The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-08-03
Johnston Speaks.

| Ex-Gov. Joseph F. Johnston came in
| on the train from Linden this morning
where he spoke yesterday. He was met
on the arrival of the BIS. and N. o.
| train by his manager for Dallas County
Maj. d. NJ. Scott, and Messrs William
Drysdale and Hon. Pat Loughlln. He was
| escorted to the Hotel Pettus where sew
| eral gentlemen called on him at his
rooms, among whom were Col. w. w.
| QuarIes, w j. Rountree, who was APP
| pointed by Governor Johnston Back Tax
Commissioner; his kinsman, r. II. Agee,
John w. McIlwain Constance Carlisle,
Sam Houston and several others. Mr..
McIlwain was formerly a staunch Popu-
| list but has been affliating with the
Democratic Party for the past six years.
The meeting had been thoroughly ad-
vertised in the local press and by circu-
lars for the past six days, and it was
thought that a great many country peo-
pie would be in the city, but there were
only about thirty or forty countrymen
in the city today, and many of those were
staunch Jelks men, The meeting was adj
vertised to take place at IL m.
At that hour by actual count, there
were seventy-nine persons in the court
house. and at the time of the opening
OF the speaking. ten or fifteen minutes
after II, there were possibly one hun
dred and twenty-five in the court room.
in looking over the crowd it was seen that
at least half of them were Jelks men. This
was a very poor turnout for Governor
Johnston, when the length of the time
the meeting had been advertised and the
tremendous effort the Johnston following
made to get out O big crowd is taken
into consideration.
Maj. d. NJ. Scott introduced Governor
Johnston, eulogizng him as a soldier, a
citizen and a statesman. Major Scott
made a fine Introductory talk and grew
eloquent about the wounds that were in
fiicted on Governor Johnston's body. He
told what he had done, to redeem Ala
bama from Republican misrule. He said
negroes had filled offices in Dallas and
said that Governor Johnston had helped
to throw off this black crowd. Governor
Johnston was greeted with applause as
he arose, at the conclusion of Major
SCOTS speech.
Governor Johnston opened his speech
by eulogizing himself as a Confederate
soldier. Although he was raised by
Wing father, he said. he was afraid the
war would be over before he got there,
but changed his mind when he arrived.
When he returned from the war
he had nothin but a ragged suit of
He took his place in the ranks and when
the honor of wives were imperilled in
Dallas. he did his duty. He made an
allusion to General Pettus and was heart
lily applauded. He said he had a commits
sion issued by General Pettus yet to raise
a company on one occasion. He said the
newspapers had said that there were only
thirty Johnston men In Dallas, but he
was glad that he had an opportunity to
speak to so many Jelks men. Gaughter)
He claimed that he had participated in
the frauds that had redeemed Alabama
and he was proud OF 1t. He had opposed
the new Constitution because he was
afraid that IT would disfranchise white
men. He claimed to be the man who
wrote the thirteenth plank in the plat
form in 1892. and said that was the first
declaration in Alabama in favor of white
supremacy, the first effort to disfranchise
the negro
He defended his course in calling the
Legislature together to repeal the act
calling a Constitutional Convention and
said that he did it because he was afraid
that corporation lawyers would control
the Convention. He claimed that there
were 1000 white men in his own county
Of Jefferson who are disfranchised by
the new Constitution, and that was why