The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-24
CUNNINGHAM AND
 CONFER AT OPELIKA

opelika Is more crowded today than | at any time in it's history save at the burial of the lamented Governor sam ford. Judge A. 4. Evans today opened l Curcuit Court and this brought the | usual large crowd of men of the farms | to reinforce the hustling citizenship of | Opelika This crowd was augmented | by those wishing to hear the discus rerest In the States commonwealth | and It's citizenship. Is anxious to hear | all that Is said on the subject.
 ! Lee county is moreover proud of the | distinction of being the scene of the | first real battle of the campaign.
 | As was well said by local wdg. "the other towns have had 'em singly | but we are going to have the first 1 two ring circus" The crowd began | assembling fin Opelika last night. There 1 came the sturdy farmers of the Auburn | and Loachapoka districts and the men | who till the soil about Opelika. The farmers are busy planting cotton. but the siren call of 'speakin could not be resisted and they came in droves. | The candidates arrived at s.30 o'clock last night. There was good crowd to greet them at the depot. The doctor- lcandidate was escorted to the hospita- ble home of Probate Judge John Lyons, where after receiving his friends. he spent the night.
 | MT Conner repaired to the Royal Hotel. He was accompanied by his son. Donald Conner. He stopped to,greet a number of his friends in the office of the hotel but quickly excused himself. be- ing trlhc indisposed.
 This morning both candidates were up early. Dr.. Cunningham accom- Ipanied by the ever lively Judge Lyons was at the Royal soon after MT. Conner l arose. They shook hands and chatted for a few seconds. Mir. Conner took to the streets early with his friend Hugh Wilson, editor of The Opeiika News. Dr. Cunningham spent most Of the morning in a room at the hotel where he was in conference with his friends. Eleven o'clock was announced as the hour of the debate and at 10 o'clock. IDr. Cunningham accompanied by Judge Lyons took the streets At every step he was introduced to some citizen by the little judge
 Crowd npd Scene of interest.
 The crowd and the scene were of in- Iterest. It had been announced that tn debate would take place in the court room. Judge Evans adjourned court lat i0:30 o'clock and the large crowd im- mediately began to fill the court room. There were men and boys of every des- lcription. There were the merchants land clerks and professional men of Ope- liika, the prosperous farmers of the county and the small farmers of the I isolated districts. They greeted each other with bucolic hilarity and then fell to talking politics.
 The court house of Lee County is an imposing pile of red brick and granite. 1t is placed in well terraced square. J It's great court room has an easy seat ing capacity of 500, while 1000 can be accomodated In tts ample confines.
 I During the debate there were II 70 opersofs in and out or the eourl room. Many stayed throughout the dts' I cussiony The Conner, supporters seemed I to be well trained in the arts political
 pr. Cunningham was the first to en- ter the room and he was generously greeted. but when the Railroad Com. miss ion. President stalked in the hall with his bundle of figures covered by a red calico cloth under his arm, the crowd cheered loudly for many min utes and MT. Conner was compelled to T bow his applause.
 When Chairman T. D. Sanford enter ed he took his seat on the judges bench, which had only recently been vacated by Judge Evans, In front of him was large vase full of artificial flow CTS and ferns whose glaring eolors were in full contrast to the rest of the room.
 
 Governor Cunningham, large white vest covering his massive frons and a benevolent and pickwickian smile surmounting his features. On his left twas MT. Conner. tall, grim and gaunt, occasionally smiling but intensely ner- l vous. He was on new field of labor while Governor Cunningham was at home. Both speakers wore black sack | coats and light trousers and Mir. Com | CT during the preliminaries and throughout Governor Cunningham speech chewed nervously on lemon l drops.
 Promptly at II o'clock. Chairman l Sanford called the meeting to order. He said that opelika was honored and delighted to have in its midst Governor l Cunningham and was likewise pleased to have his distinguished opponent present, with whom Dr. Cunningham had consented to divide his time
 It being the engagement of the En- sley Doctor, it was announced that he would have the privilege of opening and closing. He would open in a speech of hour and fifteen minutes.
 He would be followed by Mir. Conner, who would speak one hour and thirty Hive minutes and Dr. Cunningham would l close in a rejoinder of twenty minutes. T will take up your time no further said MT. Sanford and without preface he presented Dr. Cunningham, who \
 was appiauded.
 Both pr. Cunningham and MT. Conner spoke from the floor, standing behind the desk of the clerk, although fre- quently they walked out into the audi ence. ..
 Dr. Cunningham Opens. | In opening his remarks Dr. Cunning ham said that he came to Opelika as d Democrat seeking Democratic nomi- nation and he promised that whatever the result might be he w0uld always be firm in his allegiance to the party in which ne was born and reared
 He immediately took up the plat form of Mir. Conner as published In The Birmingham News some time after his famous Tuscaloosa speech. In this speech. he said. Mir. Conner declared that he was in favor of net diagnosing political cases until political ills arose. He said that the Legislature would put up legal fences and when these fences grew weak, the Governor would repair them. This idea," said Governor Gun ningham with fine sarcasm, "is evident ly original with MT Conner, for I can not find anything like it in the Con stitution of the State of Alabama or in its statutes. His entire platform seems to be what I have done: what others have not done nor will do pe- cause of environment, and what I will do Now I ask you" said the Lieu tenant-Governor, which has been the more frank and impartial with the peo pie, MT. Conner in his Tuscaloosa speech, which I understand is his of hcial platform, or myself in my printed platform?'
 He exnlained tho tkrao