The age-herald., 1901-10-31
COLONEL DENSON CONDEMNS MAKERS OF CONSTITUENT Makes Humorous Reference to Democratic Speakers and Makes Crowd Laugh REYNOLDS ALSO SPEAKS Denson CharacterIzes Party Address as a Fraud and Snare to Win
 voters-Not Dem-
 ocratic.
REYNOLDS ALSO SPEAKS

A crowd of nearly two hundred persons
 gathered in Seals Hall last night and
 listened to two-hours speech by Col. w H. Denson in opposition to ratifca- tion of the new constitution.
 | Colonel Denson sharply arraigned the leaders of the movement to adopt the new constitution, and his ludricrous ref
 erences to the various speakers who are
 stumping the state kept the crowd laugh
 Ing during the greater part of his speech.
 He took up the recent address issued by
 Chairman Underwood of the Democratic campaign committee, and dissected 1t
 sent ence by sentence. On account of q lack of time he did not go into full
 discussion of the constitution itself, but
 devoted most of his speech to arraigning
 the men who had framed it.
 Mir. Reynolds Speaks. Colonel Denson was followed by L. H.
 Reynolds of Chiffon County, who spoke
 briefly in opposition to the constitution. He insisted that many white men would
 be disfranchsed. and that the entire in-
 strument was aimed at the laboring men
 of Alabama. He said 1t sought to control them by taking away their vote. As
 proof that white men would be disfran-
 chised he told of white men in Missis- sippi who had been turned away from
 the polls.
 The meeting was called to order by Lee V. Cowart chairman of the county cam paign committee, shortly before | o'clock. On the stage was General Shei- ley Scott Chesnutt and MT. Reynolds. Colonel Denson in referring to the new | constitution said the constitution of the United States was supreme and that any infraction of that law would invalidate l the Alabama instrument. He made the point that men who vote under the new constitution must be a citizen of the United States. Tt does not say State," exclaimed the speaker. but In every in- stance says citizen of the United States.
 Now, a citizen of the United States is un- der the constitution of the land, and If Alabamas constitution violates or in- tracts that supreme instrum ent the men who are registered to vote under 1t will be thrown out"
 The Democratic Address. | Colonel Denson took up the address is- sued by MT. Underwoods committee and says it was the most terrific arraignment of the Democratic party that has ever been issued. He said it was a fraud and snare to catch the voters The trend of his argument was If there have been so many reforms brought about by the new constitution the Democratic party had been recreant to it's trust.
 "Its not Democratic document. for 1t does not give the people equal rights to | all and special privileges to none" Members of Convention. The speaker then referred to the men who composed the constitutional conven- ton by saying sixty-two of them were employees of corporations and controlled the convention.
 Compare John Knox to Lehoy Pope Walker, who was president of the old constitutional convention" said Colonel Denson lone patriot and the other a hireling lawyer of railroads in Alabama and who packed the committees with railroad lawyers. At the same time he was proclaiming himself a candidate for the United States Senate
 Returning to the Democratic address Colonel Denson said the new constitution does reduce the tax rate but does not re- duce the taxes He said very near one half of the taxes will go to public schools and 1t grieved him to think of what would become of the Confederate veterans pen sions
 The speaker severely criticised the so- licitors of the State for going about beg ging the people to ratify the constitution when, he said, they should be at work. Criticised Campaign Committee. Colonel Denson then took up the list of names of MT. Underwoods campaign committee and kept the crowd amused for some time with his explanations of
 their professions. He said they were all
 either officeholders or railroad lawyers. Discussing the free pass question Colo nel Denson said by the passage of that law the members of the Constitutional Convention intimatcd that legislators and judicial officeholders had heretofore been bought by free railroad passes
 ''But," he said, "they didn't include the Governor. State officers, sheriffs and tax collectors. and they can have all the free passes they want. Maybe the rail- roads asked to be allowed to extend