The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-10-19
THE ADVERTISER AND THE FIFTH
 DISTRICT.

I &6SRS6 VI kNtWot eho " e-e-~ - l bill for the same as advertising. | The matter appears this morning on ! this page, but not as advertising. In- I asmuch as The News is printed in Tus- kegee where Mir. Hefin's noted speech | was delivered, its accounts and com ments have . news value which The Advertiser takes pleasure in recogniz- ing. Furthermore, MT. Hefiin evil dentiy regards these clippings as most | favorable to him. and The Advertiser is anxious to deal with him as the I Democratic nominee In that District with all the consideration possible. The Advertiser Is glad to note that The News account of what Mir. Hefiin said about the Roosevelt washington dinner is substantially the same as that of The Advertisers staf corres- pondent. There is no need. therefore. to discuss the accuracy of this papers report, or the attitude of its stan cor- respondent who made that report. Of course. he could not photograph in words MT. Hefiin's manner and express sions in making his notorious utter ances: it is not likely that any living reporter could have done that ade- quately.
 There are two points in The News criticism of this paper that The Ad- vertiser sees fit to answer. The first is that no newspaper loyal to it's party would have reported the speech as The Advertiser did. The intimation is dis tinct that The Advertiser should have ignored and suppressed Mir. Hefiin's bad breaks, in the interest of the Party. Tn that view of Party loyalty The Advertiser takes no sort of stock. It is the ostrich idea--sticking the head in the sand under the impression that thereby the whole body is hidden. The Advertiser is a newspaper, and will print the news. The new Consti- tuition and the removal of the possi- bility of negro domination wiped out any necessity for the pretense that all Party nominees or official incumbents feet and to be held up as Solons or solomons. The Advertiser has not been following that idea for ten or fifteen years past. and sees no necessity for changing its policy now. As a matter of fact, publicity is the best remedy for all political His. The great Demo- cratic journals of the East and West are even more severe on the blunders Of Democratic nominees and officials than upon those of opponents.
 Another point by The News is that if The Advertiser had not reported Mir. Henin's breaks, they would never have reached the North. and no harm would have been done. That is manifestly un- fair and absurd. All of Mfr. Hehins audience were not Democrats. Tuske- gee is the old home of his opponent, Walker. and the present home of Booker Washington. Both of these have friends there. and doubtless both had loyal friends to hear MT. Henin's speech, which had been expected to be bold answer. to Walkers onslaught, Tn the light of this unquestionable situ-. ation, there is no doubt that the North would quickly have had Mir. Hehin's unfortunate utterances, even if The Ad- vertiser had not sent a stan man there to report him, or had suppressed those utterances in its report. As a matter of fact, the stories in the Eastern papers show that some other report went out besides that made in The Advertiser. For instance, The Advertisers report as to his utterance about Washington was as follows:
 And If Booker interferes in this thing there Is a way of stopping him. We have a way of influencing negroes down here when 1t becomes necessary.
 See how differently The New York Tribune's report reads:
 If Booker Washington takes a hand In this matter, 1t will be one time will ask him to step out. will ask him to hands of. and you know we have way of influencing down here. There were reports of MT. Hefiin's utterances in number of the Eastern papers, and 1t is a matter of absolute fact that not one of those reports went out of The Ad- vertiser office. That is a complete refutation of the charge that The Ad- vertiser is responsible for all the harm Mir. Hefiin's folly has caused.
 Finally, The Advertiser reaffirms the statement made heretofore that It's pur- pose in protesting against MT. Hefiin's breaks has been to counteract as far as possible their baleful influence in the national campaign. We are glad to know that our lead In the matter has been followed by nearly every other daily In Alabama, as previous clippings have shown. Today we reprint brief extracts of the same tenor from a large number of the Alabama weeklies. Not over half dozen papers in the State have attempted to uphold Mir. Hefin iR these matters.
 The Advertiser has had no desire to defeat the Democratic nominee in the Fifth District, and has carefully ab- stained from any counsel of that sort. It has not even advised that he be taken off the ticket. though other State papers have done so. On the con- trary, it has distinctly stated that 1t was necessary and expedient that he be elected, and 1t has no doubt that he will be. It has not attempted to interfere in the Fifth District politics at this time. though 1t claims the right to safeguard Democracy's interests in.