The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-01-20

leT STATE purposes, the cItLEen win not
mer to change, the aaIRi lirtra Ion. Coed
or bad, you are TO have four yeare OF 1t,
We led. 4. believe, All the States tvr MY
ave years ago in providing Tor Biennial
sessions OF the 9enerai Assembly NOW
we are In the forefront 81 nj of tBchl In
ordering guaaFeanlal sessions, Is le quite
within bounds to he9e ,hat t.le Iresent
cody VIII be wise enough II. tu:tke lava
under which our people can afford 10 1--we
for four years. I mis- Is the more reason
able since 1t Is composed Of men chosen
by a superior electorate. And tiers is
come thing TO be said In favor Of the IA cp-
ositi9n that a people have = right to de-
mand reasonable stability N tier stat
utes, The necessity for iesisladn9 wisely
under new conGi0Ons, thsh Ia inhIe Sc
rious one than before. II a gr'cvoIs er-
ror is committed, we have fDur lesrs In
which TO suffer for Il. It lie an expert
ment which all hope will turn out to our
advantage. At present II looks as IL 1t
might be an unnuxed blessing.
nder this new Constitution we have
come to honest elections IN Alabama, Al
ter Il period OF thirty years wlthout per-
maps Il single uncTiticised State election,
nc nave fairly como Out into the sunshine
OF this political day. l have heard OF no
charge of fraud in the late state contest.
Not one Of the returned Representatives
or Senators holds u commission onawhich
there Is tine least shadow growing out of
"a false ballot or a raise return. We have
come to honest eleotions-and to stay!
NeVermore, let us hope, will we be forced
to countenance fraud. / prophecy for the
people new election law, one free OF the
cumbersome features OF the present one,
| ,f
should provide plainly and unequivoc1lly
for representation at the polls of two
parties or more. In the last election
throughout the State, this representation
at the polls was allowed by Democratic
Office holders, me opposition had no such
right under the law. The right of opposi-
ton parties to such representation, and
of their own selection, should be plainly
set down In the statutes,
While we have a more respectful cleo
torate under the new Constitution. there
is doubly a duty now resting on the white
people who make and execute the laws to
see that that portion OF our fellow
citizens deprived of the privilege of vot-
ing are allowed liberty of person. safety
of limb and the rights of property, en-
toying these blessings as fuzzy and freely
as the whteet man in the State. We
have no defense Tor tne crime wnlcn ne
so frequently commits. revolving and
horrible. but he is entitled to full pro-
lection of the laws Men who would
Join a lynching party to avenge the COM
munity against the more serious offenses
merely furnish an excuse for a lover Of
laylessness to indulge his thirst The
better class Of our citizens may have
Joined in a mob to punish an offense
which cried to Heaven for vengeance and
have only succeeded in setting an ex-
ample TO smaller people to defy the law.
and this with little regard to the char
acter OF the crime charged. In this
state. In one and a half years. there
have been Ave lynchings; only two OF
the victims were accused Of assault One
OF these never saw or heard Of the young
woman and two other unfOrtunates
hanged. were guilty Of no crime at all
II 4 false, absolutely false. to assert
that this evil spirit Is merily sntieipat-
Ing the action Of the courts. AS unjusti-