The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-01-25
MIR. MURfHY,s ARTICLE ON i4TH
 IMPRISONMENT.


 The North American Review for Jan uary contains an article by Mir. Edgar Gardner Murphy of this city on the question Shall the Fourteenth Amend- ment Be Enforced:" It Is in substance the same paper the author read before an audience of gentlemen in Mont gomery about the middle of December.
 It will be remembered sthat Mir. Murphy strongly opposed the reduction of Southern representation in Con gress His argument has been the subject of n number or editorials m the leading journals of tho country. notably in Harper's Weekly. in The New York Evening Post. The New York Times. The springaeld Republican, The Chicago Inter -ocean. and The Boston Transcript.
 Said The Evening Transcript Of Bos- ton. Mass. in its issue of January 1S;
 Edgar Gardner Murphy. who Is de- voting. we might almost say conse- crating. rare gifts to an illumination of the problems of the South, Is not g member of Congress. We almost wish he were at the present time. though In the long run he Is probably doing more good outside as n publicist. He is a close, a calm and clear reasoner. and we wish his recent article in The North American, Review might be not mere ly casually read but carefully studied by every one of our national lawmak- CTS while the question of reducing the Federal representation from its pres ent standard is before them. Certain iy this paper cannot be accused of withholding it's sympathy from those who have been discriminated against by unequal franchise laws or Of neg lecting to protest against them. But we have regarded the proposed refne- dy of reducing the representation as likely to be productive of more evil than it corrects. Mir. Murphy argues these points with great cogency.
 In two column review of the ar ticle, Harper's Weekly, January 21. be- gins by saying:
 The strongest argument that we have seen against the. proposal to en- force the second section of the four teenth amendment to our Federal Con- section providing that any State. the representation of that State in Congress and fiji the electoral college shall undergo proportional gar Gardner Murphy in, the current humber of The North American Re- view.
 In the course of long editorial commenting on President Rooseve1ts opposition to tic reduction of the rep fesentation of the South, The New York Sun of January 22 speaks edito- rially as follows
 There is no doubt that before the disclosure of the Presidents position with reference to the matter there was serious apprehension in the Southern States that this time the threat to en- force the second section of the four, out. An attempt to commit the Re- publican party to such a policy had often been made and been frustrated. but at Chicago in 1904 distinct approv- al of it had been expressed In the plat convention. It is true that for an in- doTsement of that plank Mir, Roose- velts letter of acceptance and speech ofy.acceptance were scanned in vain. He did not repudiate it, however. in so. many words, and his silence was taken for assent in many quarters. Accordingly. soon after the opening of the present session of Congress, Rep- resentatiye Crumpacker and Senator P1att of New York, in their respective chambers, introduced resolutions look ing to q prompt and drastic enforce ment of the fourteenth amendment by Federal Legislation. It was a natural inference that such veteran politicians would not have made such a move un- less they felt assured that 1t would have the eountenance of their party's executive head. That they reckoned without their host Is now made evil dent by Judge Jones's report of his conversation with the President. The contemplated force bill may. there fore. be looked upon as dead.
 We have no doubt that in arriving at his decision Mir. Roosevelt. like many other fair minded Northern men who have made the situation at the South the. subject of earnest study, has been profoundly impressed by such considerations as those which were set forth clearly and forcibly in the Jam uaFy number of The North American Review by MT. Edgar Gardner Mur- phy, Secretary of the Southern Eduea-