The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-26

minEh4m nsfe anu hsve met nehp of people. and what is called the grandfather clause m the majority re- port Is the most popular thing that there is at all. It is going to let in thousands of young men who were in the corn fields during the war. that had to work while their father was in the army and could not go to school. The fact is the schools Tn the rural drstricts were all suspended during the war and for some time after the war, and they had no opportunity. They are as good men as ever lived. know thousands of them myself per- sonally that cannot read and write. but they are splendid workers ana pay their honest debts and they can come in under this old soldier clause. It meets the appreciation of all the white people in that country so far as I know. have never heard but one dis senting voice against 1t, and l trust that we will curtail our speeches here and go forward and vote upon this question.
 A Voice--we are all ready.
 Mr. Handley--Neariy everybody is ready to vote and we ought to vote. The country ia criticising us. They think we are talking too much on oth- or matters that belongs properly to the legislative department and that we ought to get through and go back home. I think they are sensible about it. I am tired of it myself, Juggling in all kinds of matters, Shelby County and everything else. Now, gentlemen, did not intend tu take up. your time. I just wanted to tell you the condition of our county politically. and l think have done that aud l have told you the truth. We have got high minded, L tv, rntx a are native born Republicans and good citizens. and they know their rights and we have fair elections. The only thing we want is to get rid of the negro vote and then we are all happy. If we will take vote, get our Consti- tuition passed through this Convention. and submit it to the people. believe 1t will be carried by fifty thousand to sixty thousand majority in the State of Alabama. and know the pulse of the white people. and I am glad that they will ratify. They are the crowd that l want to ratify 1t, I want the white people in the hill counties as we'll as in the Black Belt and in the Wire Grass to have c say-so in 1t. Now. some people object to soldiers son or grandson voting. I don't. He votes now. he Is registered and he votes now. and this article doesn't pro- mote him at all, and 1 see no reason why he should not be entitled to all the privileges that any man in Ala bama is entitled to. Why, sir. some men say we are afraid if you pass this thing that a few deserters would come In. Why. sir. would rather five de- serters would be wrongfully registered than that one of these young men should be cut out and not allowed to vote at all. I tell you our people would not stand anything of that sort, they could not afford to stand 1t, aud the Constitution would be defeated. l hope that all this opposition would be de- feated. l hope that all this opposition will stop and let us get back. came down here and was put upon this Suffrage and Elections Committee. | went in there and we worked for twen- ty or thiIty days and nights. and we finally cAme to a conclusion and made up our minds what it was best to do and lined up with the majority of | the Committee for the best interests | of Alabama. I lined up with Judge | Coleman. an ex-Supreme Judge, who | is one of the best lawyers in Alabama; {; lined up with Judge Walker. an ex- I Supreme Judge, who Is one Of the best | lawyers in Alabama; I lined up with O'Neal. and with my. friend from Bir- | with twelve or fifteen others who are | among the best lawyers in the State of l Alabama and they all say that it Is
 constitutional and I am no lawyer, | and fell into line and feel that this | Committee has done its duty. [ never
 saw a more faithful committee, a
 harder working committee in my life
 than that was. I like to have killed
 myself. remained in Convention four
 or five hours a day and then had to | work four or five hours on that com
 mittee. and I became exhausted and
 had to go home. but I am all right
 now. I trust, gentlemen. that we will
 curtail our speeches. I don't want to
 cut anybody out that wants to speak | but I tell you at the rate we are going
 on we will be here at cotton picking | time. and trust that everybody will
 decide to curtail theiR speeches, and
 let us get through and go home.
 thank you. gentlemen of the Conven-
 tion.
 Mir. Jones (wilcox)-Mr. President. l
 have been requested by some of the
 delegates from the Black Belt, to ad-
 dress the Convention on the Section of
 the Article on Suffrage that is now under consideration. I am a member
 of the Suffrage Committee, and I fa-
 vor the report of the majority of that
 Committee.
 MT. President, it will be but a short
 time before men of my age will have passed away. It makes but little diff l ference to me personally whether there
 be a Convention or not. But, Mir
 President, the young men of Alabama
 the sons of the soldiers of Alabama
 are to come after me, and MT. Pres
 ident. want to see them have a gov
 ernment of which they are proud.
 want to see them continue in control
 I want to see the descendants of the
 men who followed the banner of Gen.
 eral Lee. and of the men who went with | Bragg and Johnston and Hood into | Tennessee and made the Tennessee and
 the Cumberland as classic as the Po-
 tomac and the Rappahannock-I want
 to see them enjoy good government ir
 Ala bana. Now, Mir. President. we
 are discussing the second subdivision
 of the fourth Section-whether or mol
 the descendants of soldiers should bs
 permitted to vote. We differed on tha;
 in the Committee. There were gentle.
 men, prominent lawyers. who took q
 different stand from the majority of the
 Committee, but with all their diligence
 with all their perseverance. they have
 neve: been able to offer a single au-
 thority here to show that this Sectior
 is unconstitutional. Have they done
 itr They have come here and said
 what? They have said that Genera
 Morgan. our distinguished senior Sen
 ator. is opposed to it. l deny 1t. Not
 one line in his letter says that the
 Fifteenth Amendment would he in.