The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-16
THE REGIsrER,s REASONING.

rom JeIIeTSOH.
 
 THE REGISTERS REASONING. Our esteemed contemporary. The Mo- bile Register. comes to it's own defense in the matter of the white primary propo- sition as against Democratic primary Curiously enough, it's foremost defense is that it's attitude is correct because 1t
 understood that such was The Adver- tiser's at the outset It quotes from this self-justification and charges that The Advertiser has changed front.
 We regret that while The Register was searching it's file of The Advertiser. it should have stopped short at that first declaration. Realizing that our first ar- ticle was susceptible of misconstruction. The Advertiser. on March 29th, had this further statement:
 The Advertiser publishes this morning ar interesting letter written by ex-Gov ernor Oates to the editor of The Mobile | Register. We do not understand the sug- gestion of a primary to decide between Democrats as to choice of candidates to be d proposition of everybody voting in that primary who may see proper to do so. It is to be a fair and square contest | between Democrats and they alone should decide the matter. The term white primary" is perhaps misleading. | It should more properly be termed Democratic primary. at which only white Democrats will vote.
 So it will be seen that The Register is
 not warranted in bolstsring itself up by l quotations from The Advertiser in l favor of white primary. This paper never intended anything of the kind, and took pains to make it's own position clear fusion on the subject.
 The Register makes another equally un- fortunate break. It says:
 The Advertiser has changed ground It now advocates strict party primary and the putting up of the bars. We refrain from comment upon the spectacle anord- ed by The Advertiser sitting in Judgment to entrance into a Democratic primary. All We say is that The Register. although it supported the Party's presidential nominee when The Advertiser did not, | has not the hardihood to initiate its ex- ample, The Party bars are down. We | would not assume the office of putting | them up.
 The alusion to the campaign of 1896 is peculiarly ma-apropos, because that was | another occasion when The Register had not the hardihood to follow in the bold course that presented itself as the duty
 of the time to The Advertiser. The Ad-
 vertiser bolted Bryan and the Chicago [ platform and stuck to it's bolt. The Reg l heart
 was with The Advertiser, however. but it | failed in hardihood. It yielded to the cur
 rent, and made a pretense of drifting with 1 it. We refrain from comment upon that
 spectacle of the past conjured up by
 our contemporary. but we submit that The Advertisers Democracy is fully as stalwart as our Mobile contemporary's | Finally, The Register undertakes to argue about the correctness of its posi- tion, and this is the best it can do:
 We advocate the white primary because | if is the logical sequence of the adoption | of a new constitution giving us oppor- | tlnity for free and fair elections; we ad- | vocate it because an election that is pre- l ceded by d questionable nomination will 1 be fair but in name, and because such an | arrangements will not satisfy the masses | of the white people: and we advocate 1t 1 because it's adoption is the only way of | ore serving the Democratic organization 1 and the control of political machinery III
 this State by the Party organization. This
 was our position at the start, and Il Is
 our position now. There is nothing ob- 1 scure about it. nothing that we arc
 ashamed of and nothing that will not
 bear close scrutiny. We advocate it in | inc interest of no candidate. or set of men
 who are prominent in the Party, but be- cause it is the light policy and for the l good of our Party and of the people of | Alabama.
 That sounds earnest and serious. but
 where is its force? What is there in it of good that is not applicable to a strict
 Democratic primary" What is there in
 it to prove the rXpedieney of inviting into Democratic councils the 2o,0O0 white Re- publicans in this State? Where is the ! demonstration that the fifteen or twenty
 thousand white middle-Of- the road Popu- lists, who have refused to come into the
 open bars during the last six years. are
 going to bring profound wisdom into an
 undertaking by the Democratic Party to
 select it's strongest candidates and to de-
 wise it's best platform? How can dyed
 n-th -wooi Republicans and persistent
 Populists preserVe the Democratic organi-
 Altion? How will they mako q Demo
 cratic nomination moro honest. less ques-
 tionabln? Hcw will they help put the con
 troi of the Party machinery into the best
 hands2
 The Advertiser may be very blind and
 stupid. but w confess cur inability to see
 thr power oI The K gjst"r's logic Only
 recognized Democrats should take part
 in making Democratic nominees. and no
 man can be classified bemocrat who
 las not voted the Democratic ticket In the last State election No less should be re-