The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1902-08-31
Mass Meeting at Montgomery
Court House.
Resolutions Deplore Exclusion OF
Negroes from Party Councils
and Express Confidence in
the Old Leaders.

The Republicans of Montgomery County
held quiet and conservative meeting at
the County court house yesterday begin
ming at II o'clock and elected delegates to
the Republican State Convention to be
held in Birmingham September Ii.
About forty qualified voters were pres
ent a. the meeting They were about
equally divided between the whites and
the negroes. Everything was done In
perfect harmony and no excitement or
| factional fight marked the meeting.
Resolutions were adopted endorsing the
| Southern policy of President Roosevelt;
| urging disfranchised Republicans in Ala
bama to strive to qualify next year; de-
ploring the attempted exclusion of ne
groes from party councils; yielding pas
sive obedience to the State Constitution
but declaring that certain sections of the
organic law contravene the Federal Con-
stitution; and finally endorsing the old
Alabama leaders and expressing distrust
| in would-be leaders.
Instead of the four delegates to the
State Convention to which the Repubi-
can population of Montgomery County is
entitled eight delegates were elected.
These delegates will have but a half a
vote each This was done in order that
| in Montgomery County would be properly
represented at the State Convention.
Rev. A. ]. Stokes, negro preacher,
| as the only member of the old County
| Executive Committee who was not dis
| franchised by the new Constitution, called
| the meeting to order. After stating the
| object Of the meeting he called Captain
| l.. J. Bryan to the chair to act as tenn
porary chairman.
| Negroes Should Be Patient.
| Captain Bryan said that while the at
tendance upon the meeting was small
he hoped it was the beginning of a Re-
! publican party in Alabama, which in a
| few years, would be large and powerful
Captain Bryan went on to say that while
| it appeared that the Republican party
| in Alabama had been weakened by the
ratification of the new Constitution, he
thought there was room for belief that
| the party had been strengthened by the
| elimination Of the ignorant negro vote. He
| advised the negro Republicans to be pa
| tient and to so fit themselves that they
could qualify without violating the Con-
| sttution.
| Joseph p. Dimmick was then elected
| temporary secretary and afterwards both
he and Captain Bryan were made the
| permanent officers of the organization.
committee of five was appointed to
select the delegates from Montgomery
| County to the State Convention in Bir-
mingham and the District Convention.
The committee reported that in a de.
sire to give all factions equal representa-
| ton 1t had been decided to make the del.
egation consist of eight men in place oil
| the four to which Montgomery County il
entitled. These eight delegates are tc
have only four votes.
The delegates recommended were al
! follows:
To State Conventional. J. Bryan
Henry Irwin N. II. Alexander. Rev
Washington, Robert Barber. ]. w. Dim
mick, w. S. Reese and I. Pollak.
To District Conventional. l.. Steele
A. ]. Stokes. A. E. Stratton, Archie Nc.
Kinney.
The report of the committee was adopt.
| ed.
County Central Committee.
N. L. Steele moved that instead of g
County Committee Central Committed
| should be organized to consist of nine
members, and a chairman.
Mr. Steele said the reason he Offered
this motion was that there were a. mum
Der of beats in the County in which there
were no Republicans and there was M
need in having them represented. Hi!
noton was ADOPTED and the committee
was selected as follows: G. w. Craik
N. H. Alexander. l.. j. Bryan, j. P. Bur
ton, T. G. Bingham, A. j. Stokes, JohI
Wilson and Sam Phillips Pollak wa.
unanimously chosen as chairman.
At this point in the proceedings, A. S
watkins. negro preacher from tn,
country, arose and said that this commit
tee was composed of men who lived with
in stones throw of the artesian basi,
and that the country was not represented
On motion the names of A S. Watkin
and l.. p. Mitchell were added to repre-
sent the country.
Resolutions Adopted.
N. II. Alexander. negro Receiver o
Public Moneys read a series of resolu
tions, which had been prepared.
| The resolutions were as follows:
"First-Be 1t resolved by the Republi
cans of Montgomery County, Alabama, Ii
mass convention assembled: that we cor
daily endorse the present Republican
National administration, and especial,
policy of President Roosevelt, witt
respect to the warning factions of Re
publicans in the Southern States, a.
expressed by him to the chairman of tn
Republican Executive Committee o
Texas, in a recent interview with tina
political official,
"Second-eB it further resolved, Tha
in view of the large number of Repub
leans of Alabama who were arbitraril!
| tod iyfr ion, hxyt hA yovfDt