The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-14
VOTERS ENDORSE
 JUDGE ]. P ST|VES Action on of Executive Commit
 tee is Supported SEVERAL SPFFCHFS MADE
SEVERAL SPEECHES MADE
Geiders' Hall Is We'll Filled With Rep resentatlve Democrats In an En- thuslastic Mass Meetine-The
 County Well Represented.

| ocrats at Gelder's hall last night, Henry
 B, Gray, Augustus Benners, E, H. Ca
 baniss, Congressman Oscar W. Under
 woo dand others defended the action of
 the Jefferson county democratic executive
 committee in declaring Judge J, P, Stiles
 the nominee of the party for sheriff of Jefferson county,
 1 The hall was crowded with representa-
 tive democratic voters from every section ] of the county and the speakers were re-
 ceived with great warmth. and were loud-
 ly applauded.
 1 The meeting was presided over by Rob- | ert N. Bell, chairman of the campaign | committee of the democratic party of Jeff | ferson county.
 l Henry B. Gray, nominee for lieutenant governor was first introduced, and in a short address called upon all democratis 1 voters to stand by the party nominee and 1 especially to rally to the support of Judge Stiles for sheriff of Jefferson county
 against whom opposition has developed | Augustus Benners was next introduced, | He made an exhaustive review of the ac- | tion of the executive committee In the 1 hearing of the Stiles-Higdon context, and l in finally declaring Judge Stiles the nomi- nee with majority of 15 votes, He at I tackled the methods and action of Colonel
 Higdon in quitting the contest before the
 case had really begun. and also paid his l respects to Kinds Peevey, campaign man.
 ager for Colonel H1gdon.
 From Legal Standpoint. l E. H. Cssbaniss made an exhaustive legal | review of the proceedings before the county democratic executive committee. citing the laws providing for contests and the purging of ballots. Ills address was
 received with great enthusiasm. ! Congressman Oscar ". Underwood ap- peaied to the democratic voters of the county to stand to the colors of the party I that in seasons of great stress had l brought peace and prosperity to the coun- l ty, and to the state. He said that most | Of the people who are now bolting the party with the Higdon faction gre pro-
 fessional bolters, and are only folliwing up a record established by them through
 many years. He said lhat such men should be kept out of the party if possible, that | they could never be relied upon to help | the party when needed.
 1 During the evening the following paper | l Brandes as a protest to a promise made | by Emil Lesser that the German vote l would go to Colonel Higdon:
 Germans In Line.
 A few days since article appeared | in the public press stating that MT | Emil Lesser promised that the Ger | mans would vote for Col. E. L. Higdon 1 for sheriff in the November election. 1 a 1 sire to publicly repudiate this unau- | thorized action of MT Lesser: 1 Frank F. Harris, Louis Brandes, Her
 man Hentschel, N Lehman, Henry Belwens, ". H. Brandes. G. H. Bube, | William Prise, D. c. Belwens, Joe I Burkhardt, Henry Mueller, Aug. Schil- l finger, Henry Teger, Charles Schoen- | berr. Henry Urwath, J. Adam Frey ! Max Robinson, John Weidman, G. N Waldhorst, Sep zirlminski, II. D. l Junxar, Emil Franke, Louis l.. Schir- | ing, G. Wilkers, Jr., George Hirtch, M l II. Albrcht, Richard Kneap. Philip l Wolf, Farnk Westerman, w. If. Crum- 1 mein, Charles E. Erkich, H. Luhrmann, l H. Abel, Fred Wehage, Jacob Schoet- | tlir. Fred Carle, Sr., Fred Carle, Jr., | Theo. H. Rabe, Valentin Herr, Richard Bitterkleit, B. F. Glass, William Null Ter, Ernest Macht, J. A. Schmerck, C. 1 A Fruebing.
 NIT. 6enneTS OpeeCn | MT. Benners said in part as follows | Mir. Chairman and Fellow Dem 1 oerats-I have found it difficult to pin | a Higdon man down ten minutes to l the same position. (Applause.) You have got to get him in black and
 white; that is why l have got these papers in front of me, for they contain | the declarations which Higdon and his campaign manager have made from l time to time, and by inspecting them l and in that way only, you get at | the true history of the Stiles Higdon contest, and I am here tonight to give | you the history of it from beginning | to end; and that I am going to at tempt to do in the fewest words pos sible And for the first time, fellow citizens, you are going to hear the true
 story of how it was that Higdons ma l iority of three votes on the face of
 the returns was changed to an actual | majority of sixteen. (Applause.) | To begin with, the day that the l democratic executive committee can l vassed the returns 1t has been charged
 that Stiles. or some of Stiles people. | stole the Lewisburg box, and here IS i what Stiles had to say about that the | day the Lewisburg box was counted. | Those returns were not before the
 committee and it was no fault of Stiles
 that they were not there but in their
 absence although the committee had
 no right to count that box, Stiles
 would not stand on a technicality, and ! here is what said: (Reads Stiles let | ter to the committee requesting that
 the Lewisburg box be counted if veri- | fled by affidavits, etc)
 Fellow Democrats, is that the statement 1 of thief. or the son of a thief, or man that is supported by a thief? (Ap- 1 rlauseJ. So the Lewisburg box was count
 ed and the burden of bringing this con
 test was placed on J. P. Stiles. In that | same letter he says: ..I give notice now
 that do know that Higdon was not legal
 ly elected. and l propose to contest the | 1esult in the manner provided by law"
 (Applause). That statement was made on the 18th day of September.
 Now, gentlemen, on the 24th day of September Stiles filed his petition of con
 test setting out specifically and in de-
 tail, and in a manner that was never
 set out In any contest brought in the
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