The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-01-21
|C0MER AT ATHENS
CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR
 DODGEs QUESTION OF CITIZEN.
Usual Attack Upon the Railroads Made in Iimesfone--Says He Is n Great Admirer of The
 Advertiser.

Athens. Jan 20.--tSpeciaL )--Candi- date B. B. Conner spoke here today to a crowd of about 125. MT. Conner was introduced by T. C. Mcclellan. An in- cident of the occasion was the query of John A. Turner, prominent citizen of Limestone County, as to how MT.
 Conner stood on the taxation of the whites for the education of the negroes. During his speech, MT. Conner received more or less applause,
 Mir Conner opened his speech in his usual manner by appealing to the farm CTS as the ones who have to pay the freight, and then pursued his usual arr guEaent against the railroads. He compared the rates of Virginia North Carolina and Mississippi and those of Georgia with the States of Alabama, saving that no one had yet dared to att tack him on his statement of the dis crepancy between the rates of these States.
 He then quoted articles where he was referred to as dangerous and "a de- sfroyer of public interests but, he said. they never attacked the figures have made they have never said they are wrong. They go clean beyond that always; they never touch the figures have made"
 MT. Conner then attacked the LouIs- vile and Nashville Railroad on the rate question, saying: When I came in your town last night, got one of your merchants to send down to the Louisville and Nashville and ask what was the freight on cotton to Birtming- ham, Mobile and Pensacola. The freight on cotton to Birnring gham was 56 cents a hundred, and the freight on cotton
 to Pensacola was 55 cents hundred, and they didn't have the freight on Mobile at all"
 He paid his usual respects to the tag tax and the use its income was put to. comparing that with what the taxes
 of the railroads would be if taxed ac-
 cording to their valuation. He cited
 the Atlantic Coast Line which gave in
 as value for taxation $7,SS4 per mile
 and into the Commission $39.217 per mile, and swors. they were worth $45,0O0 per mile.
 He quoted an Associated Press dis
 patch that there had been sweeping cut in freight rates in Georgia and quoted that as an example to Alabama. still ridiculing the idea that Georgia
 wanted Alabama freight rates while
 Alabama wanted Georgia freight rates.
 MT. Conner reiterated his statements
 that this was not Cunningham fight or a Conner fight, but a fight for the
 people.
 Referring to pr. Cunningham. he said: He says that he has diagnosed
 the case and has found that Alabania would stand lower rate than Geor- gia." He then referred to Dr. Cum ningham's trip to Europe as dodge to get away from the. feeling or the people.
 A tthis juncture. MT. Conner was questioned by John A. Turner, prom inent citizen of Limestone county, who asked: Are you in favor of taxing the people of Alabama to educate the negroes?" To which MT. Conner replied:
 That is too deep for me. That is too much politics" l am not ready on that question"
 MT. Conner then changed the subject, but your correspondent was told after wards by Mir. Turner that hts answer was very disappointing. That had 1t been different he could have moved Limestone county for Conner, but for a man who would dodge the issue like that. he felt little inclined to work.
 Mir Conner, then referring to the Ad- vertiser, said: The Advertiser is a great paper; I am an admirer of the Advertiser but I don't like some of their ways. But want to tell the Ad- vertiser or any other paper, l don't care who they are, that this is the peo- ple's light and we are going to run lHto nkHL IuEOuBns fSBdEuiCSS WHSNHEf we get any show or not"
 Mir Conner reiterated his remarks that
 DF. Cunningham was safe in saying that he would demand low rates be- cause his party knew that he would not stand by them and the people knew that
 he (Comer) would carry out his promises; with the addenda, however. that the people would have to elect the proper legislators to regulate their FwafChf nd rofcrrinur fA Sanders and Tunstall as the Supreme Court of freight rates in Alabama. With reference to the recent meet l ing of the Executive Committee, he
 said: Your Executive Committee of Alabama met few days ago and adopt ed rules for a primary. The question
 was telephoned to me by one of the papers as to what I thought about it. telephoned back that I acquiesced in | 1t; that was a democrat; that I would | iobey the dictates of the party. I will | l have never been anything but a democrat"
 Mir Conner then referred to General Pettus as standing by him In 1878 dur ing the reconstruction period and asked | if any one thought that he could now | be less than a friend of General Pettus l saying: Do you think I would make
 an attack on man like that? Not on | your life". MT. Conner then read from manuscript his opinion of the action of the Democratic Committee as fol- | lows:
 T have acquiesced in the primary plan promulgated by the Democratic
 Executive Committee do this as a loyal Democrat obeying the edict of those. authorized to make the plan, and
 will. so far as I am concerned, carry it out.
 The election day is fixed for August 27, that date being fixed, as stated. so as give the farmers their most convenient season, and also to allow
 those of our fellow-citizens who be- come of age before July to register
 and vote. These reasons make the on- ly excuse for the long time and the
 change from the April precedent set
 at the last primary; but the committee
 have provided that counties, senatorial
 and congressional districts can hold
 at some other time, and at different
 times. primaries for the election of
 county officers, legislators, State sem
 ators and congressman, thus having
 different and cumulative elections.
 thereby annulling the policy fixed by