The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-05-16

similar powers with reference 10 mter- We have two candidates for Cover nor in this State, both of whom have plant sd themselves upon the same is-
 sue. and each seems to De yieing with most credit for giving prominence to this issue before the people. As am a candidate for the succession 10 the United States Senate, If the people are whfrh seek. 1t seems to me altogethsr improper for me to undertake to say whom they should select to Ill any friends who are ardent supporters Of Dr. CunninGhnm. and I have many friends who are arfent supporters of this controversy
 The New Constituticn on FrciGht Hates.
 But. fellow citizens, there have been. however. some strictures made ea the | action of the late Constitutional Con vention. and upon my competitor there- with. so far as concerns the provisions
 for ttse regulation of freight rates in | this Etate which I feel called upon to
 notice tn justice to myself as well as to every member of that Convention.
 lS It nls been suggested that the Con- stitutional Convention did not dc all that IL ought to have done in reference
 to comforting power upon the represent atives of the people of this Stnte to regulate freight rates. and that this \ failure was due in part to the form ati1n of It's committees and to the fact that there were too many railroad law I yers in the Convention.
 It Is a significant fact. fellow citi- zens, that MT. Frank s. White, who | has recently issued an address to the l people of A1abavna as the Chairman of the Farmers, Merchants and I-aborers' I Association of Alabama. advocating
 freight rate reform in this State. takes | ] Mir White was a lawyer and was a | member of that Convention. He was
 much more in touch with the spirit were those who have criticised its ac-
 tion. He, and other advocates of | freight rate reform. know that the Con. | lawyers: and they know. too, that so I far as its action upon the railroad rate question is concerned. said action was
 nnanimons f + utS tsessfG1e sy srs Convention toward this question, MT. White and other advocates Of rate re- form are as much to blame as any mem-
 ber of the Conxsntion; .s. corvsnt,or l I. of course, had a very responsible duty to perform in the selection of the com mittees that were to do the work of I the Convention. l felt it my duty m l forming the committees to select the l hest men for the several places; and l in djstrfbutinG the special honors which
 had to dfBfrdeute and wniie, CT 9eurse sJi I wanted to select the best men. couid \ not fail to remember those who had sunported me for the Presidency. It was delicate and difficult question TOT I man Of the Committee on Suffrage. l decided to appoint Hon. Gregory l.. Smith as Chairman of the Commlttee on l Judiciary. After giving the matter due I consideration, I decided, as the main object of the convention was. to con- l sifier the question of the regulation or the surffaEe and the elimination or the ignorant negro vots, was propsf ,lsss, nn.a I Hon. Thomas w. Coleman, who, more than any other man In the Convention, perhaps, was familiar with this great
 Mr. White was likewise my friend and supporter and he might have had almost any other position n .ne giIs of the President. I appointed him chairnan of the Committee on the Or Ser md Harmony of the Constitution. ! committee which I regarded as one 1 of the most important In the gift of the President. He was also appofntea
 in the second place on the commleeee on never occurred to me that any member of that Convention was there
 for any personal or seinsn in.erns.' nS she 4he | Committee on Corporations; IL never once occurred to me to inquire whether they were favorable or unfavorabie 70 | no difYerence of sentiment on the plan finally adopted in the Convention on | this subject.
 l uuaninnofs. They adouted the proyis- I lon of the Georgia Constftuffon ana | their report, so far as this question Is concerned, was upanimously concurred
 'h rSere Iy ee were upon the Committee on l Corporations in that Convention just as ardent supporters of freight rate reg ulations in Alabama as can be found In l the State. If there had been any par. ticuIar member or members of that conyfntion which the advocates Of l freight rate regulations desired to have appointed on that Committee, they had only to call my attention to the fact to have had them appointed; because. whatever my individual views might have been on the subject. would nave will say, in passing, believe that every I interest should be represented. And | will say. in passing. I blieve that every | interest was representa- on that com I mitte. Suffice 1t to say, the Committee | unanimously accepted the pfoposition l of Hon. Joel Murphree, as ardent sap porter of rate reform as could be found l in the State. and this report was unan-
 isnously adopted hv the Convention. 1 If the report was ufYsatisfactofy 10 | the friends of freight rate reform. we never heard of it during the delibsra, l tions of the Convention. MT. Frank S.
 White. Chairman of the Campaign Com, mittee of the Farmers. Merchants and Laborers' Association of Alabama. who was then as much in favor or tnls movement as he Is now. stood by and | allowed this report to be adopted with out protest, when. as every one knows l he might have moved upon the noor CT I the convention to amend or change It if l he thought necessary. He did not do l so. nor did any other advocate Of rate reform in Alabama who were members of that Convention. and who, may say, constituted the majority or that think we are warranted in assuming. they considered that the action of that Convnntion. SO far as this particuiar nnestion was concerned. was eninentiH satisfactory. and thev felt that the re- port of the Committee needed no amendment.
 ii has been suggested. in criticism of the action of the Convention, that the Committee on Generations was asked to adopt In the Constitution the provision of the Georgia statute on ms
 instead adopted the provisions Of the
 Georgia Constitution.
 Now, fellow citizens. I have already
 called attention to the fact that MT
 frank White. who is Chairman Of the
 Campaign Comr9ittee of the Farmers:
 Merenants and I.aborers' Association of
 Alabama. in his address to the peonle.
 does not sustain this criticism. Mr.
 White is a lawyer. and good one. and
 he knew what evidently the critics or
 our action did not know, that the Con
 stitutIon is not expected to be col lection of statutes. The office of a
 Constitutionai Convention is not to do
 the work of the LeRislRtur& The pur-
 nose of the Constitution Is 10 lay down
 certain general fundamental regula-
 tians which will operate to denne the limits within which the Legislature