The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-09-16
KNOX SPEECH
 WAS POPULAR Applause Frequently
 Interrupted. ATTACK ON ADMINISTRATION Prominent Annistos Lawyer Intro duced at First of Session. h Addition to Opposition te Amead- meat, He strikes at Governor.
 Relates Interview Seat
 Out From washinEten.
 
ATTACK ON ADMINISTRATION

John B. Knox. of Anniston. stormed the anti-a arne ndment conference yes is- day with his speech. It came soon at- ter converting. following the insta!ia- ton speech of Temporary Chairman Charles Henderson. The speech struck a popular chord. and 1t was stopped, at Frequent inter vals. by rounds of applause.
 The speech was an attack on the Conner Administrations. as well as in opposition to the anendment and ne majority of the Legislature. It refu:ed' also, the purported interview with MT. Knox, sent out from Washington, in regard to affairs in Alaban.a- The speech was: es..-s=
 T was in Atlanta. Ga.. on the night preceding one of the most memorable primary elections which has been he'd in that State since the war. witness ed a torch-light procession over i've miles long, and as I saws the voters pass. bearing on each face de- termined expression, not less determine ed, imagine. than was borne on the faces of our Southern Veterans as they marched forth in 1861, asked gem tleman standing near by what all this means. Mean" he says. 1t means that we are going to defeat Hoks Smith tomorrow"
 When I look into the determined faces of this splendid gathering of delegates from every part of the state I believe that it means that in Novem- ber next we are going to defeat B. B. Conner. and the Constitutional Amend" ment which he is seeking to have adopted.
 Theer are some men who cannot ex- fist except they be constantly in the nme-light. Our present Governor Is Q pronounced type of this class.
 know of no figure which approaches the magnitude and importance to which heseems to think he has grown, un- less it be that of huge living air- ship in proportions such as constructed by Count Zeppelin, in which he flies with incredible swfftness from place to place and hovers over us as the seiI' constituted guardian of the people
 What has aroused the people from one end of the State to the other is the realization that if they follow this co. mer air-ship any further. our people will find themselves very much In the condition of the old gentleman ct the Methodist Experience Meeting. story which Is related by Q distinguished Presiding Elder in my section. The old fellow was all bent with rheumatism and had recently become paralySed. so much so. that he could not speak exc cept by working one jaw with his fin. ger. After everyone else had given his experience, the Presiding Elder turned to him and said: Now, Brother John son, will you please tell the brethren what the Lord has done for your The old fellow, leaning on his crutch with one hand, and working his jaw with the other. said. with intense earnest ness: "well. brethren. he has mighty nigh ruint me-"
 The people of Alabama are tired of seeing this Goliath stalking through the State. with no David to meet him in combat.
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 Since George s. Houston, backed by a determined Democracy. drove from power the carpet-bag government, which robbed and plundered the people of this State. through one administra' tfon after another. we have had cal administration of the State\ govern ment. So much so, that when Govern. or Jelks turned the administration of public affairs over to his successor in ofice, there was something more than a million dollars in the State Treas ury. Governor Conner admits that he -- has spent this surplus. and more than this surplus. The fact is. as I am 1n- formed the Treasury is confronted with an approaching deficit of almost a million more. It Is favorite ex- pression of our Governor. which he re- beats with increasing emphasis from every stump in Alabama. that he win spend every cent in the Treasury In carrying out his policies. If we are to take his testimony. he has already spent every cent in the Treasury. and created a deficit, which. instead of providing for, he proposes to leave as an additional burden upon his .aucces- sor in oflce. .s
 Before his induction into eface, no Southern State at home or abroad en- loved such a character for conserv- atism and good government as did the State of Alabama Our State grew and prospered; capital flowed in; our popu- lation increased. and the State was moving forward with a stride of pros perity beyond all expectation.
 The industrial development in the Birmingham district during this period astonished the business world. The railroad tonnage in the Birmingham district alone has been estimated to ex. ceed that of the entire state of Geor. gia, that of the City of New York. and some have claimed that the railroad tonnage of this district exceeded that of New York and London combined. Great railroad systems vted with each
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