The age-herald., 1901-11-09
HARRISON SPEAKS
 FOR RATIFICATION
EXPLAINS THE CONSTITUTION AND TELLS OF A DREAM IN WHICH SHELLEY AND JOHN SToN FIGURE.

Prattville, November S.-(Special )-Gen. the court house last night He was in- troduced by the chairman of the Demo- cratic county committee who referred in brief manner to his war record.
 General Harrison referring to his hav- ing served in the constitutional conven- ton of 1875 which made the constitution we are now living under. told his audience that he had no special pride in seeing either of the constitutions ratified, as he had had a part in making both of them, but that he had come to discuss in a quiet way the points of advantage of the new over the old. He went into de- tails as to how the old one was formed, how federal hayonets were present and embarrassed free action on certain lines necessarily was. He then told of how he and his colleagues labored for six long weeks the past summer in trying to make even the suffrage article of the new constitution.
 At this point in his argument he took up the suffrage plan of the new consti- tuition and explained each section in all It's bearing to the elector. He called the attention of his hearers to the fact that the men who are going all over the state now opposing the new instrument did not not appear before the suffrage committee one time to make suggestions as to how the plan should be worked out and now they come to the people with nothing better, but simply want this plan re- jected. ,.a
 The permanent plan was then taken up and discussed. He explained that 1t need not disfranchise any white man. That a uxrh ifn ma xryIn marry a good woman would be saved from being disfranchised. He said many a woman could in this way save sorry white man.
 General Harrison showed how the ad- dition of some few crimes to the num- Der found in the old constitution was the right thing to do-that there was really no objection to that. He said we would take a few negroes into vote, but would never take enough of them to hold the balancs of power. The speaker here ex- plained that there were three plans of disfranchising negroes--by fraud, by force and by law. That the first men toned plans had been tried and the people were tired of them. and now they wanted to try the third plan.,
 Other features were discussed, and he made strong appeal to the white peo- pie urging on them that the negro had
 formed the issue. ard that it was the white man against the negro. He could not see how any white man could be on the side of the negroes; that they could no more become like a negro than a ne- gro could become like them. The speaker here told dream he had the other night. He said he dreamed that while going up Dexter avenue In Montgomery with some friends, he looked by chance towards the Confederate monument, and could see nothing but negr oes like black birds, and as he started in that direction he met General Shelley and ex-Governor John ston crying. Some of his friends asked them what the trouble was, and they told them that the ratification of the new con- stitution had just failed. and Booker T. Washington was presiding over a large crowd of negroes. who were celebrating the evant, and that the ex-Governor said My God, if I had known this I would neN CT have helped them defeat the will of the white people of Alabama"
 The general had large audience. Noth- ing but praises have been heard for him all day.