The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-26

this lire. If our lawyers in this State who are all our friends and of and among us are divided in opinion. what will partisan court do? beg to re- mind YOU that if this matter is tested. 1t will most likely be tested by the Supreme Court of the United States, the majority of whom are Republicans. If men whose whole hearts and sym
 pathies are with the people of this State differ so widely, remember in
 the tribunal before which you are to have it passed upon, the majority of them are Republicans. and those who are Democrats occupy very different position from what the Democrats of Alabama occupy. Already this very
 clause in substance has been made a
 subject of test in Louisiana and an
 appeal will likely be taken to the Su-
 preme Court of the United States.
 Suppose that decision, is adverse to the plan. Then where are you? We
 are told by some members of the
 Committee that these various provis-
 Ions are in the disjunctive. And the
 Committee have put in another pro-
 vision that the legislature may fix any
 part that is declared unconstitutional.
 l will ask you if this law is held un-
 constitutional would 1t not break down
 the whole plan? Who will constitute
 your permanent list of voters? AL
 though in the disjunctive there are
 three sources from which you make
 the permanent lst--the character
 clause. next soldiers. then sons of sol
 diers or grandsons. Suppose the grand
 father clause Is held unconstitutional.
 what court on earth could tell who
 went in under one clause or the oth-
 CT? There is nothing in here provid-
 inc ho al "a he Thav
 are so intermingled that no court could
 tell under which clauise the voter reg
 istered. Therefore if one is unconsti-
 tutiona1 the whole would be void. You could not tell one from the other. If held void who is tn fix 1t? The leg islature. I appeal to my friends who want. this grandfather clause for the purpose of popularizing 't in certain parts of the State. what will be the effect of it? You have gotten up a plan that your committee proposes to leave to the legislature can the courts destroy any part of it? The legislature will not submit it back to the people. Go into that section of the country where you think it is popular to insert this clause and I believe you will find that the sons of soldiers there and the soldiers themselves will not thank you for it. They will tell you their character is as good as that of anybody else, that they understand this government and they are able to stand the test at least with negro. submit that you will insult them when you put it in there, and in 'the second place. when they look at it, and are told that perhaps 1t will not stand the test of the courts, and in that event you propose to leave 1t to { A it back to the people, I believe it will prove to be one of the most unpopular things that you could do. It is not only the courts that we are to appre- bend. appeal to the older men of this Convention who not only were Confederate soldiers but who were through the still darker and harder pe- riod of reconstruction when the Fed eral Congress had declared that Ala bama did not have Republican form of government, when our beautiful State was impoverished, overrun with carpet-baggers and scallawags and when we went through what was worse than four years of war. Through this period of reconstruction which was worse than war itself even soldiers had to pass. desire to warn you against any step that Is likely to produce an- other reconstruction. If you adopt this clause and we of the minority should be right that 1t Is unconstitu- tional. and the Court declares it so, what is likely to be the result !?
 What do you believe that a United States Congress composed of Republi- cans would do in a closely contested Presidential election, when the vote of Alabama, Louisiana and North Caro- lima. with these contested clauses in the Constitution, or any one of them, would settle the contest? The Hays and Til den contest would not be a circum- stance Do you believe that the Repub- lican majority, as partisan as we are partisan, would permit 1t to stand Methinks I see, fellow delegates, Re- publican Congres declaring that Ala bama has not a republican form of government, and refusing to count our votes. and we are again in the throes of reconstruction. You may tell us this will not be-. but I tell you it is more than probable. Because we have had an easy time for the last decade or two. let us not fail to judge the fu- ture by the past. I simply desire, in the discharge of my duty to warn you of these apprehensions, which have come to my mind. With no desire to fight the majority in anything, but willing to concede all that can con- scientiously do, I desire to call your attention not only to what the courts may do, but what a Republican Con- gress may do, and appeal to you dele gates who went through the dark days of reconstruction, not to bring on us another like period. It was awful. We would like to blot 1t out. The beauti- ful and eloquent speeches that have been made here, particularly by the young men, who do not remember thoEe days are perhaps all right, were their strong point. They remind me of the beautiful speeches that were made in the early days of the secession, when some of our orators offered to drink all of the blood that would be spilled, and to whip the North with pop guns, but admitted afterwards that they had made a mistake, for these people would not fight that way. My fellow dele gates, a Republican Congress Is what wish to warn you of. I have been with them. There Is feeling of ac- quiescence now, and they talk that way, especially so to cover up certain things that are being done in our new
 possessions, but you bring this matter what may we expect? They are as partisan as we are and they will never submit to it on earth. I for one cannot by my vote run any risk on a propo- sition that I feel will place Alabama again in the throes of reconstruction, and deprive her of her representation in the Congress of the United States. I may be wrong. If you adopt this clause, I hope I am wrong, but l do not believe that I am. Go on if you will adopt 1t If you please. But if