The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-03
AFTERNOON SESSION.

past 5 o'clock this afternoon.
 | AFTERNOON SESSION.
 The Convention was called to order by the President and a call of the roll showed the presence of 117 delegates.
 The President-The pending question before the Convention is Section 5. as reported by the Committee on Taxa tion. To that has been offered an amendment by the gentleman from Jef- ferson and an amendment has been of- fered to that amendment by the gen. tleman from Barbour.
 The chair recognizes the gentleman from Randolph.
 MT. Hef1in CRandolph)-Mr. Presi- dent and gentlemen of the convention. it is not my purpose to consume much of the time of the Convention. sim ply rise to enter my solemn protest against the passage of Section s. as reported by the Committee on Taxa tion, and to suggest a few words in support of the amendment offered by the gentleman from Jefferson.
 It is supposed that this section Is of- fered in the interest of education. have always been a friend to the com- mon schools of the country, a friend of education, as my record in the past has demonstrated. l have always willing ly and gladly voted for an increased appropriation whenever I thought the condition of the State treasury would admit of 1t. I believe, sir, a commun- ity, a town or a county, should have the right to impose on itself local taxa tion for the benefit of the public schools, but I do object to this meas ure as drafted and reported by this committee.
 MT. President, we all believe in edu- l a haI nnOnla are educated, the cause of civilization will advance. As our citizens are edu- cated, they become better citizens; they are more useful. they make bet ter men in all stations of life, other things being equal, than the unedu- cated or the illiterate. There are great strides being made today all along the line of education. Some writer has said, We must educate or we must perish" and it is true to certain ex- tent. Then, if we should educate, how should we educate? We should edu- cate the mind and the body. We should move along the right line and place within the reach of every child of Alabama a common school educa- tion. When we have done that, we have elevated the standard of ctviliza- tion. When the children go out from the college after they have finished
 
 of their parents hearts: they become ornaments to society, advocates of re- ligion and education, blessings to the world.
 I am unalterably opposed to the sec ton as reported by the committee. It is class legislation of the worst kind. It is an unjust discrimination in favof of the rich and against the poor. Why. sir, if this ordinance, as reported here, | yoN a Rn j counties in this State whose single vote !. would go farther than the vote of a thousand other men who are good citi- gems, patriotic, honest. upright, Chris tian gentlemen; men who are as good by nature as the millionaire. and far better by practice. This Is dangerous, it is contrary to the spirit of our in- stitutions, end we should consider carefully and cautiously whitheg we are drifting. When we were candidates on the stump before we came here. we promised that we would not disfran- chise a single white man in the State of Alabama. 1 say to you, If this meas ure passes, we have disfrancnlsed nun dreds. ave, thousands, of the best citi- zens of the country; men who are as patriotic as We are, who are honest, upright and intelligent, but whose property tas been swept away oy the | VI ask you, and each of you, If there IS a man on this floor. a descendant Of that grand boiy of men, who will say py vour voice or vote that on account or their poverty, we will not allow them to vote on any question that conlronts inc neonle of Alabama? If this should mass. why not say a man shall not vote in an elaction-that is, that ms vote shall be weighed and measured accoruo ing to the wealth his vote represents And why not make it apply to natlonai' ctata and county elections? If you do That and Andrew Carnegie should hap nan to he a citizen of Alabama, his vote would count far more than the vote or every ele tor in the State, measureu bv that standard. It is wrong; It IS class legislation, and if we pass It, the neople will rise up and curse us.
 Who is the man Cn this hoor "ho nou that in his platform when ne wen' @ D
 fore his people for election? Not one' and dare say, there is not a man on tbis floor who, if he had argued for sucn nrovision. could have been o4ecteo constable in his beat. .,,,,
 Now MT. President, who does thls discriminate against? Paupers' seIls, a low grade of people? Not at all' put against the best class of people on Gods green earth. that nand ol men | uhn followed Lee dllu 9tOiAN" '' son who responded to the call or tnelr state when the tocsin of war was sounded. and who rallied to the tune of Dixie under the bonnie olue nag, ond went forward to meet fourtold tnelr n,noher in the death struggle o6 war Snail we say by our votes that that class of men, that band or patrAots shaII he disfranchised? No, forever mo- We will ever keep green in the gar 1 dan of memory their heroic acnleNe, ments and deeds of valor uohe oI t.t. M ",a of battle. It will. ever remalh Mien uS | as nleasant recollections or oaFk anu hIoodv war and float down the silent stream of memory while life small last. We say to them and to those wno | hove crossed over the rlVer, we Ft- rnamher YOU. you need no marble shatt' rooitan hrass nor monumental granite to nernetuate your deeds Of vaior on | field of battle but your names, lKe the untitled stars of heaven shall shine forever" Those soldiers were as pat riotic as Washington or Jefferson ana as brave as the defenders of the Alamo or of Thermopylae. MT. President. this is dangerous | provision. It is departure from beaten paths. It Is striking at the old landmarks. We are drifting in the wrong direction and if we pursue this ] course ere long we will have trouble,