The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-16

what was said in debate could not ef- feet the instrument before the courts.
 Suppose, said Governor Jones. the caucus met behind closed doors. There was no doubt the action would be-mis- represented. The eyes of the whole country is on the Convention and the delegates have got to go out in the open and make the fight. He said these were some of the reasons which im- pelled him to favor the resolution of MT. Pettus.
 The delegate from Limestone, Mir. Pettus. addressed the caucus in sup port of the resolution. He showed that no time could be saved by discussing the suffrage article in caucus. It would save no more time to debate the ques- ton in caucus than it would to de- bate itin the Convention. If the stem ographic report was the bugaboo of delegates the Convention could easily rescind the contract at the expiration of the fifty days, although Mir. Pettus declared himself in favor of letting the full report go to the people instead of an incomplete report as would be made by the newspapers.
 MT. Long of Walker then got the floor and spoke in favor of holding a caucus on the suffrage question and dSdli5t tHc Glluc ICoolutiOU. Iuc ES- sponsibility of the Constitution rested upon the Democratic party and Demo- crats should get together and settle on the question. MT. Long said he had some amendments to offer. but if they were presented to a caucus and de- feated he would yield gracefully and not submit his amendments on the floor of the Convention. He said he did not think that the delegates should be bound by the action of the caucus and that those delegates who did not de- sire to be bound should be permitted to honorably retire.
 Judge Coleman's Remarks.
 Judge Coleman of Greene said that So far as he was concerned and so far as the committee was concerned. they did not object to a discussion of the subject in public. He did not think 1t would be wise to consider the suffrage question privately. (Applause.)
 Continuing Judge Coleman said the greatest complaint he had to find was that the Convention had delayed con- sideration of the report until the op- position had taken advantage of the silence of the Committee to assail its report. Newspapers had said the Com mittee and the friends of the majority report were guilty of impure motives in desiring early consideration. He de- nounced these statements as a gross perversion of truth. It is alsoe said that the purpose of getting the article disposed of was to railroad 1t through in order to have the Convention ad- journ. said Judge Coleman. There had been no such motive in the desire to have the question brought forward.
 He declared that he and his Commit tee believed in the constitutionality and expediency of it's report. lApplause.) He and his Committee were willing to meet the minority in debate. They were confident of their position and felt they had stood by the pledges of the party and had solved this great question in the best possible way.
 This statement by Judge Coleman was applauded.
 Judge Coleman said the Black Belt had been looking forward to this Con vention for fifteen years. His section he -said. had been carrying A load for many years and he was anxious for the caucus to fix a day for the hearing of the Suffrage Article and let the people know what the Suffrage Article is. No white man is to be disfranchis- ed. In his opinion 1t was an absolute impossibility to disfranchise white man honestly, under the Article.
 MT. Macdonald, of Montgomery, said that he was in hearty accord with Judge Coleman and said deliberately that the Suffrage Article was the greatest State paper he had ever read. Loud applause.) MT. Macdonald said he wanted to ask Judge Coleman if he believed the Convention could keep a quorum when the Suffrage Article had been disposed of.
 hof his deliberate opinion that the attend ance would be better after, the Suf- frage Article was settled. He wanted the question disposed of as early as possible as the people were impatient. He -epelled the statement that those who favored an early consideration of the Article were inspired by impure motives.
 As a substitute for the Pettus reso- luton Judge Coleman sent up a reso- lution that the caucus proceed to fix a time for the consideration of the Suf- frage Article.
 At this point Mir. Spraggins of Madison moved that the caucus go into executive session and that newspaper reporters be excluded.
 The motion was overwhelmingly de- feated.
 Mir. ONeal of Lauderdale spoke in support of the substitute. lie said one report of the committee was impreg- nable and that its friends were pre- pared and ready to meet the minority in the open. The whole world knew the purpose of this Convention. Its purpose was to disfranchise the colored race as far as the Fifteenth Amend ment to the Federal Constitution would permit.
 He moved to amend the substitute by making the Suffrage article a special order for Tuesday of next week at Il a. m.
 Mir. Hef1in of Chambers spoke for the second time against the steno- graphic report. He said that the re- port might not reach the United States Supreme Court, but it would reach the artful politicians of the op- position and the stenographic report would be used against the ratification of the instrument.
 MT. Hef1in then spoke about early consideration. He said other great questions were to come before the body. When the Suffrage article was com pleted unrest would seize the delegates and the remainder of the work would not be half done.
 MT. Knox Makes Speech.
 President Knox then spoke He said that in refusing to take up the report of the Suffrage Committee the Con- Vention had perhaps unconsciously re- flected upon the committee. The mem berS of the committee had not been given an opportunity to defend it's re- port. The minority report had in con- sequence been given wide circulation hU tbn naWGna nQrS and hX narGOna nm