The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-05-25

convention. If we sit six hours day, the cost will be over $50 for the tirno that 1t would take to read the journal in the morning. If 1t is printed and l upon the desk of each member. we | could with safety dispense with the reading of the journal. and the saving of half an hour alone would. in my
 Judgment, and l believe if the dele- gates will make the calculation 1t will be found to more than pay the expense
 of these reporters. This is to say noth- | ing. MT. President. of the time that will | be saved. do not know whether you can take that from the class to which the gentleman who made the minority report has referred to-those gentlemen
 whom he says desire to speak in plain | and simple way; or others, who may. as some others have charged. simply
 desire te have this means of speaking | to their constituents, but I submit upon every class that it will have the effect to save time to provide these reports time that I think the delegates them- selves will see-and appeal to you to
 ask yourselves the question, whatever class you belong to, if you know your remarks are to be recorded, and you
 read them the next morning, as I said
 to friend of mine in the Senate who was going to Congress, l was glad he was going, that he would be more care- ful with his speeches when he got
 where he could Tread them the next morning in The Record. And, it will
 have that effect on the delegates. Dele- gates will not consume so much time of the convention, because when they
 desire to be heard. they will prepare
 themselves, and when they have fn-
 ishd they will take their seats, and
 that amount of time and expense to uriI every day when in session in actually
 saving money to the State of Alabama.
 And. if for no other reason, l would
 favor the report of the majority of this committee, but what is the great reason, Mir. President? To my mind, 1t is this: that it has become the best
 way of keeping the records of any and all proceedings. We do 1t in the courts. They do it in Congress. All of the re- cent conventions have done 1t. Why, you had just as well tell me that you may as well go back and come to the Capitol here by private conveyance and not use the railroad, as to say that we will not use the expert stenographer in this country. 1t actually saves money. Arrives at the truth, and saves money in doing 1t, and should we simply hesi- tate here because some gentleman, per- haps, may desire twenty years from now to change his opinion. We have not time to wait. Let the gentleman prepare, and think we'll before he acts. Let us. gentlemen, give not to the peo- pie of Alabama. but to the people of the United States, the reason that ac- tuate us in anything we may do here. Let us stand by the truth. Publish 1t to the world, let 1t be whatever 1t may. There will be no expense incurred by this. You will find that it will be saving to the State of Alabama. We will do another thing that is very much needed here, delegates. We have not taken the people of Alabama sufficient ly into our confidence on the call and the election for this convention. The majority, and large majority, have hesitancy. 1 was proud this morning of the motion of the gentleman from Dallas, where we have said that the people shall pass upon it. If we wish the people of Alabama to pass inteln- gently upon 1t, let us keep them post ed day by day. Let us take our people into our own confidence. Let us assign our reasons, and let them read them. and upon the justice of our cause and of whatever acton we may conclude. let us be men, and stand by it. It Is too small for a con stitutional Convention of the State or Alabama to be undertaking to hide or cloak anything. Let us give 1t to the world, that is the best way to do It, gentlemen. It is money saving prop osition. and do hope with all due re- spect to my young friend who offers the minority report. that this Conven- tion will proceed in business-like way saving money to the State of Alabama, taking our people into our confidence, and assigning publicly to the world whatever reasons we may have for the action we shall take and feel satls- fled that they will never regret It.
 MT. Sanford-I have listened with a great deal of interest to the arguments that have been made pro and con on this proposition, but 1t does seem to me that if we are to take the people into our confidence. as the gentleman from Pike says we are to do, how can we take them into our confidence v when they do not know thing of what we wish, or a single word that we utter. We should remember that we stand here in the presence of eigh- teen hundrd thousand people that are outside of these walls. In the absence of being able to hear they are equally solicitous as to what they shall read. The reading takes the place of an au- dience-
 MT. Samford-EWill the gentleman from Montgomery permit me to ask nm a. question.
 Mr. Sanford-Certainly.
 Mir. Samford-How many of these eighteen hundred thousand read the Advertiser?
 Mir. Sanford-It Is not for The Ad- vertiser alone.-
 It will be taken all over the coun- try. The Advertiser will be extracted. Every man who utters a wise senti- ment will be quoted. It is a matter of enlightenment to the people. Look at Madison's papers, how valuable have they been in understanding correctly the Federal Constitution. Not nation al. That very word was stricken out of the proceedings of the Federal Con- vention of 17S7. no less than twenty six times. It is Federal. Some gen. tleman speaks of it. as national but it is not a nation. That word was ex- punged from the proceedings
 MT. Eley-Will the gentleman permit me to ask a question.
 MT. Sanford-Yes.
 MT. Eley-What is it good for? how many will read it?
 MT. Sanford-It will be known all over Alabama. and I do not see if my eighteen hundred thousand people are standing out here, why you should talk so softly that only one hundred and fifty-five should hear it. (Ap- plause) They wish to hear everything and in the absence of hearing. give them the right to read and compre- bend 1t. You speak of expense. Why, k my countrymen. no money was ever