The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-14

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 Fourth District, H. S. D. Mallory. H. D. Merrill, Tipton Mullins, Carson Fifth District, Milo B. Abercrombie. A. J. Driver, George r. Sedberry, D.. NJ. White.
 sixth District. Rufus "A: o'Rear. George A. Searcy, e. Brooks Smith B. Wimberly,
 Seventh District, James l.. Herring, Leon c. McCord, George H. Parker. Eighth District, E. B. Almon' John c, Eyster, W. A. Given.
 Ninth District, Jones G. Moore, Rob ert H. Thach.
 Letters from the various committee men who were absent were read. Messrs. Christian and Mitchell were i'll and Messrs. Proctor and Glenn were detained by important court engage ments.
 we have been called together. gem tImen," said Mir. Mallory, ito take sucn action as is called for py the lamenta- ble death of Chief Justice Thomas N Mcclellan, who so long and so aoly filled a place on the Supreme bench If Alabama The death of this great jurist is mourned by an entire com monweaIth and 1t will be difhcuI TOT the people of Alabama to fill ms place" ,.
 When Chairman Mallory had con cluded Mir. McCord presented to the committee the resignation of c. Brooks Smith. ..
 John C. Eystern moved the accept ance of the resignation
 Mir McCord asked him to amend ms motion so that aet of resolutions which he had prepared might be adopt ed by the committee. The resolutions recited that for ten years MT. Smlth mad rendered faithful and loyal service to the Democratic party as a prlvate in the ranks And now that he had resigned to become candidate TOT State Auditor the committee would pay tribute to his long service and wish him we'll
 MT. Eyster was not prepared to ac- cept the resolutions as they were reao. MT. McCord therefore offered them as a substitute and they were adopted by an overwhelming vote
 Judge A. B. Smith former member of the committed who lives at Eutaw' was nominated by Mir. o'Rear and was unanimously elected by the committed
 Judge E. B. Almon rose to present the plan he had prepared to meet the con ditions caused by the death of Chief Justice Mcclellan. When the committee met last and adopted its plan, he said. there was no probability of any sort of q contest for a place on the Supreme Court bench. At that time there were only two vacancies for the place of associate justices and 1t was i'm probable that there would be any can didates except the present incumbents. It had been conceded throughout the State that Justices Tyson and Dowdell, whose terms would expire, would be rcnominated. But in the meanwhile, there had occurred the death of Chiet Justice Mcclellan, one of the greatest and ablest jurists that ever adorned the TNrw lon HG therefore different from what they had been when the first plan was adopted. Those conditions in the opinion of Judge Almon, demanded certain changes in the original plan.
 For one he was opposed to permit ting the selection of justices of the Supreme Court to be q matter of poli- tics in a primary. Conditions would arise. issues might grow, on which, in the campaign a candidate for justice might be compelled to take a position and on which he might have to pass when he had been raised to the bench.
 Past Great Justices.
 Until the last primary" said Judge Almon, 'the justice Of the Supreme Court of Alabama had been nominated in conventions and no man can asail the character or the ability of the justices who were given to Alabama | by those conventions. Through those conventions Alabama was able to se cure such great jurists as Clopton, Brickel Walker, Coleman and the man who has just died and who as a great iurist, was first nominated by a con | vention These men, gentlemen, noml- mated and put upon the bench by ] Democratic conventions have rendered such able decisions that not only has the Supreme Court of Alabama secured State reputation for ability, but rF rF1a ,,fa
 Under the plan which l am pre- l senting to the committee to secure the | nomination" Judge Almon went on, "a candidate must secure a majority of | the votes cast in a Democratic primary | The delegates selected to the conven- | tion will vote the will of the peope | and each candidate will get the repre-
 sentation In the ballotting on ,he votes
 he received in the primary"
 In concluding Judge Almon said that | with one exception Democratic candi- 1 dates for Justices of the Supreme Court l had been nominated by conventtons | and 1t would not be contended thai tbe
 Justices nominated in the primary were l any higher in ability than thu mon u,bo | had gotten their nomination from a convention. The plan he was present | ing embodied also the nomination oF | members of the State Executive Corn mittee by the convention as they bad
 always been nominated, with the ex-
 ception of one time, the last. And if
 would not be contended. he said, thai | the personnel of the present committed was any higher than that of the com
 mittees which had served in previous | years
 AImOn's Modified Plan. | The change proposed by Judge AImon
 was in full as follows:
 "Resolved by the State Executive