The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-07

islature that we will have for years
 VIII be the one elected ir 1902. Inat
 one elected in 1902 will have to elect
 these Solicitors if we elect them by the
 Legislature. We want that an able
 pody Of men, we want them to come
 nere with patriotic principles; we want
 them to come here so that they can
 devote their attention solely to these
 local laws, and we do not want them
 mixed up with electing 25 Solicitors. It
 has been said that Legislators, and l
 have been member of the Legisla-
 turc, as soon as the Solicit ors offices were flied, the Leg
 islature was through; that they
 had either lost or won, and there
 was nothing else in the Legislative department for which they cared; in other words men are already proba- ply elected to hold over in senatorial positions for the solicitorship in 1902, or 1904. They are there to lay their pipes for election. and other people are
 going to be elected for no other pur- pose than to get the solicitorship.
 MT. Rogers-I Ao not know that I can add anything to the able argu- ments that have just been made on
 both sides of the question, but I want to call attention to a statement made
 by the gentleman from Montgomery, MT. Macdonald, and the gentleman from Pike. Mir. Sanford. in reference
 to the change of the law in the Con- stitution of 1875. which abolished coun-
 ty solicitors. and gave to the State of Alabama. the District or Circuit solic-
 itors. At that time. gentlemen of the convention, we were just coming through tn e throes of carpet bagism. scallawagism and negroism in Ala n ,N, sad arN1
 idly described oby Lord Byron. at the | siege 'bf Gorinth: We saw the lean
 dog beneath the wall hold OCT the dead their carnival"
 Republicanism in it's worst form. Negroism in dastardly form had been holding over the dead of Alabama
 their carnival. We had been enabled
 by the concerted action of the white people of the North and a few of the Northern part of the State, and few
 of the black belt counties. to overthrow
 this system in the State of Alabama,
 but notice the distinction. We had overthrown 1t in the State of Alabama, but not in all the counties of Alabama.
 In many counties of the State at that
 time. those scenes were being con
 tinued and the able and patriotic men who sat in the Convention of 1875 wished to give to the people of the State of Alabama at ld.ge, competent and honest men as their solicitors anu they apportioned the State of Alabama into different districts so that the Democratic party would control each district and give to the people compe- | tent and able soil 'itorS. It seems 10 me that that is an answer absolutely to the argument that we should fellow the precedent of 1875 and continue the lli AtrtJ, | Is this: So far as l am concerned l am perfectly willing that these solici- | tors shall be selected in the manner prescribed by law, whether it be by the election of the people at different times. | or whether by the vote of the legisla-
 ture. because 1t is perfectly reasonable | to suppose that the counties of the | State of Alabama will do about their
 solicitors as they do about other things. They will submit it to the primary of the county as to who is
 the choice of the people, and then any member of the legislature who comes | here will be bound to support this
 man. Now as to the combinations
 that have been made suppose there
 is no question. Whether these men have a right to make these combina- | tions or not is question for
 them to answer and 1 sup pose they will answer it satis-
 factorily that all Is fair in love and war, and politics, but you go upon the
 proposition when you deny the right
 of the county to select its solicitors
 that the county is not capable of taking care of It's own affairs. Why don't you l say that the members of the county
 and the different districts shall be se-
 lected by the district and not by the | nhjanf tO tbi ,
 on the ground that there will be four 1 teen or fifteen solicitors in Alabama
 who are Republican. Now this is not | a question of Democracy. of Populism | or of Republicanism. We have upon I the floor of thi3 body some twelve or | fourteen men who are opposed to the | Democratic party, and while l am a
 Democrat myself. I say these men have l deported themselves decently and re-
 specially and have gained the highest
 respect of this Convention. It would
 not. perhaps. be a bad thing If some
 of the counties in this State should be
 controlled by the present order of Re
 publicanism. It would institute com
 parison We are not here to uphold | the Democratic party. We are here for | the Democratic party to uphold us in
 the right It is not a proposition of
 holding up one party or tearing down
 another. But the proposition Is, wheth-
 CT we shall be upheld by the people of
 Alabama in doing the best we can for
 the people of Alabama. Now take the
 great county of Jefferson. It has its | county solicitor and the County of
 Montgomery, and others as mentioned
 by MT. Tayloe That shows the ten
 dency of the growth of the sentiment
 for county solicitors and If you will | notice the wording of this substitute | it says that the salaries shall be fixed | according to the requirements Of the | county Now do not get 1t in youl
 mind that we are going to pay in the county of Geneva $500. We will pay
 the sum justified by the amount Of law business that is done in that county And so on throughout the State. The | system as at present has cost the Stat'
 of Alabama Sl0,000 more than il ! brought into the State in the way of
 fees. That would be done away with
 thank you MT. President and gen | uemen of the Convention. have
 nothing more to say.
 MT BlaCkwell--I desire to say thai
 I made the question of selecting coun- ty solicitors one of the issues m tho campaign that I made before the peo-
 pie as a candidate for delegate to tnlS
 convention. I made a speech in every
 precinct in the county except two ou
 of tNRntyeS#o+ precincts. and at eacf
 of those precincts l advocated the ab-
 oiition of circuit solicitors. and advo'
 cated the selection of county sollcl'
 tors. and I want to say that there was
 not a man. so far as I am informed 1 "a attended these