The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-12-10
.COMER AT TUSCALOOSA
SPEAKS AT COURT HOUSE IN INTEREs1
 OF CANDIDACY.
Declares that the Railroads Are spendfnG Money to Buy the Votes of Citi- sens Against the states
 Welfare.

T Money to BuS the Votes of Citi-
 sens Against the stase's
 ! Welfare.
 Tusca1oosa, Ala. Dec. o.-tSpeciai)-b. 4 Conner. opened his campaign in th's count
 as candidate for Governor today, ana spoK at the Court House to something over nun
 dred people. He declared himssn I.vctinl
 utmost State support of education. peimtIe' by economy; as opposed to tndiscriminat
 immigration: as favoring higner wages | which, he says. are oommensorsss wnn nus priced products The old soioiers ough | to have the care of State to every exten T that economy will permit. he said. oi all other propositions he reserves any declar' | ation. stating that the people must trus him. with the exception of the railroads.
 Here he plants himself as the enemy o l railroad domination of State government I which he denomnates the real live issue o the day, despite the accusations of his op- ponents that his bringing this issue int Alabama is un-Democratic. He demand a reform in the freisht rates: the contro | of these great corporation. the railroada tha I have been controlling us for the purpose o | taxing us. - | He asserted that every important Commit | tee in the Constitutional Convention that | framed the Alabama laws. appointed by ( railroad lawyer President of the Convention l had a majority of railroad lawyers and | friends whose honesty he does not Intend tf | impugn. but whose environments he says | determined their sympathy for railroads and unfitted them for this species of states l manship,< which should look first to the l protection of the people.
 Referring to his opponent. Dr.. Cunning ham, the speaker stated that he first met him politically, in the Constitutional Conven-
 tion, of which he. Dr. Cunningham. was a
 member. We asked him to help put the
 Georgia statute law. well as the Georgia organic law into our Constitution. This. he said. Dr. Cunningham declined to do. stat ing he was in favor of the Georgia organic law, but not the statute law. He explained Dr. Cunningham's stand in this matter on the ground that he was not familiar with railroad rates. and knew nothing of ths danger. or troubles of the rate-payer.
 The speaker then stated that the freight rates had been lowered in Georgia and in Mississippi and other states on lines enter ing Alabama, while her rates remained from twenty to one hundred and twenty per cent higher than the States named which had elective commissions with mandatory power Alabama must have such a commission L MT. Conner stated in the fight he made ir the Constitutional Convention referred to. he was opposed by every politician in the State. He then went on to
 why? had I attacked them? The papers of the State were akainst me. and Twas sometimes sorry that they were-not that did not appreciate that they were a great factor, not that did not appreciate their help. not that I did not need their help, but gentlemen. 1t was for this reason. and
 I want the papers t3 put this down please sometimes they quote me~very wrong; If ] was sorry at all, 1t was for this reason: the railroads were paying them for every single
 line. and making the copy. We could moi
 do 1t. did not have the money. so Il
 they were for me. they were losing money, don't you see? As far as dollars and cents were concerned. they were not in it. 'T speak of this in all candor. and all kindness. because I like the press. like them better than they like me: but every
 single one of them that came out on our side lost money that they codid have gotten
 by being on the other side, and the press is
 poor They are not rich. they are poor. They needed this money. say that for those that were with us not that I love them less. but love them more. I want to see those succeed seea mean Kindness to them. that's right. and when they came out for me, they were losing money. that money the other fellow was getting.
 "I made that race and the politicians, the papers and the railroads were against me. They got 1t gentlemen. Do you recollect that race? I did not mako 1t from choice. made 1t yecause there was nobody else to make the race: I mean by that MT Smith and Colonel Lowe were the only ones that came out in it. and bothJ of them according conservative side. Yol all know what that is. Now, gentlemen. hare is the cream of the issue. They fought me. They fought me with all the money that was necessary. with every dollar that could be used as they said. justly. The supply was not limited.
 Now, we here today see Mir Tillman from South Carolina. asking Congress to investi- gate the great question of how much mon ey and what money was paid into the Re- publican fund by the corporations. and we see that he is not even asking what was paid by the Banks and we sec how we are alarm ed at the great money that was paid out by the Life insurance ccnaDanies to secure cor porate control of s;is Legislatures and cor porate control of the United States.
 We all see 1t in Alabama. Here are men who tax you for what purpose? Tax you out of your money. Tax the farmers. the mer- chants and the business men of Alabama. getting the money to do what7 to buy you with. to vote against yourself. That Is true. We are face to face with 1t right here in this courtroom. If some marp should be caught by. the Jadge trying to buy the Jury. he would put him in Jail in a min ute. and here. with no attempt at conceal ment. comes these corporations with mon ey taxed from you to buy the ballot of Alabama. and what Is the difference be- tween buying the ballot of Alabama. and buying fury of Alabama? None whatever. hurrah goes up throughout these United States, when you .aik about these insurance companies putting up money to buy the elective ballot of the United States, and here in our own midst. and by our own people. comes this vast corperation. and with mon ey taxed from you attempts to buy the bal lots of Alaahma to vote against yourselves.
 This is the most serious thing that ever happened in our State. Thexa cannot be anything more seriOuss than thesa%Ereat big trusts putting up naTey over the State to buy you, and 1t was not concealed There was no attempt at cencealment. know q man in Jefferson County. one of the most prominent men in the State. who told me himself that he was given the funds to con- trol Jefferson County, and limit was not put on tt at all. He could use as much as he could. t-
 s'Think Of one of the meet prominent cit izens of the State making such a statement as that It shows you how far we have gone down with such rule as this. and If we the citizens of the State. cannot get togeth- CT. and take this State out of such a muddls as that. We ught rot to be citixens of the State. but we ought to go to Tuscaloosa, go to Washington. one or the other--I mean to the asylum over hsrs."
 Further. in referring to the fight he had made on thIs matter. he said:
 ''Now. gentlemen. made that fight and was turned down. want to say to you. that never in my life was at such a strain as was down there We had somo forty odd of the merchants. railroad men. and lawyers that money could hire. and the only thing that stood up against that was me. don't mean to put eontumely on Colonel Sanders. or Colonel Tunstall either. They may have been honest and mayho more so than was. I was elected by the people. My environment was with you. ] believe right straight square out. that the people of Alabama should rule the State of Alabama We tried that case that day: Sanders Conner and Tunatall. they were the threee, Sanders was a railroad lawyer, Tunstail was a railroad polltician--all right. you all know,-Now that was the Comhmit- tee that tried this greatest of all great causes that Alabama aver had Thera navar