The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-08-19
TREMENDOUS AUDIENCE HEARS '
 DR. CUNNINGHAM AT NANAFALIA

cifned to think that 1t will be larger than even pr. Cunningham's friends expect. At any rate there are num- ber of us who are actively at work
 to make that majority as large as we lean. The size of 1t Is increasing every day.
 aOver in Choctaw we have no rail- road and we have been anxious to get one The lack of railroad has seri- ousiy retarded the development of the county ard all our people know It. We have as fine an agricultural county ais any in the State. but the lack of a railroad has prevented it's development Now I understand that in some of the towns that have been built up by the railroads there is a strong sentiment
 against them. We are willing to take
 our risks for future trouble. What we
 need is development and we don't take
 any sock in MT. Corners attacks on
 the greatest developing force of the age"
 pr. Cunningham addressed the great
 audiences In a speech lasting an hour and half A barbecue audience is a difficult gathering to address As a usual thing. only a portion of the audi ence is interested in the speech. The people on the edge of the crowd, in
 most gatherings of this sort. are con stantly moving about. and there is no little talking.
 Crowd Remains Attentive.
 But this gathering of Marengo Coun- ty people seemed to be an exception to the general rule. It was easy to see that most of the 1000 people came to Nanfalia to hear Dr. Cunningham and during his long address he held their attention to a remarkable degree. The crowd edged up to the stand and re- mained attentive and interested during pr. Cunningham's address
 Walter Barr, a prominent merchant of Nanafalia, presided at the meeting and introduced Dr. Cunningham. And in doing 1t he took the opportunity of reviewing the long and honorable ca- in Alabama The incidents of that career he reviewed to the large audi ence, and he paid high tribute to the statesmanship which had guided the Lieutenant-G Governor in his long career. II was. he said. marked with incidents of the Governors constant care of the peoples interest.
 All public speakers agree as to the difficulty of making a satisfactory open-air address, but on this occasion Dr. Cunningham appeared to experi- ence no difficulty. To hear his voice. fresh and strong, and carrying to the furthermost limits of the crowd, one would not have thought that he had been for the past five months engaged upon one of the most vigorous and one of the most aggressive campaigns ever waged in Alabama. Notwithstanding his rapid journeys through the State and the numerous addresses he has de- iiyered, Dr. Cunningham was in fine voice and everybody in the large crowd understood his fine presentation of the issues of the caYflpaiRn
 He deviated a bit from his courteous ly mild treatment of his opponent and became caustic in his comments on the attitude of MT. Conner in saying that he only represented the people.
 My fellow citizens" said Dr. Cum ningham, i've have come upon strange times in our political history when a man who has devoted his whole life to amassing riches, who has never made a sacrifice for his party or for his State. who has devoted himself entirely and exclusively to his own interest. can come forward and claim to be the sim gle representative of the people.
 The Rich Man in Politics.
 will the people of Alabama accept this claim7 We have come upon strange times, too, when only the rich men of the State can offer for office But the time has come. fellow citizens when 1t is said that only the man of an independent fortune can offer for office in the State. Shall we permit such state of affairs to existr
 Dr. Cunningham again resented the unfair and unjust attacks of The Blr- mingham News and Frank g. White By implication he charged them with wil- fully misrepresenting the true record and sending forth garbled record which they knew to be wrong. but with which they hoped to work upon the prejudice of the people. He showed that the record written in the journals of the State of Alabama were either wrong or that Captain White and The News had wilfully misrepresented and perverted those records. He called upon his hearers to investigate and as- certain if those records were correct, and if they contradicted the statements sent broadcast throughout the State by people who were interested in having Mir Conner elected Governor. He call ed upon his hearers to rebuke such un- fair and underhand methods in Ala bama's political affairs.
 When he had concluded, number of the voters came forward to assure him of their support and to tell him that he had made heSbest presentation of tho issues of the campaign that they had heard. In Marengo County, the same thing happened that had happened in other counties. Men who had been counted by Dr. Cunningham's friends as supporters of Mir Conner, came for ward and announced themselves as sup porters of pr. Cunningham. The Cum ningham men themselves as has been frequently the case, were surprised at the men who came forward as the sup, porters of the Lieutenant-Governor
 Hon. S. c. Compton, Superintendent of Education of Marengo County, came down from Myrtlewood to be present at the meeting and to hear Dr. Cunning ham, Mir. Compton is the County Su- perintendent who felt so much interest in the improvement of the schools of the county, that when the Court of County Commissioners declined to or- der an election on the question of the local tax for school purposes on the grounds that there were no funds in the county treasury with which to- hold the election. paid himself the election expenses. He had the satisfaction of seeing the tax carried by satisfactory majority. Like the other active school men of the State and like other men of Alabama, who have deep interest