The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-05-15
COLUMB|ANA AND
 CALERA AROUSED
Amicable Arrangement as to the
 Electoral Commission
ELECTION WILL BE WARM
Both Towns Will Make Hard Fight for the Court House and Intense ln- terest Was Shown at the
 calera Conference.

Calera, May 14,-(Special.)- )-The county seat contest Is now on in dead earnest. A delegation came here from Coumbiana today to confer with a similar body rep resenting Calera on the men to be offered to Governor JellSs for the electoral com mission to handle the county seat elec- ton.
 The meeting was public, Dr. c. c. Oli- yer, mayor of Calera, in the chair. On delegation Columbiana was invited to sub init any proposals she might have, and 1t transpired that Governor Jelks had sug- gested to each party that he hoped they would be able to agree on the personnel of the electoral commission.
 D. R. McMillan, chairman of the Co., lumbianians, made an address in which he submitted the plan of his party to name a man from each of the contending towns and allow these to select the third member of the commission.
 Counter Proposition.
 After brief conference of the Calera delegation J. A. MacKnight made a counter proposition to the effect that Ca- lera sought nothing but a fair and hon. est election, and that Calera believed this could be best secured by presenting at least five named by each party to the governor, none of whom should be di- rectly interested in either Calera or Co., lumbiana. The speaker said the choice of perfectly fair and upright commits sion would then be left in the hands of the governor, both parties agreeing that all the men suggested were entirely fit for the high office for which three of them were to be chosen.
 Calera would have no special objection to the Columbiana plan, the speaker said if perfectly neutral man could be chos- en for third place on the commission.
 A barley then took place between the two delegations, and it was proposed by MT. Mcknight that a test be made on this point, which should not be binding on either party until formally agreed to- Dr. J. H. Gum of Calera and D. R. McMillan of Columbiana went apart, and Dr. Gum suggested the name of John E. Morris of Ganadasque as a man above suspicion.
 The Columbiana delegation was appar- ently wrought up over the matter, and hesitated for some time; but on careful consideration decided that MT. Morris could not be reasonably objected to. w. B. Browne of Columbana told his dele- gation that no better man could be found.
 It was soon agreed that the commits sion as thus made up was entirely satis- factory, and Calera accepted 1t on con- ditlon that MT. Morris be made chairman. In this Columbiana acquiesced, and much satisfaction was expressed by all con cerned that an agreement had been reached so quickly and with so little fric- tion. The dispatch to the governor, an- nouncing the result, was written by J. A. Mcknight at the request of both dele gations, who signed it as follows:
 On the part of Columbana: W. B. Brown, J. II. Robertson, c. R. Du Bose, A. P. Longshore, J. l.. Peters, l.. M. Dyke, D. R. McMillan.
 On the part of Calera: J. R. Cargile, s. Stein, c. c. Martin, J. H. Gum, w R. Oliver, c. W. Wade, J. A. Mcknight, Dr. Gavanne.