The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-10-22
Will Attempt to Put
 Through Slatc.
RISKS ALL ON RESULT
Will Examine Credentials of
 0fOther Candidates.
A Prspesitie. ts FilI the ststs CaDitss From Baseme.t ts CupoIa wIth Men whs Thinks ..
 He Does.
BL WILL n. sHEEHAN.

BL WILL T. sHEEHAN.
 Talladega. Oct. 21.--(Specisl Corre> spondence )--President B. B. Conner. of the Alabama Railroad Comnissiou. today came from under cover and stood forth an announced candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor There was an accompaniment to his announcement which waS cminous of trouble
 It was not this announcement. which has been assured for many weeks. that had so much of surprise and fntercst in 1t as was Mir. Comer's declaration that he must" have an Auditor. he +must'' have Secretary of State. he ''must'' have q Treasurer and ssc must have an Attorney General and must" have a Legislature in hearty accord with him and his ideas.
 It was his declaration. not in exact words, however, but by inference. that In this campaign he proposed to put everything to the touch and win or lose it all. He intimated that he proposed to fill the Capitol from basement to cupela with Conner men. Not in SO many words was this expressed. And in a conversation after the speaking he declared that he had not in hts own mind selected any candidates for the offices he had named.
 Hut the campaign today assumed a shape in which Mir Conner Is not only himself candidate. but in which he proposes to examine the credentials and pronounce the verdict upon every other candidate for State office. This was the natural inference from Mir. Corners declaration that he must" have those ofiices filled with men who stood with him.
 Clear Cut and Positive. MT. Comer'.s own announcement was clear cut and positive. One got the Idea that the stage was set here today for dramatic climax which should be a theatrical triumph. Interest was keyed up by this means or that means Guarded intimations were given out three or four days ago that probably Mr. Conner would say what he was go- Ing to do at Talladega. The boys out n the hills of Talladega were told to come with the assurance that they were going to hear something of absorbing interest. The country beats were well eanvassed. for the town of TaIfadeea is supposed to entertain strong Conner sentiment, And on the eve of the speaking the positive statement was authorized that Mr. Conner, was gofne to say that he would be candidate Tor Governor.
 At the pschycologicaI moment the Big Chief and Medicine Man came out and the war dance was on. He had tried the medicine and the medicine was good. 1t bespoke glorious vic- tory against their foes. The time for the holy war had arrived. The paia face was to be run of the reservation and all that held office were to be slain and their official scalps were to hang at the belts of the faithful braves who follow the Medicine Man. It was written in the signs.
 The braves were to don their war natnf thu MA1fNifao Mas f~ ertx~ the word and when all had danced the war dance among the Talladega hills. the move forward was to be made and the man who had an official scalp had better look out for 1t.
 The real thing was not altogether as exciting or as enthusiastic as Mir. Co., mer's friends would have liked. The announcement all but fell flat. It was good day for speaking, too. being in the midst of the cotton season. More than this. meeting of the Cotton Growers Association had been an- nounced and many farmers from the surrounding hills came Into the meet ing. This meeting was. however. not held. For some reason. President W. H, Seymour of the Alabama Associa- ton, tdid not come to Taliadega.
 Applause is Slight. n. When the speaking began in the court house. there were probably two hundred persons present As 1t pro- gressed, the crowd was increased until the court room was we'll filled. When Mir. Conner told the crowd that he pro- posed to make the fight for Governor. there was only a ripple of applause.
 At the close of the meeting, Mayor Wellington yandiver. who like some others in the audience did not clearly understand MT. Corners statement as to the Governorship, asked:
 Did you mean to say you will Do a candidate for Governor?
 Mir. Conner replied, T will, God be willing" Whereupon there was an- other ripple of applause.
 Mir. Conner said that he had been disinclined to make the race but he had been forced into 1t.
 My friends tell me that l am the issue They tell me that the issue can not be divorced from me so that some other man can carry 1t They tell me that we can not swap issues. that we cannot swap leaders in the middle of a battle.
 But other tells you that my place is on the Railroad Commission. Do not be deceived by that cry. It Is the cry of the railroads. tell you that the man who can do you the most good, the man who knows most about rates should be in the Gov ernor's chair. Understand, gentlemen, if I may make the fight I'm going to make 1t on the same old issue And I'm going to make the fight
 MT. Conner was brave and aggres- sive at certain stages of his speech. but he roared as gently as cooing dove when he talked of his opponent, Governor Cunningham. He had only nice things to say of him. He him gently with faint praise.
 Cunningham All Right, But---
 Dr. Cunningham had 8 splendid plat form. It could have been no better if the speaker himself had written it. but--Dr. Cunningham was sincere. pr. was an honest man. but about Dr. Cunningham was all right except his environment and that spoiled him. Because of hts environment. whatever it was, he was not fit to carry the snow white banner of rate reform.
 It was talked on the Talladega streets after the speaking that Mir. Conner would favor George T. McElder- rv of Talladega and Charles Henderson. of Troy, for members of the Railroad in the coming primary but if there is any authority for the state- ment it is not known. It was talked. too. that a Conner slate would be made