The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-01-29
SCENE OF INSPIRATION
Hall of House of Representa-
 tiveS Crowded.
Junior Senator Paid Tribute to Sena. tor Morgan, Expressed Loyalty to Alabama and Congratulat- ed the State on New
 Constitution.

The House and Senate of the Alabama Legislature in joint session was addressed yesterday by Senator Edmund Winston Pettus, on whom it has just conferred the high honor of unanimous reelection to the United States Senate for a second term of six years
 The venerable Senator, strong and vi- rifle notwithstanding his S2 years, for thirty minutes held the tense and undi- vided attention of a crowd that taxed the capacity of the hall of the House of Representatives. He spoke slowly and de- Nberately. His delivery was easy and 9orceful. He drove the points in his ar suments home with powerful half arm gestures and his every word carried to khe farthest recesses of the hall. There was, in what he said and in his way of saying it, an Expression of strength and power. Perhaps there was none in the crowd who did not marvel that his four score years sat so lightly upon the vete- ran soldier, lawyer and statesman. He appeared in his address to his Alabama constituents a hearty well preserved man of 60 years.
 A Great Crowd Present.
 Aside from the deep significance of the unanimous tender by the Legislature of the State of Alabama of full term in the United States Senate, the occasion was marked by another evidence of the esteem and veneration in which the ju- nior Senator is held by the people of AL abama in the crowd that packed from wall to wall of the historic hall. The an- nouncement that Senator Pettus would speak filled the hall to overfiowng. Only two Senators and three Representatives out of the entire membership of the Legislature were absent. The gallery was fiIled fro mthe wall to the railing. There was in the gallery neither sitting nor standing room.
 The presence of the handsomely gowned women who formed a large part of the gallery spectators gave dash of color and lent an added charm to the scene.
 For once the rigid floor rules of the House were suspended and the sacred brectncts were invaded by outsiders who came in unchallenged. It was the first time since the Legislature convened that outsiders were allowed on the floor of the House while it was in session. To meet the desires of a large number to hear Senator Pettus and who could not ~ain entrance to the gallery the doors of the House were thrown open and they were allowed to range themselves along the rear wall.
 
 Senator Pettus was respectfully, almost reverently, received by the members of the two houses. As he entered the hall, escorted by the committee of notification, composed of Senator Joel Goldsby of Mobile. Representatives Walker of Madi- son and Starr of Dallas, Senator Edmund w. Pettus of Alabama was announced by the doorkeeper of the House. Every Senator and every Representative rose instantly to his feet. There was short space of silence and then wave of ap- plause swept over the assembly from the Speakers stand to the rear rank in the gallery. That the distinguished Alabamian was moved by the demonstration, that he was touched by 1t and appreciated 1t, could not be doubted by those who saw his en- try into the hall and his progress to the Speakers stand. The Senator is strong man and one unaccustomed to the display of emotion, but the paleness of his fea- lures and the tremor of his voice as he spoke his thanks to the representatives of 4he people of Alabama. showed that his heart was touched by the high honor done him. His eyes glistened as he spoke of the friendship of the young, strong men Of the State which had come to him by inheri- tance from his dead son, the lamented Francis L. Pettus, who died two years ago while Speaker of the House of Rep resentatives and who was, when death overlook him in middle life, one of the commanding figures in political and gov ernmental affairs of Alabama In the hour of his highest honor the venerable Sena- tor turned aside to voice his gratitude to those who. had honored his dead son.
 Expressed Deep Gratitude.
 Senator Pettus expressed his deep grati- kude for the honor of which no citizen could fail to be proud. He reviewed briefly his career in the United States Senate and spoke gratefully of the kindness and courtesy extended him by the other mem bers of the greatest law-makng body in the world. He paid a tribute to his dis tinguished colleague from Alabama John T. Morgan. He alluded to the great good fortune that had come to him, both at home and in the Senate.
 A large part of his address Senator Pettus devoted to a discussion of the mode of eIecting United States Senators as set out in the Constitution. He argued at some length the benefits of the present plan of representation and election to the Sem ate. He stated his opposition to the plan of electing Senators by direct vote and rave reasons why 1t should be considered a dangerous innovation.
 The Joint session of the two houses be- gan promptly at F o'clock. At that hour s'the Senate of Alabama" was announced by Doorkeeper Robert Hasson of the House. The members of the House rose and stood while the Senators filed in and took seats arranged for them in the open space in front of the Speakers desk
 Lieutenant-Governor Russell M. Cum ningham, the presiding officer of the Sem ate. mounted the Speakers stand and took chair by the side of Speaker A. NJ. Tunstall.
 The joint session was called to order by Lieutenant Governor Cunningham who said that it had been called for the pur- pose of comparing and examining the Journal of Tuesday of the two houses to ascertain if there had been an election in both houses for United States Senator to succeed Senator Edmund w. Pettus whose term expires March 4th, in accord