The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-11-03

Mime operators are complaining bitterly on account of the shortage. Some of them are able to operate their mines only one or two days during the week, and ire auently only on half time and the days when they do operate. In many parts of the district mines are producing only about one-third of their capacity, and very few, if any, of the mining companies are getting out more than half their ea- pacity.
 
 cast their vote to count that box, and see that honesty was done, also after careful investigation cast their votes to declare Judge Stiles the nominee of the party (Applause) The same men. Well, now 1 want you, who are loyal to your party, who believe in fair rue to stand for the true emblem of the party, for if you will look on your party tcket and your party badge you will see at the top of the emblem for the right That is what ali true democrats stand for CAp- plaEse)
 NOW, if you stand for the right you cannot do anything on earth but sus- tain this county committee. It is not Judge Stiles that is on trial it is the county committee of yoar county. It IS she men that you elected to represent the democracy of your county who are charged with fraud and nisdoings, and if yoI believe in fair play, l say you can- not do anything but sustain those men,
 Now, what is the contest we find pre- sented to us? l want to go back Tor moment, and ask you to look at con5- tons The bolting party that seeks to elect Colonel Higdon as sheriff make as their complaint that the committee, the committee before which this case was tried, did not have Jurisdiction of the matter. Well, now, how did any commit- tee in this county get jurisdiction of this case? It got 1t under the law, and it is q new law. Your old committees didn't hold primaries under the law: they held them by party authority and party consent but this primary was held under the law. Now the primary law states clearly that the county committee of the county in which the election is held, shall have jurisdiction to try county contest cases. Well, when Judge Stiles filed his contest Colonel Higdon came before that commit tee and filed protest to the jurisdiction of the committee. He didn't come in there and say, T. want a trial' but he came with a special appearance to file his plea to the jurisdiction of the committee and said that that committee had no juris- diction to hear the case.
 Now mark you, the old committee the day before it added up the result and
 
 more votes than Judge Stiles, also found that it's successors were elected, and lad- journed without a day, and never met again. And when Judge Stiles came to file his contest, there was but one com mittee to file it before, and that was the committee that had just come from the hands of he people-just been elected by the people of the county. Now, these gen. tlemen say they had no jurisdiction.
 Suppose a Case.
 My friends, suppose you filed your case in the circuit court against your neighbor; had brought your suit, and be- fore the case came up for trial the circuit judge died and the governor appointed a new judge in his place, and when you came to the court house to try your case you were met by a plea that the new judge didn't have jurisdictions; that you could not try your case before the new judge; that you must go back and try your case before the old judge How would you find out where the old judge was? Would you know whether to go up or down?
 Now. it Is the same way with this committee. After the committee is dead, Colonel Higdon's lawyers say the dead committee must try the -ease, and not the new one. My friends there is abso- lutely Hothing in that plea but a techni- cality. There is one committee like there is one President of the United States, or one governor of Alabama or one circuit court Different men may constitute the committees at different times but when the case comes on for trial. it is the com mittee that then exists that must try the case, and that is what the law contem- plates Now. that is all that there was in that question, and it was on that that Colonel Hogdon bolted your committee and repudiated it.
 "I say there is but one thing that would justify his repudiating the committee and bolting the democratic party, and that would be fraud. Do you deny that Judge Stiles had the right to file a contest in this county? Why, my fellow democrats, since the days of reconstruction, we have step by step-the old democratic party has been marching on to the time when a man could file contest in an election case and when fair elections could be guaranteed, and the right of every man to go behind the returns. lApplause.)
 In the Old Days.
 "You know in the old days after the war when the thin line of Confederate soldiers came home and found your state in the hands of carpet -baggers and re- publican domination, that it was neces- sary for them to redeem Alabama in any way they could, and they performed a patriotic duty when they counted the negro out and established a white gov ernment from one end of Alabama to the other But, my fellow democrats, that condition of affairs endangered the state and brought about many evils that We did not want, the question of disfranchising the negro by counting him out.
 This same old democratic party that is claiming your allegiance tonight said that the time had come when the negro vote should no longer be counted out by fraud but that it should be counted out by law, and that honesty in elections should be the battle cry from the Ten nessee to the Gulf. and what did they do? They proposed a new constitution in Ala bama The Democratic party placed it before the people of Alabama and the democracy of Alabama ratified that new constitution and declared in favor of fair elections.
 My fellow democrats they complain that some time in the past ten years some body was prevented from going behind the returns and they say they ought to
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