The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-05-01
CUNNINGHAM AT GREENVILLE Telling Speech in Butler
 Capital. TIE TERRITORY OF MR. coMER
But the Change of Sentiment is
 Plainly Apparent.
Large Audience Greets the Lieutenant- Governor ard Great Enthu-
 sissm is Aroused By His
 straightforward Speech.
By win T. sheehan.

$ .I
 Greenville. April &C., Especial Cor respondence )--Butier County. regard ed politically as the private property of President B. B. Conner, was today invaded by Lieutenant Governor Gun ningham, who addressed a large audi ence at the Court House and aroused it to no little enthusiasm before he had finished.
 The Cunningham men were decidedly pleased with the days meeting. They were rleased that the audience which sat through the early part of the ad- dress, attentive but cold, with the ex- ception of a few of Dr. Cunringham's friends. grew cordial and generous with applause as the earnestness of Dr. Cum ningham made itself felt. Mir. Conner has beyond doubt with some of his friends in this section. looked upon Butler as his private province, and any body that should come upon 1t politi- caliys as a trespasser. The county gave him, in his race against John V. Smith, the overwhelming majority of 991. Mir. Conner has spoken here and on that occasion he did not fail to fe- licitate himself as well as the people of Butler upon the fine thing they did when they gave him that majority.
 This was in that we'll known Green vile speech on education which con sisted of ntnetyrnine parts railroad talk and one part education.
 But Dr. Cunningham came and went away pleased with the situation. He found that the same general change of polttfcpf sentiment which has caused so much comment in the past month IS at work here in Butler County. Even the staunchest Conner men admit it. They even admit that Cunningham is gaining strength but would qualify the admission by saying that Conner is so strong that the changes will not be enough seriously to affect the situation
 On the other hand the Cunningham men are subilant. They are no less pleased than surprised at the. changes which come under their notice. The Change in Sentiment. ! T could four weeks ago, count all the Cunningham men in Greenville on r1-' fingers said a Greenville man to- but that time 70 past. There ar es j snty of them now and their number is growing bigger every day We are expecting great things of today's teetlng coming as 1t does at time and .lispassionately to consider the things which are at issue and the diff t2rence between the two men who are Sandidates for Governor"
 I}u tier has always been a little odd politically. It was one of the last pop ulist counties of the State to be won back by the Democrats. Notwithstand- ing that the county is one of the very richest agricultural counties of the State and that Greenville, its capital, is a model of a large and prosperous Southern town, majority of the vot- CTS of the county in the past some- how managed to take their Democracy diluted. They have had it as True Democracy. Independent Democracy" "Jefersonian Democracy" and straight out "Populism." This has been done in spite of the efforts of a brave and devoted band of straight Democrats who until very recent years used to go regularly to the polls and as regularly be whipped out.
 Naturally MT. Corners sort of cam paign is a campaign which takes in county that had that kind of majority for so many years.
 pr. Cunningham today refused again to lower his campaign from the high plane on which he pitched 1t. He re- fused to let the Alabama campaign be lowered to the level of the un- pleasant fight in Georgia. He had no personal attacks to make on MT. Conner and no mud to throw, no matter how fair a mark MT. Conner might have offered. He delivered several sharp and effective thrusts at the weakness of MT. Conner but they were respect full and entirely parliamentary.
 His most effective attack on MT.
 
 taken by the President of the Rail- road Commission as to what should be the maximum rate in Alabama. It was on record and practically admitted by MT. Conner that at one place he had dcelarged he favored making the Alabama rate as it existed at present the maximum rate while at any other place had declared in favor of the Georgia rate as the maximum rate.
 For the Georgia Rate.
 pr. Cunningham himself declared in favor of the Georgia rate as the max imum rate saying he would never con- sent to make the Alabama rate which MT. Conner declared to be fromm 20 to 12) per cent higher than the Georgia rate the maximum rate for Alabama
 Dr. Cunningham also announced that he favored the employment of a rate expert who would sit in front of the rate experts employed by the railroads and who could meet them in tho coucts He favored, too, the employment of experts legal assistance in the part of the State when rate matters were pending in the courts.
 The Lieutenant Governor was pre- sented to the audience by Robert B; Smythe. MT. Smythe spoke briefly of the high character of the speaker and he promised that the audience would hear an able discussion of the issues of the pending campaign and an especially interesting discussion of the para mount issue, the regulation of freight rates.
 as he stepped forward to begin.
 T appear before you today in new role" he said. Although this is the fifth time I have spoken at Greenville. until today I have never spoken to you as a candidate. have spoken here for the cause of education. 1 have advo- cated the adoption of the new constitu- tion here in Greenville but until now l have never addressed you as candi- date.
 that l am not an experiment: have been in public life of and on for .twen- ty-fiye years, as representative in the legislature, as convict physician. State Senator and Lieutenant Governor. My not ask you to speculate. do not ask to ask you to investigate. I have tho right to ask you to examine lam not hope I entertain for that office is pre- dicted upon the fairness and justice Of the people of Ala bama.
 T am not railroad candidate. al-