of soliciting and obtaining | the necessary moneyes for the purpose Of l purchasing a silver service to present to the officers of the man-of- war; Alabama 1 Resolved further, That the committee l shall have charge of the purchase and | presentation of said silver service, and | shall arrange the ceremonies attending l the same, as well as the ceremonies on | the occasion of launching and naming the l said man-of-war.
 | Adopted.
 l To Advertire the State.
 Maj F. Y. Anderson offered the follow l ing resolutions:
 1 Hon. I. F. Culver commissioner of agri- l culture of the state of Alabama, be and l is hereby respectfully requested and | urged to use sufficient amount of money | belonging to his department and at his disposal for the advertisement and devel- opment of the state, necessary to provide | a proper exhibit of it's wonderful re- sources at the Tennessee Centennial ex- position, to be held in Nashville. Tenn, in 1897.
 Adopted.
 Constitutional Convention. The report of the committee on con- stltutonal convention was called for, and l Mr. J. A. Rountree, chairman, on behalf | of the committee, reported as follows: MT. Chairman: l am of those who be- lieve that we have postponed the holding 1 of a constitutional convention longer ai- ready than we should have done. It is evident to my mind that Alabama Is greatly the loser in many ways for not having taken the step sooner. l think 1t l is suicidal to longer attempt to go for l ward without first clearing the way l There are, to my mind, many good req sons why Alabama should have a new | constitution. Some of these reasons do | not affect every section of the state alike, | while some of them do affect every sec- | ton alike. One important reason, Mr. l Chairman, why the state should have a | new constitution is that under the present | constitution it Is practically impossible | for the great state of Alabama to take l its proper place in the list of states when we come to examine how the states stand l in the illiteracy column. It may not have | impressed you, MT. Chairman and gentle | men, that Alabama's position in that col | umn bellies our boasted greatness, but | beyond doubt 1t has impressed those who | live in other states and countries. To ad- l vertise to the world, as we do, that here
  | us. and at the same time we have done | so little for ourselves in the way of edu- | cation, does not speak we'll for us, and l constitutes no inducement to others to T come and cast their lots with us. We l must improve our public school system. | We must be able to convince the outside | world that Alabamians intend to educate | their children before we can expect a
 very great influx of immigrants. To be l able to do this we must have new con-
 stitutlon. This is one reason, plain to l my mind why Alabama should have a | constitutional convention, and reason l that applies the same to every school | township within the borders of the state.
 Another reason why Alabama should
 have constitutional convention and
 new constitution, Mr. Chairman, is that
 under the restrictions in our present or
 ganic law it Is practically impossible to | build up here in Alabama such cities as l we must have If we are to keep pace with
 our sister states of the union. The fram- | CTS of the constitution under which we | now live never dreamed that here in
 Jones valley nature had sown the seeds | for Pittsburg, and hence no provi- | sions were embraced in that instrument | to meet the requirements of great city.
 This is one reason, MT. Chairman. why
 we should have constitutional conven- | tion that does not affect every section of
 the state alike While to clear away the
 impediments so that In different sections of the state fiourish.ng cities can spring
 up and a great city be builded here in
 Jones Valley, will be to the benefit of
 the people of every precinct in Alabama,
 we cannot expect them to grasp and ap-
 preciate the fact so readily as they will
 in the case of the betterment of our pulp lie school system. Then, Mir. Chairman. l we need to be able constitutionaly to ex-
 tend far better inducements than we
 can now extend under our constitution | to those who would establish in our state | manufacturing enterprises. Along this
 Ene we are cramped. We can't do what
 we would like to do and what others
 are doing toward inviting new industries
 and fostering them when they come. | I will mention in these remarks, MT
 Chairman only one other reason, par
 ticuiarly, of the many that exist, why | Alabama should and must have a. new | consultation, and that one is the ahso-
 lutn necessity nf regulating the right of
 suffrage aud the qualification of voters. l At the sacrifice of material and educa-
 tionai progress we have postponed until
 now the making of new constitution, l almost at ne sacrifice of universal white
 supremacy in Alabama have we procras-
 tinated in this important matter. Down
 to this time, MT Chairman. 1t has been
 foolish. If we ,proorastin0te longer 1t
 will be suicidal. Today In Alabama there
 exists a state of affairs political that
 should warn every white man in the
 state, whether he believes in the gold | standard the silver standard. bimetal- | Hsm. protection or free trade. that his | duty to his family requires of him to join | hands with his white neighbors and help | to make constitution for Alabama that