The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-18


 | vor offthe amendment. Mir. Coleman CGreeneJ-I have a sub- stitute
 | The substitute was read as follows: "The Legislature shall have power to declare who shall constitute the militia of the State and to provide for organ
 iz ng, arming and disciplining the sanr'."
 Ar. Coleman-Mr. President, 1 in- clhe to the view that the Gre.iua Of ;h. l., constitution of the United States wl,i,!. .ias been read would not r.stric: the State from making this al,cri 1lna- .Ion. | do not wish to be unuers .uvc as asserting that positively, but the | wording of it indicates that who shall
 const titute the militia shall be left to the States, but We are safe in avoiding all trouble by adopt ing the substitute. l follow The precise language of the Constitution,
 Of The United states in conterrihg that power upon Congress, that Congress- | snail have power Co provide for organ izlng, arming and disciplinlng the mi ltia. So this Is that the 1egislatuIeI shall have power to declare %ff6 shali constitute the militia to orSa nfzS1 affn | and discipline 1t, ana 1t Is d safe sofu- | ton of the whole trouble, in my mind and will put us upon good basis, i'm pregna ble, and will give rise 10 no re- hectNn on account of discriminating one way or the other, and being largely with the legislature. If the emergency should arise such as some apprenend, | but which. l hope. are far o1. why the power would be there to prevent the evli, unrestrained by organic law, but | the law may DC applied to the existing conditions and we would move safely | on. We lose nothing of the appropria- | ton by that provision. We show no discrimination in our organic law. We | leave everything with the legislature, just as the Constitution of the United States has left. it with Congress. MT. Handley-It leaves the word | white" out.
 Mir. Coleman-The whole thing is out | and we have got all we want. 1 move adoption of the amendment.
 Mr Burns-As d member of the Committee. desire to say that we had tull meetings and that we had no con- | tention. but we all did not agree to insert that word white. It was under stood by the Committee that we would make the report. and then each mem- Der of the Committee, as each mem- Der of the Convention could fight 1t on | the floor if they saw proper. Now l agree with the amendment offered bJ | the gentleman from Montgomery. l I think the word white" should be stricken out. I do not think we need any more argument on that question. think the arguments are unanswer- able. As far as the negro amounted to anything, under that clause. we have ' proven since 1875 that they have
 amounted to nothing. As long as we
 have a good Democratic Governor. or | a good any other kind of Governor, a I t,fa nt uS yQ
 have now, we need have no fears in
 regard to having a few negroes in
 the militia. Those that we have are | all gone except the dribblets of an old company stationed somewhere in the State. and this Convention does not know where they are. and l doubt If | the Adjptant General knows where l they are.
 Mir. Jones tMontgomery)-Have you been on duty Tn many very big strikes and never saw anything of ne- | groes in the National Guard in Ala | bama?
 MT. Burns-Yes. sir; we never had any complaint at all. don't think We ought to endanger these appropria-
 tions. We have to run our hands in
 our pockets now to pay out thousand
 or two dollars. Don't let us depend on
 the legislature to help the militia.
 Don't let us throw away these appro-
 pria tions from Washington and depend
 on the legislature to help out the mi, l litia and encampments. We are behind
 now and have to pay 1t out of our
 pockets. Let the old Constitution | stand. Do not tear 1t all to pieces. Let some of it stand. This Committee | changed it very little. and the Chair
 man of the Committee is not satisfied
 with it himself. Some men prefer it
 for the sentiment about 1t and some of us do not prefer it. Give US the benefit of the doubt and let us have tre | old Constitution back. If everything
 worked well under the old Constitu- tion. why should we change It? MT. O'Neal-You say that under this
 provision we would en1anger our ap-
 propriation and that the appropriation | is made according to the number or | troops?
 MT. Burrs-Yes. sir: endangers the | Federal appropriation.
 | MT. O'Neal-Will the gentleman per- init me to call attention to the Ian guage of the statute on the suoJect! | MT. Burns-I wasn't talking aDout
 the statute. I have just heard the gen | tleman read enough.
 Mir. O'Neal-This is the statute. just | to the contrary. Here is the last act. Supplement to Revised Statutes. which says that the appropriation shall be | apportioned among the several States l and Territories under the direction of the Secretary of War according to the | number of Senators and Representa- | lives to which each State is entitled lR Congress.
 MT. Burns-That Is not the law we are working under now.
 | Mir 'Neal-Yes sir. that Is the last | law of Congress on the subject. MT. Burns-I did think l would ask | A moment on personal privilege, but l I have such high regard and respect for the distinguished gentleman from | Montgomery whose record as a soldier will shine long after 1 am forgotten, and although I am willing to stand on
 my record during the war having Kill ed as many of the Yankees as they did of me Qaughter), having gone through
 more than three years and half Of that war, I am perfectly willing to stand on my record. I am sorry that I said what I did to the distinguished gentleman from Montgomery, because [ did not know who he was referring to. | made a, mistake. He was refe:- ring to old Strohack, who was not white man. , ...,.
 MT Cobb-I am in entire accord with
 the views of the gentleman from Greene upon this matter. and the only @difference between him and myselr -s
 that I believe that this whole Sectloh No 1 should be stricken out rom the Constitution. In 1919 when the nrst Constitution of the State of Aldn4SH1a
 was adopted. there was no prooNsSSg0r .traEfN NNlNF