The age-herald., 1900-04-23
LAST WEEK ONE OF
 DLvvu,EST OF VAR
The Insurgents Have Been Aggressive in Almost
 Every Province of Luzon.


 calling which suits him best. and which he is best fitted to illustrate, and therefore it was with more than ordinary interest that I for the first time attended thoroughly southern convention, where various types of the men who conduct the political af-
 fairs of the state were likely to be in
 evidence.
 The Auditorium, as it is called, of Bir-
 mingham bears every sign of having been
 originally meant a theater; it is an un-
 adorned structure without; within there is
 large auditorium arranged in the familiar horse shoe shape, with a spacious stage and side boxes. The blank and incongru-
 ous light of day streamed in through the windows; there was no artificial light in the house, which appeared dusty and dingy like an actor in difficulties. The
 galleries and the body of the house were filled with men in everyday attire, often of
 rough and careless description, as
 befitted those whose brains were better
 than their means. There were between
 two and three hundred delegates. and per
 haps half as many spectators; the stage
 boxes were occupied; and on the stage, be-
 sides the chairman and secretary, were four or five newspaper reporters seated at plain deal table in the corner on the chairman's right. The audience sat at ease some with hats on, some smoking. most of them conversing in subdued tones; here and there one would rise and stroll between the seats, shaking hands with
 friend as he passed, stopping to ex- change a few words They were men met to transact business, with the procedure of which they were familiar; they were ob servant of parliamentary rules when need | was, and yet did not scruple to indulge in | a little noise and confusion when it seemed | good to them and in spite of the indus | trious hammering of the chairman, who at | one time aroused audible amusement by l threatening to call posse comitatus to ex- 1 pei refractory members from the hall. At l times, shouts, calls, cat-calls and yells would go up from this or that enthusiastic | individual; and again a chorus of yells would arise-that same Confederate yell which many of us of the north heard 1 thirty and more years ago under less | agreeable circumstances.
 l The convention was, of course, united in
 the democratic faith, so that whatever | differences of opinion occurred-and they
 did not appear to be many or important were based upon minor questions, such as | the superiority of one candidate over an other on the personal side. A number of | -Billies Country delegates) were pres ent; and not few of them had pie l turesque appearance which substantiated | the popular account of them; but when | they spoke they talked sense, and kept to | the point There were many remarkable tl,nr rs, me sat a man with clear blue eyes and | light upright hair who might have been
 a twin brother of Andrew Jackson and a
 tall gentleman with long hair brushed back l from his forehead white goatee and | broad cheekbones, wandered restlessly and
 yet leisurely about the floor, his long black | coat-tails swaying he moved. It seemed | as if large part of the south that we
 read about in books were typifed in his | grave and somewhat weary aspect.
 The afternoon session was in progress
 when we entered. The object of the meet | ing was to nominate a legislative ticket | and thirty delegates to the state conven.
 tion, which assemblies, I believe, next Wednesday in Montgomery. These dele gates were to vote for General Shelley fol 1 governor, to endorse Senator Morgan Ca ! pleasant, but, it would seem, a superfuous ! duty) and to advocate constitutional con- vention for the restriction of the ballot to , those who could tread and expound the I constitution This, of course, is aimed ! chiefly against the negro vote; though there may be stray white man here and
 there whom it will inhibit from enforcing
 what he is pleased to consider his convic-
 tions
 The chairman, in his black attire, stood
 or sat beside the little table in the center
 of the stage, relieved against a scenic I background representing, I presume, the l Forest of Arden. When a resolution en-
 dorsing Morgan was proposed, and it was
 moved that rules be suspended and the
 resolution adopted by rising, every mem 1 Der jumped to his feet, swung his hat, and l gave the shrill cheer characteristic of this people, In a few minutes the election of a l chairman to the county executive com l mittee was in order; there were two candi-
 dates; but one of these withdrew, remark 1 ing that he had hitherto filled but one po- litical office, and that he ''hoped to God l I'll never have another. I want only the 1 right to stand by friend" This senti- 1 ment was greeted with cheers. The | successful candidates election was
 also confirmed by exclamation; re- | marks were made which caused bursts of
 laughter; the convention seemed to be in 1 the best of spirits, and quite harmonious.
 Somebody found a pretext for uttering the name of Bryan, and for a few moments l there was an uproar and scene which would much have gratified that famous 1 candidate. But 1t was the shadow of Mor- | gan that evidently determined the assem- l bly,, and there was no dearth of occasions | for mentioning him; one speaker declared 1 him to be the greatest statesman now liv- ing upon Gods green earth. This was ap- l plauded heartily enough, but there were | some smiles also, and one member said something sotte vsce about the claims of Bryan to the same distinction, which brought out a guffaw in his immediate neighborhood. The sense of humor of | public gatherings in America is one of their most valuable and saving traits
 ! An interesting episode was the nomina-