The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-25

point to the Confederate soldier as tho one who comes up to the requirements of the worlds highest idea of q soldisr, and for the sake of the glorious rast to honor their descendants let us nere today by our votes grant this privilege for the things done in the past. let us say to the Confederate soldiers wao may be living, and the soldiers of sll these wars, and their descendants: You stand today among those whose lives have been characterized by hon. orable and noble deeds. May you con- tinue in the path of righteousness while you live and when you come to that river that marks the unknown shore. may you die with the sweet cooscious- ness of having discharged your du-y to your God, your country and your fe,- will go out Us beautifully as fades the morning star away and your reward will be home in Heaven.
 Now, MT. President. one word in re- gard to the pledges of the platform and l am done. say to you that I expect to keep it in every word and sentence If am the only man here who does. We said we would disfranchise no white man.no matter what his condition might be, unlees he was convicted of infamous crime. Now. let us keep that pledge. Be true to the people. and they will be true to you. If we break our pledges made to the people who elected us. I tell you there will be 155 of the deadest statesmen in Alabama you ever heard of. If l forget the teachings of my youth and If forget the hardships and privations of the women of the South and of our soldiers from 1861 to 1865, if am untrue to my promises made to my people on the stump. If l go back on the promises made to my people. when I come to the judgment. may God forget me. In conclusion. want to say that believe every Dem- ocrat here will keep the pledge. If you do 1t. all will be well. but whether you do 1t or not, I say to the white people of Alabama. as Ruth said to Naomi. I will not leave you nor return from following after thee, for whither thou goest, I will go, where thou lodgest, I will lodge. where thou diest, 1 will die, for the white people are my people and their God is my God.
 Now. Mir. President. if we are to disfranchise that class ot men. want to make one request of this Convention. after we have shut out all the illiterate and poverty stricken whites. want an appropriation from the State of Ala bama to build a monument to that band of men we are disfranchising If this section is adopted. but which I know this Convention will not do, but in the event 1t shall be done. we should build a monument to that noble band of men who on account of misfortune failed to get an education, and who were illiterate and poor and inscribs on that monupment the words,
 Freeze, freeze. oh bitter skies,
 Thou dost not bite so nigh As benefits forget.
 Tho thou the waters warp
 Thy sting Is not so sharp
 As friends remembered not"
 Now, let us move along In the good work which we have started, let us In this the morning of the twentieth century settle this question of the suf frage and perpetuate white supremacy for all time to come. If you do 1t this Convention here now Is as the morning but to the evening rose. of what the future will be. and Alabama will pros- per as she has never prospered before. and with white supremacy perpetuated we VIII be contented, happy and prosperous people. and the great cause SA hcL abtJs tNHlpCFdHCc, lHuuEITl3l de- Velopment. education and religion will prosper. and the grand old ship of state will sail on and on, and will finally land in the sunny iiarbor of peace and happiness and bask in the smiles on an approving God.
 MT. Lowe Jefferson)-Thats same old ship has been sailing on and On. with out the intervention of this Conven- tion. As l understand, MT. President, there Is no proposition here as to the disfranchisement of white men. AS I understand, this Convention meets to- day in response to the call of the people of Alabama for fair elections. You may observe the difference between fair elections and elections made possible under the report of the majority of the committee. If there be a difference, Mir. President, wash my bands of it. 1 stand here now, pleading for fair elections in Alabama, not for white su- premacy. The time has not existed in the political life of the gentleman from Madison who spoke today, nor in mine, when the Democracy of Alabama need appeal for white supremacy in Ala bama. White supremacy was estab- lished in 1874, and has never been threatened. This Convention comes not in response to the demand of the people of Alabama for white snprem- acy, as the gentleman from Madison in- dicates, but it comes in response to the demand of the people of Alabama for honest elections. How are you to make possible honest elections In Alabama? !? In the first place. l would appeal to this Convention. and particularly to the Committee that had the suffrage fran chise under consideration, that those twenty-five men. the most distinguish ed in this Convention, should not feel that they are bound by the spirit of comradeship to stand by the majority report of that Committee. because. if they do, yielding to that spirit of com- radeship they may do great harm to the State in the crucial period Of her history. This is a solemn hour in Ala hama. It 1t not worthy of a member of the Suffrage Committee that he should feel that he iJ bound by the re- port, of the majority to lend his voice, his influence and hts vote, in main taining the report of that Committee. if, after a full discussion, it should ap- pear that that Committee Is In error. One distinguished member of tnis Con vention on yesterdly--a man whom love and for whose Judgment have great reverence-told me on the prop osition I submitted hostile to the Com mittee, I was right and yet he had to support the Committee. Let us do away with that. gentlemen. It Is un- worthy of-you in this crucial hour. Let LIS consider these questions as they pre- sent themselves upon their merits.
 What are we here for? Not to pre- serve white supremacy. White su- premacy is secure in Alabama. We