The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-11-28
Defenders Are Confident of
 Success. FRIENDS OF MEASURE
 HOPE TO SAVE JEFFERSON Vote of FAmers Will Rsbuke the
 Politicians. Estsmates sf Masorsty As.inst ssAssae re CAa.ss co.stitutiss Runs From 1e,ooo te ae,soo--
 Asaly.i. of Mead.y,s
 Election.
BY WILL T. sHEEHAN.

'
 The amendment is defeated. r
 Many of its best friends admit re- gretfuiiy that defeat which is as cer- tain as anything in politics can be-. The claims of the leaders of the losing light for it's adoption are not earnest and they do not carry conviction.
 The defenders. who have been among the voters making the fight. against the amendment, are return ing to their homes to vote. jubilant7 and triumphant. They see in Mondays, election not defeat but rout of the amendment forces. The election. as they see 1t. Is not to. be a battle of Antietam. with both sides claiming Q victory, but Waterloo. with one side overwhelmed.
 The amendment may lose in every county as is claimed by the more con- ndent or aggressive leaders of the op- position. or 1t may lose by narrow majority as claimed by the rank and eie of the amenders. who have. unlike the amendment leaders. no purpose to eerve or hopes to buoy. mp, but beaten it is according to the opinion of every snan politically we'll informed and who views the situation without partisanr ship. X kThe maiority ta unceFt&in: nathtp@ 8fixe an accurate estimate of it. can be Eaade. under the restrictions thrown around voting in the State Of Ala bama. perhaps a conservative estt- mate would De 10000: or lt may run us 1 sseeS q ben 70. oeDf which would Enaka ik pplikleA isx a lsndsIides
 hzav 1s8 q hMm6&1i1es
 Men within the councils of sthe anti-. emsndmeut committee who have keen hundreds of the reports as they come tn. beat by beat, claim that the defeat, will be the most overwhelming that Alabama has witnessed In years and that the majority wfil run over zo.ooo. Bat such claims are ttnctured with. partlsanship and may be chased With khose of the amendment leaders that the amendment will carry. But as Q matter of fact it Is more probable that a majority of 10000 will be reg istered against the amendment than t is that the amendment will carry. It is probable. if the defender leaders and speakers are not mistaken, that the majority will be nearer 20.oo0 than 10000. %
 Even the amendment leaders. when. they talk confidentially teg their friends, and make theirs claims In do-1 ing so, say that the majority for the amendment will be 2.oo0. They arc. not able to make these claims con. vincing even with that ana put in ''tfs'' and contingencies.
 1t needs no trained political ob-, server to watch the leaders of the two sides and note which is the con- ndent and jubilant and which Is the tfmorous and apprehensive side. Not a detailed claim as to counties has been made by the amendment lead CTS. The defenders have challenged them to name six counties which they would carry, and this has not been done, although they may possibly be nonfatlent of carrying two or three dimes that number. The detailed and kpecified hguros have come exclusive- iR from the anti-amendment leaders. Ho, the original proposition stands, me majority may come between the estimated maJorities against the amendment of 10000 and 10000. <
 Many Small T0ssns For 1f. d
 The amendment will get its best and strongest vote from the small towns. The first news that win come iu Monday night will come from the small towns along the railroads, where
 
 where the telegraph ofIice Is cnnYen5 ient It will be the best news that will come to the amsnders. Yet. tirs defenders claim with confidence that they will beat the amendment even In the small rownss where it is strongest.
 Why is the amendment. strong in the small towns7 Because of the work done by the churches and ministers of those towns. In the small towns the church is more than a religious orr xanixation. So large a part does 1t play in the life of the town. that In addition to its usual sacred functions, 1t becomes the center of the social life of the community.
 The church organizations. the official boards of the church. include most of inc business and professional men of the town, who, whatever their person. al views upon the ultimate effect of .the amendment, because of such con- nection and association
 And yet in the aggregate the de- lenders are more than right in their claim that they will beat. the amend cent. even in the small towns still. in many of these towns the amendment will carry, while 1t will lose in many others.
 In the larger towns and cities 1t iB expected that the amendment will be overwhelmed. Certainly this is true of Montgomery and Mobile, And even The amenders who are claiming Jef- ferson, admit that the amendment will ret A black eye In the City of Birm- tngham proper. Selma. Huntsville, Tvfaula and Tuscaloosa win vote heavily against it,. Tn Bessemer the vote will be close and there will not he much majority either way In the little city of opeiika. Tuscumhia and shefieid will vote heavily against the amandment while. \ will receive. small majority In the city of Florence
 Slaughter In Country.
 Tba arnendment may be sorely wounded in the town and cities, but it will be slaughtered when it ges Into the country. Never was a political