The age-herald., 1899-03-14

The primary election to select Jeffersons six delegates to the constitutional conven- ton will be held next Saturday, and in the meantime more and more attention is be- ing paid to the platforms, they may be called, on which the twenty candidates who have announced themselves are making their race. Every one of them, so far as can be learned, are heartily in favor of eliminating the negro from politics, but none of the delegates are prepared to go into details on this subject, most of them saying that they have not yet given the subject the study which they intend doing. On the dispensary question, all of them agree that it is not an issue which should be touched one way or the other by the constitution. Each candidate holds his own peculiar views, some of them differ ing widely, will be seen from the fol- lowing signed statements:
 To the Editor of the Age-Herald:
 I favor a uniform public school system for the entire state, so that every white child, at least, shall have the privilege of eight months school term. If this Gan- not be had as a state system, I favor giv- ing each municipality and school district
 
 schools.
 I favor an educational and property qual- ification for suffrage designed to prevent from voting every man who cannot read and write, except when he owns property and pays taxes. In addition to this every citizen in order to vote should pay an an- nual poll tax of not less than s, all of which should go to the schools. This would eliminate the illiterate negro vote, now the source of ballot-box frauds | l favor a taxation system whereby real i and personal property, and not the person, | shall pay the taxes. I would make uncon- stitutional such taxes as street tax and H. cense on useful occupations. favor change in our ancient court and | legal practice system. Separate chancery | courts and hide-bound common law plead- | ings should be abolished. Alabama should | establish system by which cases will be l tried on their merits rather than on the | techncalities of pleading. It Is a lamenta- 1 ble fact that perhaps a majority of cases | are disposed of in the higher courts on | questions of pleading without getting to | their real merits
 favor abolishing the exemption of per- ! sonal property, to be selected by the debtor l to the extent of s1 .0oo which exemption may | be entirely waived. Instead I would make specific property exempt; such as teams, | etc., for farmer. tools, etc., for a mechan- | lc, books, etc., for a lawyer, wages for a ! laborer. and so on, with limitation as to value. and would declare void any levy on such exempt property. The waive note and l garnishment would then disappear. and credit would be based on unexempt prop i erty.
 ] favor election by the people of all pub 1 lic officials. such as railroad commission. | CTS, convict inspectors, state and county solicitors. so that administration patronage would be reduced to a minimum, and the 1 politicians occupation of ''tradin'" would 1 be. like Othello's-gone. It would also be l we'll for the governor to be elected for four years and limited to a single term. as I sheriffs are now.
 1 I favor giving the counties power of To. | cal legislation. and relieving the legislature | of this burden. which now prevents due considerstion of measures for the general 1 good.
 1 l am opposed to any constitutional pro-