The age-herald., 1899-03-31
SMITH MONEY WITH NO TAKERS $2,6OO Up Waiting for a Drenn0n THE SPORTING ELEMENT Made Things Lively for a While in Cam
 paiSn Yesterday. DRENNeN RALLY LAST NIGHT Friends of Capt. Donaldson Met Last Night and Decided to Make a
 Straight Fight on Chief of
 Police Mcdonald.
DRENNeN RALLY LAST NIGHT

l The sporting element came to the sur l face in the municipal campaign good and strong yesterday. Plenty of coin was jing | ling in the trousers pockets of the specula- | tive politicians, yet little was actually placed
 Early yesterday morning politicians came streaming out of Drennen headquarters and for time the impression was created that Smith money had taken to the woods l The Smith forces got on to the game and rallied with bank roll running into the thousands. The tide of Drennen sports sports then began to recede and Smith money went a begging. Smith stock got stronger during the clos l ing hours, and late in the afternoon a stampede was created by the appearance | of certified check for Sz,5OO with the pro- viso that if this was covered there would | be more forthcoming. A gentleman was sent to invade Drennen headquarters with | the wad and to ask Campaign Manager Allen to cover it. MT. Allen was not in. It was said that he would be at a Dren- nen meeting in the Eighth ward tonight. The "check7 was present, but MT. Allen was not there. The 'check" pursued MT.
 
 suit and it was then placed in the hands of the city editor of The Age-Herald The check is awaiting Mir. Allen or some Drennen men who cares to cover it. Roth Candidates silent Yesterday was dull day at both head quarters as far as the giving out of state ments was concerned. The candidates themselves were not to be found often in the same place. They were out among the voters.
 Both candidates have had complete poll of the city made, but neither are giving out any estimates. Many of the industries do not run on Saturday and the candidates ex- pect to make d great day of it. Saturday night will see rally and speech making upon almost every street corner. MT. Smith was in conference with his friends last night while a similar gathering was considering the prospects for Dren- nen victory. Both candidates were sangu- inc of success.
 Drennen meeting was held in Ward one, corner First avenue and Eighth street last night. Possibly forty voters were ad- dressed from the curbing by Chas. B. Powell He defended MT. Drennen on the
  laboring people through his commissary He said that the institution and the law that permitted it should be attacked and not the individual. If running a commits sary was a crime, almost every firm in Birmingham could be accused. He argued that MT. Drennen would make a good may or because he had been successful in busi- ness
 MT. Smith, he said, was the candidate of the machine" and if he were elected the people would be confronted with the same evils that existed now. MT. Drennen had made his position known to the people in platform, the justice and wisdom of which had not been attacked. MT. Allen, his campaign manager, had been attacked because he made money as justice of the peace. Any good lawyer was likely to do that
 About half the crowd appeared to be for | Smith, and some of them wanted to put up | a Smith orator to answer MT. Powell One Drennen supporter said to a Smith SUD- | porter "We have never broken up one of your meetings, and we ask you not to l break up ours," and so the matter was | dropped.
 l MT. Powell boarded a car for town, while | the voters washed down his speech with l beer.
 The PoIice Commission | There were no new developments In the l police commission fight yesterday except | the announcement by F. H. Gafford that he was not in politics. and was not can
 didate for chief of police, and the increas- | ing determination to make the fight with l Chief Mcdonald as the central figure.
 The friends of Captain Donaldson held | meeting last night. H. J. Abernathy pre- | sided, and several speeches were made to | the forty or more voters present 1 It was agreed that the fight would be made straight against Mcdonald with the | following ticket:
 Sam H. Norton,
 Charles c. Chiles, | James E. Scott,
 l c. F. Douthit,
 | Dr. R. V. Mobley, | T. B. Meriweather, | Albert Stratford. | L. J. Haley was made chairman Of the | ca mnaipn committee.