The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-10-24
HOLD MEETING AT LANETT
HEFLIN SENT TO MEET ANTI
 SPEAKERS.
WfIiett, staiiings and Lewis woula Net Let the Cenkre ssman In-
 tcrrupt Their Plans in Chambers,

Lanett. Oct. 2a--(Speciaf. o---Unan- nouneed and unheraided, Congressman Tnomas Hefiin turned up here tonight and, approaching the committee that had charge of the well announced meet ing or the anti-anendmept forces, ask ea that ne be permitted to divide time with the speakers, of the evenings IL was well known to those who had planned the meeting of those opposed to the constitutional amendment that tnere would be a good crowd on hand at the I1anett school house. and fl sau- pears that those who are working for the amendment knew this also. At the last moment they sent on to headquaf- ters to have, the Congressman here 10 oppose the speakers
 1t was most peculiar situation in campaign proceedings. The speakers for those who are opposed to the amendment arrived. here Tn the after. noon. coming. from opelika. where there had bsen .sas sbtg. rally at noon f1dHy They had shapdly arrived here before CoBgFessnan Hefiin put in ap- ipearaHctpl and asked ltsiat the time a f the meeting be dlvided between inc anti-afhen dlnent, speakers and himself.
 The sneakers for those who are op- posing the ,aMendment were Hon. Jesse sIgi Stan IliAgs, ,lA1ori U. J. swfffett and Hon. O. 1S.- Lewis. -. :.
 To divide time between these speak, CTS and the Congressman would have meant that the audience would have been kept in session until after mld. night, and claiming, that the whole af- fair was an attempt on. the part of the amenders to allow one of their speak, CTS to talk to an audience that hnd been gotten together by the efforts of those who are opposed to 1t. the committee having the arrangements in charge, turned the proposition down.
 The meeting at tho Lanett school house had hardly been. called to order. by the eb airman, George. s. Harris. he-, fore the emissaries ofsa the amender forces attempted to induce -some of those assembled ithege to leave ana so to the hhstilY called meeting at which Congressman Hefiin spoke. Their Cf- forts were rewarded by the retirement from the hall of few fin the audience. as they left their places were taken by others who. up to that time, had been unable to gain admittance to the meeting.
 The audience that the speakers of the anti-amendment forces faced as almost altogether made up of voters ef Chambers County.
 From start l,to finish yof tonight's meeting the audience was most at- sShkANC 1hQ upPAauSG was lECQueHtr
 Mir. Wiflett. the first speaker. dwelt almost entirely with the causes that. brought about the present turmoil in the, state. He pointed out that t..e Conner administration was pledged to local option. This was followed he said, by specIal session in which there was sandwiched in a prohibition bill. Then they came back again and passed the Fuller and other bills. the speaker said. and now they are asking for the constitutional amendment.
 He dwelt on the disfranchisement possibility and said that they knew there were 200. 900 voters in this stare who had not paid their poll tax. and therefore at an expense of $65.000 to the state. they had taken. advantage of this. because they thought they could better win out on their proposi- tion. and that they could not win out. al any other time.
 Mir. Lewis took up another line of the argument dwelling almost entirely on the attempt to force an election on the people at a time when large percentage of the voters were dis frahchsed by reason of not having paid their poll tax. .. {. -.,..
 '"Thousands of Alabamians who love their homes and their state better than some of these amendment leaders ever dared to do, have been disfranchisd and for this reason alone I would vote against the amendment" the speaker said.
 In one of his characteristic speeches Mir. Stallings closed the meeting. He called 1t having little friendly chat with the audience. but before he was through he had the entire assembly cheering him.
 He stigmatized the amendment as an 'infernaI thing" and when he told those who were assembled in the school house that they knew they were not going to vote for 1t, the applause was deafening.
 The speaker made an eloquent ap- peal to the women, he said that the amendment claimed they had all the women with them but that they would find out that they did not have with them all the women, all the best people nor all the preachers.
 When the meeting was over those who were gathered there surrounded the speakers assuring them that the amendment had little chance in this part of Alabama.