The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-02-19
THOMPSON LETTER AROUSES FACTIONS State Chairman Tell Office holders Presidents Wishes COMMITTEEMEN RESIGN Will Thompson Be Required to Give Up chairmanshlp?-His Opponents
 In High cIee-one of His
 Friends Talks.
COMMITTEEMEN RESIGN

Members of the Alabama republican state committee who are federal office holders are receiving from J. o. Thomp aor. the state chairman, letter which iaforms item that the President wishes fejerai officials rot to retain membership iE ths state committee.
 Ifsrs is wllas Mr Zhompson's letter. ssat GUS rcea,1ly says:
 T have letter from the President in which he expresses a desire that all office holders leave the state committee.
 Whatever resignations are sent to me shall be filed and acted upon when the state committee meets There being such a large number of officeholders on the committee it will be necessary for the committee to meet in order to fill their places. I will call the committee togeth CT at some later date for that purpose"
 Zoo Stirred Up.
 This letter of MT. Thompson's has stirred up the animals once more in the republican zoo" All the leading re- publicans in the state are reading the letter backward and forward, and up- ward and downward and criss-cross and at right angles. They're reading it at long range and examining 1t at short range They're taking a telescopic view of it and microscopic view of it. They're shouting it into photograph and listen ing to the reproduction when the crank is turned and the words come out in hu- man tones. And for all that they don't know what to make of it.
 The diversity of opinion expressed in the camps of various republican raciions yes terday would have made the tumult around the tower of Babel sound like d Quaker meeting The Vaughan-Aldrieh people said it meant, and could mean, only one thing, and that was that Thomp- son had got 1t where the chicken got the axe.
 Its a long lane that has no turning" said the anti-Thompson people as they clinked glasses all the afternoon and kept the white aprons in the local cafes busy with the cash registers.
 Tt means that at last Thompson has got to get out of the state chairmanship or give up his job as Collector of Internal Revenue" ,es.s
 While his opponents were standing up on their hind legs and gloating over his expected downfall, the republican state chairman sat in his office, transacting public business as if obliyious to what was going on. To all inquiries he made this smiling response:
 ''I have nothing to do.''
 Though silent himself MT. Thompson was not without friends who were ready them had to say:
 Thompson's Friends Talk.
 Everyone who knows anything under stands that MT. Thompson's policy in Alabama has won the support of right thinking people here. regardless of poli- ties He and his friends have the Pres ident's confidence. The work he is doing is endorsed by the administration. If any one doubts that let him reflect upon the great number of appointments that have been made upon the recommenda- tion of the referees. The proof the pud- ding is the eating. Words. words, words ! That's all his opponents have to go on The big thing is that Thompson gets re- suits. Let the Vaughan-Aldrich fellows put that in their pipes and smoke it.
 Now, about these resignaticns Pres ident Roosevelt is a sincere civil service reformer. He believes that office hold CTS owe their first duty to the people. He doesn't want to see the republican organization in any state made up in large measure of men who draw salaries from the government. Hence, this order which applies to the whole country as well as to Alabama.
 '1 take it that all the federal office holders who are members of the state committee will resign. The chairman ot the committee is not. however, really a member of the committee. He has no vote. He does not repressnt district. the committee. He is simply a party officer chosen by the republicans of the whole state in convention assembled, to represent the people of the party, and to advise and corporate with the national chairman and the President in large mat tical manipuation of local politics. In the details of party management, his. duties are nominal
 Last Convention.
 we foughtu the question out in the last state convention. w. F. Aldrich