The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-04

supervisor colleagues was mostly in-
 voked. I refer to the election of 1892.
 And say. MT. President. without fear of contradiction by any man upon this floor, that had the Sheriffs of the Black
 Belt wavered at that time. instead of having enthroned in the Governpr's
 chair of this State-a man whose in- tegrity. honesty and courage set him above many of his predecessors. the peer of all, the inferior Of none, we would have had someone else. The great party of white supremacy in this country would have melted away, and
 a monsrel crowd would have admins tered the affairs of the State in Ala
 bama. and we would have never had the bright recollection of the record Of the administration of the gentleman frcrp Montgomery.
 MT. President. it was the sheriffs that did this. We have been charged in the county that have the honor to represent, with being little careless with election figures. and in view or the fact that those charges of careless
 ness had been made against us priorl to 4S92. at the time that the gentleman was c candidate for election to the office of Governor of this State. there | were some rumors that messages were
 sent to Dallas county, and to her
  that for fear of a mistake there would not be any hurry in announcing the result of the election. Now the acts of the Sheriffs on those occasions. and on subsequent occasions has caused
 my people to fall under the ban of sus- piciou. We have actually been charged with engaging in fraudulent practices
 in the matter of elections, but there
 never has been @ man. and there Is not man in this Convention, that has ever
 refused to accept the benefits of what
 ever little irregularities that might
 have occurred. But we have been con-
 demned in the Northern press. MT. Kirkland--I rise to . point of order.
 The President-The gentleman will
 state the point of order. Mir. Kirkland-The gentleman has
 spoken ten minutes.
 Mir. Reese-r desire to say that this is not an amendment that I am dis
 cussins. 1t Is a motion to reconsider. Mfr. Kirkland-I understand the rule
 applies to his case.
 The Presirent-The Chair will ex-
 anime the resolution passed on yester- day. and rule upon the point of order. MT. Jones (Montgomery)--I move that unanimous consent be given that the gentlenian's time be extended. Mr. Reese--I object, Mir. President to the extension of any one's time. The Preeident-The motion is not in order at this time. The Chair VIII rule upon the point of order made Dy the gentlemen from Dale as soon as ne
 examines the resolution.
 MT, Chapman--I would suggest that the gentleman speak on while the
 Chair is examining the question. The President--In the opinion of the Chair tha rule is confined to debates
 upon amendments and that 1t does not apply to this case.
 MT. Reese-Mr. President, up to the time that came to this convention, | from my intimate association with this class of citizens that have been so bit- l terly fought here, I had the idea they
 were very clever set of fellows. I l thought that the sheriffs of Alabama l were about as honest and patriotic eet of men as the other citizens Of Ala bama. Some how in Dallas County l they have been about the most popular | citizens we have had. They have been
 as good citizens as we have had, and there has been a great flourish of trumpets here, and a whangbanging of drums. about the great evils existing in
 this State. Why. Mir. President, 1t Is
 almost like a photographic reproduc- tion of the performances in the north, criticizing the way we ought to run our government here in Alabama, and, Mir. President. I regret to see where this
 thing comes from. I see no pressing
 necessity to adopt any radical legisla- ton to force sheriffs to perform their duty. In my restricted field of obser- vation I have seen no cause for that. This convention will pardon me for a home reference, but l desire to refer to the last three sheriffs of my county. At a crucial time In tn eperiod of this State, when gentlemen who fought | under the flags of Democracy and call- ed themselves Democrats. when they 1 allied themselves with the enemies of the white supremacy in this country. in 1896, and at other times, the sheriffs
 of this State have been brave enough to turn their guns on them. just like | they have on the negro party parading | under their own proper flag, and in their proper uniform. MT. President, I have seen the sheriff in my county in 1892, in the fall election, drag the United States Marshal from the booth | and keep him from interfering with an honest count in that election. l have seen that mans successor and have helped to undress the sheriff of Dallas County, when he was wounded by four
 wounds, just received in the discharge of his duty. The last sheriff of Dal- l las County a man by the name of Lumpkin, arrested desperado .or sur rounded the house where this desperaGo
 and others were. and in the atte.l pt | to arrest that man. the sheriff vas | shot four times. seriously. and a, one time his life was thought to be in | danger, With the blood dripping at a time when that poss was enraged almost beyond control, and sought to l take the life of that prisoner that they | had just taken from that house and arr rested under charge of shooting the sheriff. that great man. the Sheriff Of
 Dallas County, a man that belongs to | the class that is being fought and l abused in this Convention. turned to l that posse and said he would kill any | man that interfered with the life of that prisoner. That he was going to put him in jail, and he did put him in Jail. It has not been two months ago since I attended the funeral of an of- l fcer. a deputy sheriff of Dallas Coun- l ty. who had been shot by a felon he was undertaking to arrest. In a few | days after that. with all the excitement | that was pending against that man, the | sheriff of Dallas County arrested that | man and he is safely confined in the | jail today, awaiting his trial.
 Mr. Gilmore-I would like to call the | the gentlemans attention to the fact | that the sheriff of Dallas County did