The age-herald., 1899-03-22
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
 AND ELSEWHERE

1.-The proposed new constitution of the | state should be submitted to the people for
 ratification or rejection, as they in their | judgment deem proper" declared General | Charles M. Shelley yesterday afternoon l 'I wish 1t to be understood that have the | utmost confidence in the sound judgment, i! the wisdom and the purpose to do right of 1 all the delegates of whose election 1 have l been informed; and l have no doubt that 1 the constitutional convention as a whole | will be entirely worthy of and wholly 1 credtable to the people of Alabama, but l I maintain that the result of their care l full and painstaking labors should be sub | mitted to the popular vote. Let the con- l vention frame the wisest instrument of or l ganio law possible, and then let the ques- | tion of it's final adoption be passed upon | by the people. There is no reason this year | for adopting without reference to the peo- | pie the fundamental law by which they are l to be governed for a period the limit of l which no man can presume to guess The l people should be trusteed in this matter | Unless they are trusted, unless the state 1 convention which meets in Montgomery at
 the end of the month gives them the pledge | of confidence, they may take the matter l into their own hands and resolve that there
 shall be no convention at all. I repeat that these words are spoken with sense of the
 utmost respect for the delegates to the | constitutional convention and confidence | in the wisdom of their ultimate conclu- 1 sions Yet I consider it of vital conse- l quence that the new constitution, when
 framed, shall be submitted to popular | vote" The fact that Robert J. Lowe is sixth on | the list Of successful candidates for dele l gates from Jefferson county to the consti- | tutional convention calls for a statement of | l lacts. The circumstances perfectly 1 familiar to the people of Jefferson. but l prooaoly are not known to the state at large. MT. Lowe was urged as the logical | candidate fors delegate from the state-at- | large, as representing the Jefferson sena- torial district, he being the official head Of | the democratic party of the state and tie | party in the first county of the common wealth, With characteristic generosity and consideration for others MT. Lowe vol | untafily informed Senator Cunningham that he would not oppose him, the sena- tor if the senator cared to represent the | district at Montgomery. For reasons known | to all the state, Senator Cunningham felt | impelled to make the race, and today the | county convention will indorse him with | out opposition. After too long a delay | MT. Lowe announced himself as a candi- | date for delegate from the county; and | Senator Cunningham pledged him his sup port. The contest, so far as MT. Lowe was | concerned, was brief; but it was long | enough for him to be subjected to all | sorts of misrepresentatons and unjustif- | able opposition.
 In some beats of the county word was |
 sent out that MT. Lowe was Johnston |
 man." and citizens voted against him on | that account. In other beats the story |
 was that MT. Lowe was anti-Johnston, and | for that the governors friends "knifed" | him. In every beat in the county were ar, rayed against him the men who favored | placing Jefferson county under the Moody | liquor dispensary law, their action being |
 based upon MT. Lowe's opposition to that |
 measure as applied to his own county. |
 Some powerful corporate interests also |
 vigorously opposed him. In these circum- |
 stances, the fact that MT. Lowe won in the |
 contest against many strong and good |
 men is notable tribute to his worth. His |
 great ability his courage, his strength of |
 purpose, his straightforwardness, his de-
 votion to his friends and his conception of |
 duty-these praisworthy attributes of a
 powerful character cost MT. Lowe hun
 dreds of votes. But he triumphs, and that |
 is an honor to his county and to his state |
 The Age-Herald from the outset dealt with |
 MT. Lowe's candidature as exceptional for |
 reasons not needful to restate here. Events
 have made necessary this simple statement
 of facts.
 The apparent result of the primary cleo |
 tion in Lee county Is of more than mere county interest. It seems that the regular
 democratic ticket lost by a large majority
 and delegates are likely to be sent to the |
 constitutional convention who were not in
 sympathy with the democratic party In
 1896. This recalls a story related to an
 Age-Herald reporter two weeks ago by
 well known democrat familiar with Lee
 county politics. For obvious reasons it |
 could not be printed then; but it is instruc-
 tive now. The statement was to the effect |
 that the democratic committee of the coun-
 ty had gone beyond the state committees |
 instructions in the matter of qualification |
 of voters, and had actually disqualified |
 fully 1000 white men in the county from |
 participation in the primary or beat meet | ings This was hotly resented by a large | section of the voters. The result is now I perceived. There will be two former speakers of the | house of representatives in the constitu- | tional convention, namely, the Hon. Wilbur |
 F. Foster, of Macon, and Hon. Francis l.. | Pettus, of Dallas. MT. Foster was speaker sixteen or seventeen years ago. MT. Pet
 tus was speaker in 1S91-92; and subsequent | ly president of the senate. Other former | speakers now living are Judge John P. | Hubbard, of Pike, elected speaker in 1870; | Former Governor Thomas G. Jones, of |
 Montgomery. and MT. Thomas H. Clark, |
 the law librarian of congress at Washing | ton. Neither of these will be in the con- |