The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-04-21
Letters to the Editor.
That 1euublican Conference.


 0rensborc, Ala, April IS, 1908. Editor The Advertiser:
 l greatly appreciate the assurance on the part of The Advertiser that the Referees Republican Convention called for ,ns l, gnrposs of reorganlsdinEb ib. the party willing to let them have It any way they want it. It is far from me to claim that all the men, who entered upon the very foolish course of excluding color because they were colored and in order to i1dH9ecxsrtDfn-twhi white men who had op11ire4 their %tisef fulness Ito the Den1o- ferattc pofiticfans ir the Denioeratfe party and whose labor for the Democrats lad not been fttinsly rewarded. to join the Republican party, that they did so out of III will or hatred to the coiored men. Most assuredly all of them could not have been So uugrateful to a people they had been riding into office for years. As member of the State Committee and as an admfrer and personal friend Of some of the white men whose eyes had become dim pleaded with them not to efltsr on so foolish a course. There will never barna coiidnosed Of ignorant negroes, but we will hefAfter have conventions com posed of s0meNof the best negroes in the State Of Alabama and some of the very best white peopie.> The Democratic party might as well prepare itself to face foe worthy of meeting in open combat
 l have no appologles to make for my support of the new constit ition and none to make for my opposition to the lily white movement in Alabama. realize that revolutions always go too far and the friends of the constitution allowed certain men to do the cause of ballot re- form great deal of harm. In my ,opo- sftion to the lily white movement in Aia- ton I have acted with the lights before me. To illuminate the subject l will quote from cnmmuuca tion from a man of national prominence;
 T have your letter expressing your satisfaction over the action of the Prssi- dent in refusing to follow the recommen- dation of the so called Republicans in Alabama who have attempted to organize party based on color, and in appointing Judge Roulhac as United States Attorney to succeed Vaughan. No one, 1 am sure, Is more faithful to the cardinal Kepuoa- can doctrin of human rights and man hood suffrage than the President. Like many others. he is doubtless in sympathy with an improved and more intelligent suffrage and in favor of imposing tests that will bring up the intelligence of tho suffrage and the voters, but he would never consent to have such tests imposed except on men of all colors and all races alike He would be just as quick to re- can party, or one composed entirely of negroes as he would to rebuke the at- tempt to form a white party composed entirely of white men. He believes in the equality of men. in manhood suf- frage, and fellows the faith of Lincoln, Grant and all the great Republican Presidents. These people in Alabama who are so short sighted as to venture on this foolish course in this late day, of setting up party excluding all but white men from its membership. and to attempt 1t in a State where under the new Democratic constitution some three thousand negroes have been registered by Democratic registration boards as legal voters, will never make headway and can meet only disaster. l am sure no Re- publican National Convention would ever tatives of party based on color and especially excluding negro voters. I am sure President Roosevelt Is as sound on these questions as you or I, and as anxious and as determined to protect every man. of whatever color, in his sust rights"
 am confident from my observation and experience in National Conventions that the lily white organization could never seat a delegation until 1t purges itself of the sins committed in the name of :he larities of the lily white organizations growing out of absence of quorums, fall ure of proper notices to members of com mitteee, the use of illegal prsoxies. keep ing legal delegates out of conventions. beat meetings, committee meetings, etc., by guards, 1t Is difficult to see how the mantle of the Republican party can be thrown around this organization, unless the whole matter Is referred to the people State. Yours respectfully.
 Ad Wimbs