The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-10
IN JOINT DEBATE
RANKHEAD AND ROBSON MEET AT
 GREENsBORO.
Failure of the Captain to Register ia Explained By Him That He Was Fighting Democraey's Bat
 tIes at the Front

ence that the county cours sHm
 would not accommodate. It Is the op-
 eninE day of Circuit Court and this
 and the announcement ot the .nms speakins
 Chairman Yerby of the County
 Executive Committee presided. The
 first speech was by Colonel Bankhead,
 who had an hour in which to open the
 debate. After a few preliminary re-
 marks Colonel Bankhead advanced the
 charge that Captain Hobson had fail
 ed to register and vote In the last
 election and was not now registered.
 and argued that this was neglect of
 duty as a citizen and that it had im-
 periiled the electoral vote of Alabama,
 as Hobson was one of the Democratic
 electors. Colonel Bankhead maintain
 ed that this neglect could have and
 should have been avoided as Hooson
 was near home at divers times when
 the registration books were open.
 He then took up the matter of rail.
 road regulations. This. said Colonel
 Bankhead. 'is now a part of the Demo-
 cratic party law and was first 1ncof-
 porated in a Democratic platform by
 d committee at Chicago Of which
 was a member. It Is not fair to expect
 Congress to 1egis1ate on commerce that
 is solely within the state, as .h's ,s
 the province of the State and no part
 of a congressman's duty. The record
 shows I have advocated and voted for
 railroad rate regulation. As for the
 charge of voting for subsidy to the
 Southern Railway. this was for special
 fast mail service to New Orleans ana
 nearly all Southern representatives
 supported it.
 He had devoted the best service -
 his career to the securing of aid for
 the rivers of Alabama and the harbor
 of Mobile and with such success that
 there is always on hand funds to con-
 tinue the work. He disputed the
 charge made by Hobson that the work
 had been done in wrong manner put
 if 1t should prove so, 1t was done py
 the engineer and the congressman was
 not the one who directed the manner of the improvement. The Dmocrats
 had a minority in Congress and had
 to take what they could get in ap- propriation, and yet Alabama had more than any state except four.
 The colonel paid his respects to Cap tain Hobsof's proposal to build world
 dominating navy. He charged that IL
 out almost bankrupting the country.
 There would be four hundred ships to
 build and 1t was hard to man the ships
 we now had. Neither the President. nor
 the Secretary of the Navy wanted
 larger navy.
 Captain Hobson began his sieecn
 with thanking Colonel Bankhead for
 the temperate manner of his address today and stated that at Fayette the Colonel had devoted most of his time to abusing him and that he did not reply in kind as he had determined to fight on issues and not personalities. He stated that there was a determined effort in Bankhead's interest to keep
 away from the polls all who were against him and that the Circuit Judge had actually charged a grand jury that there was a penitentiary danger fac- ing those who under certain condi- tions participated in primaries of party which denied them.
 He stated that Colonel Bankhead had asserted in Eutaw that the two can didates were to have two out of three
 managers in the alternate beats and that when Hobson submitted the lists the County Committeeman were told by Bankhead, Jr, that his father had made no such agreement.
 Colonel Bankhead. being asked, re- piled that 1t was his recollection that he stated he would agree to whatever the committee did. He did not ac- | knowledge an agreement.
 Captain Hobson maintained that the Warrior River had commanded appro- priations because of its resources and that if work had begun at the sea out let instead of up in Tuscaloosa County we would have had deep water navi- gation for Hale County now instead Of In the dim and distant future. Bank head had the say ss to where the
 money was spent and spent 1t in and around Tuscaloosa, where it was ap- preciated in disbursement without hav- ing done any good to commerce. The Captain said that 1t was his
 intention if elected to Congress, to
 work to secure pensions for Confeder-
 ate Veterans. He believed he would he heard on this and attain 1t. He then entered upon he three forms of evil in the Government today needing remedy. over-protection, the trust evil and rail- road domination. He said that these three tyrants had come into power un- der the regime of which Colonel Bank head was a part and in sympathy with. These evils could not be remedied with out a change, and Colonel Bankhead was one whose usefulness as a fighter for the people on these lines was non est. He was allied with these inter- ests.
 "Every big corporation in the Sixth | District is fighting my election" said Captain Hobson. They know they caanot control my actions in Con- | gcess."
 The inequality of Alabama railroad rates. the "undemocratic" vote for sub sidy to the Southern Railway also came | in for condemnation.
 He answered with much spirit the attack on his failure to register. He | said it was duty at the front and the | call of the leaders of the party that sent and kept him from home and pre- vented his registration.
 Captain Hobson showed where the | lack of an adequate navy had caused | the United States demands on Russia | to go unheeded and bring on the great war in China. the war that caused the decline in the price of cotton which | cost the South $400,000,000. His large naval policy was for peace. MT. Bank heals narrow policy invited foreign att tack and was menace 10 our peace and prosperity
 ''ThrouRhout the district Mir Bank head and his workers charge I am not
 a good Democrat" he said. "In answer say I was born and reared one and the State Convcntio of Alabama and the National Convention have set their
 seal upon my Democracy. I was in vited to make my home in the North and enter politics. but I never once considered any people my people or any honoa my home but those I had always
 known. live in the home my kindred
 built two generations ago, and never
 expect to have another Alabama, the
 South and Hale County were not
 ashamed to own me in the Spanish
 war. am sure they will not be so now am anxious to be of the utmost service to my people and I believe that [ can do this in Congress, and I ask v3u to give me chance to try"
 Tn colonel Bankhead's rejoinder, he
 disclaimed the Captains charge of hay ing been abusive at Fayette, but Cap tain Hobson maintained his charge pos la m cd that tai