The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-01-05
sufficient guarantee of his action in the future. 2.
 Governor A. ]. Montague of Virginia' who followed MT. Oiney, said, in part
 Montague of Virginia.

who followed MT. Oiney, said, Tn part Montague of Virginia. '.At this period in our party affairs tne South comes forward as the cnampion ot no candidate; but 1t is to Do nopea lna' she will come forward in . spirit or oo- operative leadership for the pronounce ment of such principles and measures AS may victoriously rehabilitate our party and give to a peoples government peo- ple's rule. e.
 T venture the opinion that the South should not. .indifferently wait upon pohcy of negation or the slow-moving uoes VI public opinion, or make paramount m ah- ticipation the availability of canoioatts' but she should affirmatively stand torth in behalf of the established and conserva. tive principles of Democracy. She shouid not only ask, but demand that issues which are dead should not be stirred up for our undoing. She should take the initiative in the recrudescence of our par ty upon the principles which. heretofore and for so long, led us to victory ana 10 the peoples service. And the South should do this not as section. put ds an integral part of our Union. with an affectionate interest in its welfare. growth and glory.
 Nor does the South direct the consider. ation of the country to. candidate, put
 
 minded patriot, clean public servant, courageous but not venturesome, jealous but not picturesque; sober in judgment but not fanatical in faith. With such condition, supporting a conservative aiid just policy for a sane and safe people. we may see coming to every fireside ana to every hand an equality of opportunity and of right and of duty. the republic best gifts
 Former Governor David B. Hill was greeted with loud applause when, in h.s introductory remarks, he eulogized the leadership of Charles F. Murphy and pre- dicted that Mayor Mcclellan would suc- ceed him as a Democratic Governor Of the State and precede him in the White House.
 Continuing, Mir. Hill said.
 Mi. Hill Speaks.
 MT. Hill said. in part:
 Thoughtful citizens. solicitous for tho welfare of their country, view with ap- prehension the dangerous tendencies of the public policies which are either ap- proved or tolerated by the party in pow CT in the nation. They see the best tra- ditions of the Government set aside or ig- nored, while course of intrigue and dis honor in international matters Is reck- lessly and shamelessly entered upon. The fair name of the country is being greatly tarnished in a strenuous effort for per- sonai glory at the expense of truth and consistency. It has ever been in the past the pride and boast of our republic that weaker nations have been safe from at- tacks from us.s and that in our inter- course with other Governments, the right of national brotherhood has always been cultivated rather than destroyed" MT. Hill characterized the course of President Roosevelt in the Panama af- fair as "a species of contemptlble machi- nation unworthy of the head of a great nation. prompted by personal ambition and a desire to startle and dazzle the people: part and parcel of a political scheme to prematurely force his own nom- ination for the Presidency and to preclude the consideration of the same of any other candidate within his own party" and "a cheap and transparent play to the galleries @' '- ~ +"'''' '.-.', Congress, he said. alone has power to decfare war. and yet the spectacle Is pre- scented at this hour of the naval forces of the United Etatees being used to pre- vent a republic from exercising the lawful function of suppreasing a rebellion against its legitimate authority within its own borders."
 l. Mir. Hill declared 1t ''the duty of Democ- racy to resist the consummation of th.s outrage" and urged the rejection of the treaty in the Senate.
 Argument 1nadmissable. ''It Is urged in some quarters" he said, that opposition to the present treaty Is inadvisable because the people are so earnestly in favor of the construction of an inter-oceanic canal that they are fr- different to the injustice which may be involved in the initial proceedings now under consideration. This argument Is inadmissable for two reasons: Tn the first place, the construction of a canal in either Nicaragua or Colombia is one thing, while formal treaty with junta | of rebellions >speculators and adventurers in Panama Is another, and a different. thing. In the second place, an act Of Congress has already been passed in 1902 with substantial unanimity which pro- vided for the securement of a route for a 1 canal in either Colombia or Nicaragua, and made provision for the moneys neces- sary for It's construction and, therefore, a | canal in the near future might reasonably be regarded as a certainty. Hence, there was no necessity for the exercise of any diplomatic legerdemain."
 MT. Hill next took up conditions in the
 army speaking of ''the studied insult to | Lieutenant General Miles" in the order
 announcing his retirement from the army
 and the constant, persistent endeavor to
 confer upon personal favorites of the
 President the highest honors of the army, regardless of the length of service, gal
 lant conduct or individual fitness" Promotions Hawked About. The plain truth is," he said "that l during the present administration promo
 tions in the army have been hawKed
 around and bestowed here and there. as
 though they were personal or partisan
 sratuities to be granted or withheld at
 the pleasure of the appointing power. re- 1 gardless of any other considerations
 This has created much discontent and brought the army to the verge of demor- alization."
 | He criticised the detailing of naval ves-
 sels in the vicinity of the Presidents
 home at Oyster Bay. and said:
 | "In view of these circumstances. 1t :s no wonder the President saw no serious | misconduct on the part of General Wo ,d
 in Cuba when he used public funds tc l influence the action of Congress in be- half of certain legislation which his com l mander in chief desired"
 1 "The consideration to which I have ale luded, and others to which I need not re- ! fer. have been steadily and surely ere ating a profound conviction in the public
 mind. and especially among thoughtful
 men, that a change in the personnel of | the present administration is not only de-
 sirable but imperative. The signs of the | times indicate on every hand that the business interests of the country do not ! feel safe under existing conditions. 'It is not true that the growing oppo-
 sition everywhere manifested among bus | A..