The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-02-14

= omy in public expenditures. and of rigid and prompt accountability of all public officers.
 "Third-That we are in favor of law and order. fair and peaceful elections, free from fraud and corruption. and that we shall demand a fair count of the bal lots cast
 "Fourth-That we are in favor of con fiding the Government of the State to our own people, to men of known capac- ity, and integrity, who accept ofhce Tor the general good and do not seek ofh- cial position and public plunder.
 'Fifth-That the party now in control of this State have obtained power by usurpation against the will of the people. and they have imposed enormous and uri- necessary taxes; they have created un- necessary and useless offices for the. soie purpose of feeding their needy followers; they have, by profligate extravagance and corruption, increased the debt or the State many millions of dollars, and have even refused to execute the provisions of their own Constitution relating to the classification of State Senators and thelr term of office; and by numerous other enormities in legislation they have shown themselves unfit to govern the people of free State and they ought to be eject ed. through the ballot box, from the offices they hold in defiance of the wis., dom and in contempt of the interests of the people"
 The Committed of which Thomas A. Walker of Calhoun, was Chairman, pre- pared an address to the people. Of Ala bama, which was a ringing appeal for them to take up the affairs of govern ment, an able presentation of the issues and that address did arouse the white men. of Alabama from their lethargy and brought them out to the polls in Mo- vember. On the committee also were: Thomas H. Herndon of Mobile. c. T. Deason of Jefferson, Boiling Hall of El- more, John P. Hubbard of Pike, James A Reeves of Cherokee, F. W. Sykes of Lawrence Joseph F. Johnston of Dallas, F. s. Lyon of Marengo, Thomas H. Watts of Montgomery M. J. Bulger of Tallapoosa, E. o. O'Neal of Lauderdale.
 Address to People.
 The address to the people dealt alone with State matters and related to the management of the State Government by the Radical Party, composed of float ing adventurers, their aiders and abet- tors.
 It went on to say: We have no Con- stitution in force which has received the sanction of a majority of the people of the State, either in person or through authorized representatives in ConSeA- tion or in Congress, where the instru- ment, under which the party in power control the affairs of the State, received whatever of validity 1t may possess. This instrument was framed by pretendcd representatives of the people. who, III many instances at the time, were stran- gers and adventurers in the State was submitted to a vote of the people, and nndar ha 0f efihnoiuGi0n dacfdadlV rejected. The instrument thus rejected was submitted to the Congress of the United States, ratified and adopted as the Constitution of Alabama, in opposi- tion to the negative vote of the people and such a proceeding has been regarded as securing to Alabama a Republican form of Government. This instrument creates offices not intended for the puo- lie good. but to provide place and official emoluments for carpetbaggers and their kind and to enable them to oppress the people through the exercise of the tax ing powers. Not content with the usual law making powers composed of the Gen. eral. Assembly and. Governor, this Com gressionaI Constitution for Alabama ere duality of ," legislative bodies by providing a Board of Education with power to organize and pass laws upon all subjects cOnnectedsaWth education. The office of Commissioner of Industrial Re- sources has. amongst others. been cre- ated, with a high salary attached, and no services rendered. When the paper called the Constitution of Alabama was put in operation, strangers, having no claims to citizenship, and no known res- idence in the State, carpetbag in hand, swarmed in every county where offices of profit were to be found, commenced their inquiries for places and laid their plans to secure them: they held meet ings amongst themselves and divided out the offices of the State as If they con- stituted property to which they had suc- ceeded by right of inheritance; they as- sembled the freedmen in secret leagues. and by false representation poisoned their minds against citizens of the State and with the aid of military power. ob- tained a fraudulent control of the State Government, and now hold 1t. Need we repeat to you what has been the conduct of the party in power since their fraud ulent accession? Most of you have doubtless seen and felt the force of their lawless acts.
 Tn former times and in better days when a man presented himself for office the inquiry was, is he honest? Is he ca pahle? Is such the inquiry now? If so, the answer to such questions within the past few years must have involved departures from the truth without limit.
 Will you, for a moment, cast your eyes over the entire list of ofiice-holders in this State from the highest to the lowest, andincluding the members of the General