The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-02-07

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 mittee on the morning of the 18th of January. 1868. The Montgomery Mall, then edited by Hon., Joseph Hodgson, | gave it an endorsement. which shows the feeling and sentiment of our people and we'll portrays the conditions at the time, in such striking and forceful manner that l offer no apology for reproducing 1t Tn full: ..>
 Position of the White Race in Ala Ir bama.
 We publish this morning the address of the Conference held in this city in the last few days, at the request of the Gen. tral Executive Committee of the Con- servatives. That Conference was com posed of many of the wisest most vir- tuous and most patriotic men of Ala bama. ex-Governors, ex-Senators, men of Northern birth, natives, men who ad- hered to the Confederacy. Democrats. 1 Whigs. farmers, ministers of the gospel. lawyers. representing every element and variety of opinion of our white people, united unanimously in presenting their able and eloquent address to the iegiti- mate electors of the State.
 Ut will be observed that the over whelming argument advanced by the Conference in support of that advice is, that whatever we may say or do, wheth- CT we might defeat the proposed Radical Constitution at the polls or not, these still remains tho absolute certainty that the present Congress preserves and will | exercise the power of removing every l obstacle Tn the way of the success of | their purposes. The Conference there fore. decided that 1t would be futile to enter into a contest against a power | which respects no issue, no pledges, no | principle of consistency, and no law. As | the law now stands we can defeat rat | ification better by abstaining from, than | by attending the polls. If the law is changed, then we may rest assured that new changes will be made to meet every impediment offered by the white population. Will the law he l changed, so as to permit a majority of minority, and that minority composed of negroes. to rule the Southern States and adopt the proposed Constitu- ton? If it Is changed, then the actual voting down of the proposed Constitution would avail nothing. for a new recon struction act would be immediately pass ed with new and more atrocious features, such as would render certain the sue cess of the designs of the Radical Party. | Against such an atrocity as that or permitting a negro minority to frame a Constitution for the people of Alabama | although the civilized world might pro- 1 test any aggressive action of our own
 would he imperative and of no effect
 Hence. the best policy of the white men of Alabama Is to oppose the proposed | Constitution by the only weapon left us. | the wis inertiae of a manacled race in which flows the hood of the founders of the American Government. This is the advice of the venerable sages of Ala bama: the Fitzpatricks, the Moores, and the Coopers This is the advice of her wise counsellors, whose intellect are in the vigor of life the Walkers the Par sons, the Crenshaws. the Forsyths, the Rlces. the Chiltoris. the Whites, the Clan tons. and the Pettuses. This is the ad- vice of her clergy. whose hearts are full of anxiety for their suffering flocks of both races-the Tichenors and the Coxes This is the advice of her young men, whose warm blood has been cooled by the horrors of war-the Holtzclaws. the AL lens. the Murphys, the Herberts. This Is the advice of our white citizens who have come from the North since the war. and who bore the Star Spangled Banner upon hundred battlefelds-the Mann. the Edwards and the Randalls.
 "This is the unanimous voice of con- ference of the wisest men of the white race of Alabama. Let 1t be respected throughout The State! The white man who repudiates such advice at such an hour of peril would be as untrue to ms allegiance to his race as would be the soldier in front of the army who leaves his place in the ranks to fight the battle under his own generalship.
 White men of Alabama, stand shoul- der to shoulder! The only base of opera tions left you is a refusal to assent to infamous propositions. Be not entlceo h1ak nfatrnnnh selves behind the breastworks of honor, and await the relief which is coming from the white race of the North. Stand firm as the garrison of Lucknow; yield not an inch to the savage Sepoys; let the white men stand behind the entrenchment Tn serried rank while the white women ana children offer their prayers for deliver. ance to God. and the relief must come! Already we have heard the slogan rom the highlands of the North, McGregor: McGregor! The Campbells are coming! The Campbells are coming!
 The Address in Part.
 The address sets out al length the con ditions and reaches the conclusion that the only thing to be done is for the Wnite people to remain away from the polls. The address concludes by saving: ., In advising you to refrain rom Votlhs we do not mean to commit you to non-ac- ton. On the contrary, we advise and ex- hort you to every kindred mode or peace full and fair action except in voting only We urge upon you to induce any White man not heretofore registered, who can | register, to do so, as soon as the resis- | tration boards assemble, as they VIII do in few days. We advise you to use all your powers of persuasion to keep all
 from voting at the proposed election; TOT the fewer the number who vote the less
 will be the moral impress of their ac-
 tion' and the more glaring the outrage
 threatened to be committed upon the peo- pie of Alabama, and upon the great un- deriving principle of our Republican gov erhment-that power comes up to the government from the people. and not from the government down to the peo- pie.
 Organize clubs in every neighborhooo' l kAen nm amch nrpa niza tinnn NHntch cloae-