The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-03-29

|
 mocracy and the State. May I trespass
 upon your time and patience with the request that you favor me with letter
 on the white primaries proposition. and
 for publication in The Register? I shall
 be greatly obliged to you. Very truly
 yours. Erwin Craiehead, Managing Editor Register"
 4 good Democrat and ab,e ,ournar.,
 as you are is entitled at any time to my opinion on any political question, though
 1t may be. worth but little or nothing,
 and believing that your enquiry Is not
 made in the interest of any candidate for
 office announced or prospective, l will
 give you my. opinion.
 While the framers of the new Constiti-
 tion differed as to the method all aimed
 1i,mhariiy 1shay 10 eradicate the great evil of
 ot universal manhood suffrage imposed
 upon the people of the State against their
 will by a hostile congress in 1ss7-s Dis
 1t until such practices became an intoi-
 erable evil and the Convention of last
 year undertook to correct 1t. did not
 agree with majority of the delegates
 ed. preferred that the same test of l qualification for suffrage should hay, been applied to all men with a single
 exception in favor of soldiers who never l deserted their cofors. But being in the | minority acquiesced in the work of the Convention without endorsing everything 1 1t did.
 The demand for white primaries is chief
 the ratification of the new Constitution
 They claim and believe that it was fraud I ulently counted in as ratified. Among
 those who thus believe are many men
 o- doubted before. Their faith is shaken: | they have not left the party; they pro- ] pose to stay In 1t. but they demand new
 safeguards by securing a fair count. Just lA
 fact vitaily important to the integrity
 or the Democratic party, and to the good I name and welfare of our State. The question Is not on the ratification of the | Constitution. for 1t has already been proclaimed as ratified, and all of the l machinery of State government is oper-
 ating under it. The face of the returns
 showed majority vote for ratification.
 there was no law 70 contest the same. There is no means by which the votes for
 and against ratification can be recalled
 nnd recounted. There Is absolutely no can be retried. To those who are op- posed to any parts of 1t the only rem edy Is by amendment as provided therein | or another Convention which the peopie | will not order.
 The ant-ratifcationists ailege that | fraud is rampant and never has been ex- | ifrpated by the new Constitution. and de-
 lnand white primaries under the law to secure harness or nominations. Is that | right? Is it good policy? If nominations are thus made under the law they will
 be honestly made and the nominees would
 surely be the choice of the men who vot- i ed Tn the primary.
 Fraud in nominating conventions be- came so common that the Legislature passed a rrtmary election law approved February s. 1899. It denounces as a mis- demeanor, punishable by fine and impris- onment, the buying or offer to buy the selling or offer to sell a vote at pri-
 mary. It prohibits the sale or giving
 away of liquors. and makes drunkenness | at such election a misdemeanor, and | charges the Sheriff with the duty of man. | taining law and order. The act prescribes | the oath which the election officers shall
 take. and the eleventh and last section | provides that any clerk. manager, in- | spector or other officer who violates any of the provisions of this act shall upon conviction be fined not less than twenty five nor more than one hundred dollars. Section declares that the act shall not be so construed as to make primary elections compulsory. CThe new Constitu- ton contains a similar provision) Yet when a primary is undertaken the law then fully applies. But who Is to set the machinery in motion? The primary must be ordered or called as the result of par
 ty action. The next enquiry Is how will
 the party act? The Executive Commit
 tee is every party's initiatory agency and
 when it calls for or orders a primary all good party men respond. This is imprac-
 ticable in our State this year until Au- gust. when all of the voters are register ed. Objections may and doubtl sss will be urged against white primaries because they would allow all Qualihed white vot- ters to vote. notwithstanding they may never heretofore have affiliated with sNe Democratic Party. Quite true, but will we deny to a man the right to vote the Democratic ticket which he IS in honor bound to do if he votes with us in our primary? Shall we object to his voting wi ha CT before? That would not De in accord with Democratic precedence. As party it has | always been noted for it's liberality in ] taking all the votes 1t can get from any | source.
 In 1896 our State Democratic Executive | Committee let down the bars and took | everybody into the primaries regarding | his vote therein as an implied pledge of | honor that he would vote for the nomi- | nees of such primaries. l was opposed to | the, rule when adopted. l was in favor | of taking in new members on probation. | but 1t must be admitted that the "open | door" policy of the committee practically | broke up the Populst Party in this State. | And the bars have been down ever since. | We will take in the Republicans if they | desire to come. white primary this year throughout the State conducted un- der and in observance of the law would not be contrary to precedent and would clearly indicate the preference of the white voters of the State for men to fill the different offices at the regular cleo | ton. It would shut off the trickery. real | or supposed, of nominating conventions. | It would paralyze the suspicion of un- fairness and commend the ticket to all Democrats It would allay all fears Of | fraud and save the grand old Democratic | Party under which so many victories have been won, from further pickering. strife | and division in its own ranks. It would. | I believe reunite men who are now d. | yided and who have ever been its strong | supporters and active workers. Since the | change in suffrage qualification made by | the late convention we will soon see the | RepuhIican Party with accessions to its | ranks of white men loom up as a danger l ous rival of the Democracy in our State. l The silver question, which did not think issue in the national campaign is relegat- ed to the rear-and now with the strong probability of unity of purpose and har- mony of action the success of the De- mocracy two years hence Is well nigh as- sured These conditions. which are now apparent, should stimulate the Democrats of Alabama to be prudent and sensible. | heal up old sores. efface grievances. have honest primaries. no more cheating so as to commend our party to the young men and make them as we'll as the lold- timer, with conscious rectitude exclaim: 'I am a DemOcrat!'
 have not seen an expression of opinion by any one else upon this question. The foregoing are simply my individual view. Your free criticism Is invited. very re- | spectfuly. William .; Oates'
 Montgomery Ala, March A. 1902.
 The celebrated Alabama Fertilizer