The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-11-17
Bic CROWD HEARS
HOWARD IN GADSDEN
.14 Dali, &c C41,.ob Oopo
Largest Rally of Etowah Cam
paign Held YeStel day
COUNTY IN RIGHT COLUMN
Former Congressman Lays Bare Polit-
ical Scheme Behind the Whole
mendment-iearty Cheers
for Sentiments.

Gadsden, November 16.-(Special.)-
The Times-News today says:
Any doubt as to how Etowah will
vote on November 80 was effectually
dispelled at noon today when the sec
ond story of the court house was
packed with voters to hear M. ".
Howard speak against the amendment
Two women were present and no
children. OF all the great throng that
greeted the SPEAKER four out OF five
were gray haired men, and they voiced
their opposition to the amendment in
no uncertain tones. At least five men
were seen to pull the white ribbon from
their coats before Mr.. Howard finished
his philippe against the amendment 1t
was by for the largest crowd of voters
that has heard speech on either side
in the present campaign and was the
biggest political meeting held in Etc
wah county since the days of the Kolb
and Jones race.
At every telling point against the
amendment the building rang with
cheers.
from the Seventh district, political free
lance and the most powerful stump
speaker in north Alabama, swept the
big crowd with him as he literally
riddled the amendment and the claims
of it's advocates But withal there was
no word of bitterness, no abuse of the
other side, such as is common wfcS
the amendment speakers. With cold
merciless logic, with pungent wit and
biting irony, he fayed the proposed
measure, while the crowd manifested
it's appreciation of his sentiments 1t
was the best speech delivered in Gads-
dent upon the issue and its effect was
ma gical. The speaker traced the his
tory of the amendment and demolished
the claims of the amenders that the
issue is a moral one. When you clotae
the skeleton of politics in the garb
of morality" he declared, you make
the crooked politics in the world. l
don't know whether the legislature will
pass a law invading the home if the
amendment is adopted, but l am Ger
tain they will not do so If the amend
ment Is defeated.
IF there is no politics in this mat
ter, why couldn't we wait until next
year, when every registered voter m
the state would have had notice. That
would have been moral; that would
have been Christian; that would have
been fair. But there was reason and
1t was a political one. You remember
when the last governors race was run,
Conner carried about 60 of the 81 coun-
ties in the state, didn't he? But Conner
didn't run for governor; he rode. And
the name of his horse was railroad
rate legislation. But he rode the
horse to death and he was sent to the
boneyard. The time came for another
race and another horse was needed.
And they found the horse. His name
was Constitutional Amendment Brooks
Lawrence discovered him and groomed
him for the race. Gentlemen, / take
off my hat to Brooks Lawrence, for he
is TIA shrewdest politician who ever
put Is foot in Alabama. A man who
can come from Ohio and lead Alabama's
governor and abama's legislature
around by the nose, is very smart
man. He told them that 1t was the
best horse they ever saw; that Weakley
could ride and Conner could swing on
by the tail. But they loaded the old
horse down until he couldn't run, and
today he is hopelessly beaten. Every
congressional district in Alabama will
give a majority against the amend
ment."
Mr.. Howard told Of me effects of
constitutional prohibition in other
states and its miserable failure to ac-
complish the results claimed for it,
He laid bare the political scheme be-
,....4A the whole affair and showed that
even were no politics mixed with the
amendment, it would be a blot upon
the constitution IL incorporated therein.
After the speech the crowd gathered
about Mr.. Howard to shake his hand
and congratulate him upon his mas
terly speech. Men who followed him
when he was an active figure in local
politics thronged around him to tell
him that they were with him STILL
Altogether 1t was a great speech, a
great crowd, and far eclipsed anything
the amenders have yet pulled Off.