The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-10-05
O'NEAL'S FRIENDS OBJECT
 TO DEBATE WITH WEAKLEY
Guntefsville is Filled With the
 People.
Vsnen Pin wAits Ribbons on Men Promiscucusly-spee h tho Morning and Afternesn-
 Lusk fs Leader.
BY WILL n. STEPHAN.


 Guntersville, Oct. 4.--(Special. )--In- formed by his local committee today that the Marshall County court room had been intentionally and purposely packed with friends of the amendment so that hundreds of voters coming from the country could not crowd their way into the court room. Hon. Elm melt o'Neal. at the insistance of his local friends, declined to debate the proposed amendment with Judge s. D. weakley, and delivered his speech to Q great crowd gathered in the shade of the court house yard, while Judge weakley spoke to the big audience in the court room.
 MT. O'Neal debated the issue during the afternoon to crowd of more than a thousand people in the shadow of the court house. thrown by the western sun.
 The hitch in the morning arrange ments, during which Col. s. T. Smith. Representative Coleman and Sheriff Lewis declared unhesitatingly that somebody had treated MT o'Neal un- fairly in having the court room packed with women, children. preachers and friends of the amendment long before the speaking. raised interets In the speaking to the highest pitch. MT. ONeal, like Robert Toombs on one oc- casion, left the building and spoke un- der the shade of an oak and over bale of cotton as table. And so the morning debate was carried on at long range with no close-in fighting.
 Applause and Counter Applause.
 While Judge weakIey was speaking in the Court House the applause from Mir. O'Neafs auditors rushed in through the windows and while Mir. O'Neal was addressing his big audience on the outside the cheers from the court room would float out over those standing or sitting in the court house yard. But nobody got mad
 The two oratorical antagonists went of and had a good dinner. This over, they came back to the court house yard, where possibly 1.6oo people had gathered sfor the scheduled debate.
 It was not for a visitor, either MT. O,Neai, Judge weakley or anyb0dy else to say that the court house was packed. But the local opponents in Gunters- vile, where the fight Is just now about ss warmt as 1t Is anywhere else Tn Ala hama, did not hesitate to ssay It. And they in effect told Mir. O'Neai that if he walked into the trap at the court house and addressed packed meet ing while hundreds of Marshall County voters were shut out, they would wash their hands of the debate.
 Marshall County Is giving an eyi- dence of the powerful political machine of the Anti-Saioon League. Here the women and ministers are alive with activity for the campaign. In the churches at Boaz, Albertvilfe, Gunters- vile and perhaps at other places in the county, announcement was made of the speaking by the preachers and the Sunday School superintendents and all were urged to attend the Guntersviiie debate, especially the ladies.
 Women and White Ribbons.
 The morning train was boarded by great crowds both at Boaz and AL bertville and with the crowd there were half a dozen ladies with two boxes of white ribbons. These ladies canvassed the train. man by man, ask ing the privilege of pinning white bows on the male passengers.
 As the crowd assembled at the court house another committee of half dozen ladies stood at the head of the stairs and asked the permission to pin white ribbons on the men as they . passed.
 In addition to this several we'll known supporters of the amendment chief of whom was Chairman F. M. Jackson, came in from other counties no doubt for this occasion. Preceding the debate the pro-Amendment forces held an organization meeting in the court room in which the speaking was to be held.
 county committee was organized as chairman of which Railroad Com missioner John A. Lusk was named.
 The local anti-amendment people point to the organization meeting which took place just before the de- bate and at which the pro-amendment people gathered and kept all the front seats for the debate as proof of their contention that the crowd was not fairly drawn.
 Colonel Smith Talks.
 Col. s. T. Smith, distinguished Confederate Veteran. said: T would not say that the meeting was packed unless I had every reason to believe that 1t had been packed. I was quiet iy informed four days ago that these tactics were to be employed. Matters came about just as 1t was predicted to
 "yhen I saw all the front seats of the court room occupied by women and children and when I found that the pro-amendment people had packed into the court room an hour or more before fhe speaking and before the country people could possibly get in, object ed to Mir. O'Neal speaking under such unfair conditions.
 No charge was made that Judge Weakley knew or had anything to do with packin the court room, If 1t was packed. In his speech, Judge weakley said:
 q regret that MT. O'Neal saw it to decline to speak to hostile audience. He should have borne an unfriendly audience in Marshall County because I expect to meet unfriendly audiences fin Montgomery. and fin Mobile. and I will talk to them on this question just as l talk to you"
 MT. O'Neal said in his speech:
 T was informed by friends in whom I have the greatest confidence, that planned and special efforts were made to give the limited seating capacity of the court room, over to the pro-amend- rnent people. This I consider unfair.
 VIII Resent Tactics.
 q shall have the courage to resist such tactics wherever they are em- ployed, and if they try the old political trick of packing an audience will re- sent it at other places as I did here When I got to the court house for the speaking, there were many more peo- ple on the outside than there were on the inside"
 The normal seating capacity of the
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