The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-18
MT. Jones (Montgomery)--will u gentleman pardon me moment?
 Mir Gapdors-Ya1 cir

MT. Jones (Montgomery)-Will the gentleman pardon me a moment? Mir. Sanders-Yes. sir.
 Mr. Jones-My position was. not that | 1t was a privilege or immunity, bug | that the Article of the Constitution giving Congress power to authorize and
 equip and arm the militia, left to Con- gress to determine what should con- stitute the militia In the section of | the act of Congress from which read,
 it says: Every able bo lied male cit- izen between the ages of IS and 45.'' MT. Saunders-The gentleman there
 fore does not think 1t is a violation of | the fourteenth amendment. but mere | ly in conflict with a provision of Con- gress?
 | MT .Jones-I am not prepared to ex-
 press any decided opinion as to that. without investiga ton. s.' MT. Sanders-At any rate a major | ity of the Committee was in favor of ckear-cut. white military provision in
 this State. The suggestion is made
 also that we shall lose part of the l Congressional appropriation annually
 made to the militia of the several | States. In Alabama. we are told that
 we would lose as much as eight thou sand dollars. For my own part, MT. President, l do not care snap for that. and 1 don't believe the majority
 of the white people of Alabama care d snap for it, I believe the legislature | would be upheld and applauded for
 supplying that deficiency. if the amount of money Is needed for the support of | the military in Alabama.
 Mr. Oates-I have but a few words | to add to this discussion. I approve
 in the main what my colleague from | Montgomery has stated. My recollec- | tion is sir, that there are two negro companies in the militia of the State, there were the last | knew of them Mir Jones-Only one now.
 MT. Oates-Here or at Mobile? MT. Jones-Here; the Mobile conn., pany disbanded.
 nies at the close of my executive ad-
 ministration. I undertook under an act | Of the legislature to reorganize the State militia and I organized those | two negro companies into battalion,
 and there never was any interference
 or conflict with the white soldiers, not | in the slightest with the white troops; | because after the white Cmmands had been in encampment of instruction and | passed out the negro battalion was or | dered in and they had it all to them- | selves. There was no conflict, no | trouble in the world about it, and how | ever, negro troops may have deported
 themselves in the late war. and I have heard of several instances of bad con- duct on their part in Alabama, and in Florida. also heard that at the battle
 of San Juan Hill, one of the most re-
 markable fights of that war, they
 displayed much gallantry. It may be- | sir, that there is no necessity for 1t, | and l presume that no Governor will ever organize any considerable num- | Der of them in the State. Wherever | any militia company Is organized and attempts to get recognition. it depends | upon the officers-the Governor and
 Adjutant General, whether it Is re- | ceived or not. This of itself leaves it all right, in an acceptable attitude. The l innovation at this time of inserting the word white" in regard to the militia may produce endorsements and some complications in the future, for | we do not know what is coming, we do | not know what will occur, ten, twenty, thirty or forty years hence if this Con- | stitution is ratified. there should be no embarrassment, as is expected to | be of force for many years. It is most startling to me. remarkable under the
 change in public opinion in regard to the status of the negro in our State. Why. sir thirty years ago, when l was
 a member of the House of Representa- tives here. right over there between those two columns, I witnessed a fight between a leading carpet-bag member | of the legislature from Montgomery | Strobacn and Bob Arlington, a negro employee of the House, and I stood over them myself and kept anybody from interfering until the negro gave him a good beating which he deserved
 and 1 never incurred the disapproval of a single one of the Democratic
 members of that House. Why, sir, the sentiment is altogether different now. | when the negro is doing no harm, why
 people want to kill him and wipe him
 from the face of the earth
 MT Burns-Will the gentleman par
 don me a minute?
 MT. Oates-I will yield.
 MT. BurnS-I want to ask the distin-
 guished gentleman if he said the negro
 gave white man deserved thrash ing?
 MT. Oates-Yes. sir.
 MT. Burns-Do you take the position
 that there is any circumstance when
 negro ought to whip white man?
 MT. Oates-Yes, and he did right. Stroback was An favor of social equal
 ity and the negro was a long ways the
 better man of the two. and everybody
 will testify to that, who knew both of
 them.
 MT. Burns-That is Bostonian doc trIne.
 MT. Oates-Where were you making
 Bostonian doctrines during the war,
 when l was at the front, in twenty
 seven battles, and have six scars on my
 body, ma de by Yankee bullets? l reck
 on my devotion to the South is as
 great as that of any other man. No
 man has ever questioned my loyalty to
 my people, or my State, and l am glad of what 1 did on that occasion. My 1 conscience approves 1t. While I think
 the negro should remain in his place,
 and that place subordinate one to the
 white people-for this is a white mans
 government and always will be and al- ways ought to be-but for that reason is it right, when we have a subordinate
 race here, not responsible for their be-
 ing among us, to prescribe them and
 trample them under foot? I do not
 want them to control the State govern
 does. have all my life stood up for
 the right toward all men. and I intend
 to do it for whatever time God AL mighty allows me to breathe. and I
 don't care who disapproves my action,
 for my conscience is my guide. I say this is wholly unnecessary innova-
 tion, an improper one that may be em-
 barrassing some time in the future. l
 do not think 1t violates the Federal Constitution, but it is contrary to the
 Federal Statutes and wholly unneces-
 sary. Why we should make this lnno-
 vation I cannot see. and I, therefore, think the amendment offered by my