The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-08-17
ROBSON AND
 DAVIS SPEAK First Joint Debate at
 Hamilton. THOUSANDS ARE PRESENT Sixth District Campaign is Full of
 Spirit Opponent of Congressman Challenged for Record on Negro soldier. ana Each Speaker Comes
 Near Ugly Word.

tain R. P. Hobson and Hon. w. e. Davis. met in the first debate of the Congressional campaign with the issue centered on the negro question.
 This was, perhaps, the most pictur- esque meeting in North Alabama since the political battles during the days of reconstruction.
 MT. Davis opened the discussion by saying that the great question at issue in this campaign was whether or not this should be a white mans govern ment. He charged that Captain Hob- son, by his vote on the Brownsville bill, had favored the reinstatement of the negro troops and that by his in- troduction of the bill providing for the attendance of Filipinos at the Naval Academy and the attendance of one Porto Rican at West Point and the Ma val Academy, he stood for negro off, cers in the army and navy.
 He charged that Captain Hobson had accomplished but little in Congress that he had been absent much of the time and criticised him for engaging in his lectures.
 He said Hobson had been disloyal to the Confectionery and misrepresented the sentiment of the District in saying in his speech In Congress in defense of the South that he was glad that he had been born under the Stars and Bars
 He wound up his speech with an ap- peal that Hobson be repudiated by his District for his position on the negro question and his advocacy. of a big navy, claiming that he was not in ac- cord with his party or his District on these matters.
 MT. Davis advocated the establish ment of tuberculosis hospitals with the money that Hobson would spend On the navy.
 HobsOn's Rejoinder.
 In his reply Captain Hobson stated that he was glad to come back to the District and give an account of his stewardship, He thought 1t might dc well to submit his record, but fegret- ted that the campaign had been opened so early. - He said that he would 6rst take ug some matters in which he had been mlsrepresented. He said that Davis had quoted him in his announcement and that he had repeated this to nun erous papers of the State and District and heretofore wanted to file one or two written charges against Davis so that there might be no mistake. He read the following. giving Davis a copy: T hereby charge that in quoting me as saying All men are the same and emitting the rest, We are standing here on the field of eternal
 
 you have deliberately, Intentionally and knowingly mlsquoted me with inten- ton to deceive the voters of the Dis trict This was like saying the Bible said that there is no God. while it real ly says that a fool has said in his heart, there is no God"
 He then road another written charge, as follows: T hereby charge that in representing rhy bills to authorize the attendance of i've midshipman at the Naval Academy from the Philippine Is- lands and one from Porto Rico as ad- vocating negro officers ID the army and navy you have repeatedly deliberately and knowingly misrepresented the facts with intention to deceive the vot- CTS of the District"
 He then explained how his bill would not let negroes in. In fact, he said, there are very few negroes In either the Philippines or Porto Rico.
 He demanded that Davis answer these charges or, if he failed, he should not be given the confidence of voters for under the old legal maxim of false in one, false in all,' he would not be entitled to belief.
 He then took up the question of ab- sence and challenged Davis to give the dates of his absence and Davis de- clined to do so.
 Attacks Davis's Record.
 He then told about a man who had represented Marion County in the Leg islature and in one fifty-day session had failed to vote on 356 roll calls, and turning to Davis. said: AS Jona> than said to David of old, Thou art the man." He followed this up by re- auesting Davis to explain why he had voted against the railroad rate regu- lation bill and the bill to aid the Rail- road Commission in 1896: also against n bill to provide for a Constitutional Convention by which the negro was eliminated from politics. He said Da- wis further voted to appropriate $1.500 to Booker Washington's negro school. the highest endowed school in the South.
 He asked Davis to explain many other bills that he had voted on. He asked Davis to cast the beam out of his own eye before he began to look for meats on his neighbours eye.
 Hobson then took up his own record. stating what he had accomplished in an agricultural way since he had been in Congress dealing at length with de- partmental work he had done and re- viewed what had been accomplished in an agricultural way for hls district.
 He then explained his position in regard to the Brownsville bill. He said this bill provided for an investiEa- tion. the first legal military grand jury ever called and he hoped that as a result some of the guilty might be dis covered and the innocent. if any. be re- lnstated.
 He spoke earfIestly of the white mans supremacy saying that he was against the negro in the army and navy. but he should be excluded by reg ular legal methods. He said that his standard was to obey his conscience and to him there was nothing else to be done but vote for the Brownsville bill.
 He discussed briefly the matter of a merchant marine. his position of the tarin and the question of the Demo- cratic Party's position on the navy stating that the plank in the last na- tional platform was the strongest ever put out by any party.
 Davis is Bitter,
 At the conclusion of his speech Davis attempted to speak, but so great was the applause and cheers for Hobson that 1t was come time before he could begin.
 Davis was very bitter in his re1oin- der saying that 8 man who had bean