The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-10
The Party's Candidate.


 test has not been consistent and the position now taken by the supporters of his opponent is not at all what 1t was in the beginning of the contest. In his petition of contest which was filed and made public more than ten days before the trial, Judge Stiles fur nished his opponent with the names of some fifty voters whose right to vote the contestant denied. 1mme- dately afterwards a card was pub lished by the Higdon campaign com mittee calling on his supporters to search for and bring in evidence as to illegal votes cast for Judge Stiles. Manifesay it was then Colonel Hig- don's plan to defend the contest on it's merits.
 Colonel Higdon had every advantage in the world in making his defense. The burden of proof was on the con testant, and should the contestee have shown that more illegal votes were cast for Judge Stiles than for him, Colonel Higdon would have remained the candidate of the party. In the card issued just two days before the trial Colonel Higdon declared that he was satisfied that the county demo- cratic executive committee had not pre-iudged the case and would fairly anu impartially try it. When the con- test itself came on, he abandoned all effort to offer any evidence, and stated that he appeared specially for the pur- pose of making a motion to dismiss the proceedings only. He hesitated as to naming two Amen to serve on the committee to adopt the rules of pro- cedure as to which he now complains, and only consented so to do after the committee adopted the resolution that he might still withdraw from the hear ing after his motion to dismiss was heard if he saw fit to do so.
 The action of the committee in re- quiring the contestee to furnish Judge | Stiles, the contestant, with a list of the names of voters whose votes he sought to question was simply an act of justice to the contestant, and in no sense a hardship on the contestee. The contestee had been in possession of the names of the voters whose votes the contestant attacked for ten days, during which time Colonel Higdon had full opportunity to find proof if he could, that the charges brought by Judge Stiles were untrue, and during the same time he also had opportunity to get up his own evidence.
 The trial in this respect was not un- like other lawsuits. As every one knows, party must be ready at the time case is called. with his wit nesses on every point involved in the case, and these witnesses remain from the minute it is called until 1t is finally disposed of. The contestee's claim that it was beyond his power to fur nish the list of illegal votes charged by him within the time prescribed by the committee will not hold when it is considered that he had ten days to get up such list, and his failure to furnish it would be ascribed naturally to his call to his supporters for evidence of illegal voting being barren of results. Out of an abundance of caution the contestant extended the time for the contestee to furnish his list of alleged illegal voters until the following morn ing, and the contestee still failing to do so the committee sent to his attor. neys request for such list. The list was not forthcoming.
 The grounds on which Colonel Hig- don sought to have the proceedings dismissed were at best technical and without merit. The committee having heard his motion, oyerruled 1t and he withdrew. This action was in line with his pre-expressed purpose, and in line with the nature of the motion he made to dismiss the proceedings. The grounds on which he based his action were evidently an afterthought. He was given an opportunity for fair trial and deliberately abandoned it and cannot now have cause to com plain. Had he offered evidence before the committee, and had the committee declined to hear it or fairly consider it, there might have been some ground for his attitude. As 1t is there is none.
 Under the circumstances, the com mittee's action in declaring Judge Stiles the nominee of the party was inevitable and Judge Stiles has a right to expect the support of every good democrat.
 Aside from the regularity of his nomination, Judge Stiles is a man of