The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-03-04

after the polls opened this morning to vote for my choice among the county candidates in our local election
 have not come here for the purpose of stirring up unpleasant memories, nor have I come here to discuss the liquor question. Instead of referring to the un- pleasant things of the past 1 prefer to talk about the present restoration of harmony in the ranks of the democratic party, in order that we may be ready to realize sn immediate and glorious peace, so much hoped for by us all. l have never to any great extent, either public sy or privately. aired my views of pro- hibition or the liquor question: I, in com mon with all mankind. recognize the evils of intemperance, but I am not con ceited enough to think that I know a solution.
 Speaks in Praise of Mallory
 My mission here is to present to you the claims of that high-toned Christian lawyer and sterling patriot the Hon. H. s, D. Mallory of Dallas, for the demo- cratic nomination for the high office of governor Having lived an irreproach- ableN private life; having attained great eminence in his profession widely known for his piety and righteous conduct; prominent in church affairs, yet in no sense a Pharisee, but charitable toward the views of others; while too young to have been Confederate soldier, yet coming of age during the early '70s, inn mediately in his early manhood he joined hands with his neighbors, John T. Mor- gan, Gen. E. W. Pettus and Joseph F. Johnston, in the herculean task of re- storing to his county and the state the rule of democracy, the supremacy of the white man and the exclusion of the car pet-bagger. Being content, after the re- storation of the government to the hands of the white man, to continue to labor for his party and his people. he never asked for the reward of office. Having served long as member of the state democratic executive committee and made good on every occasion, and having been elected and reelected unanimously as chairman of that committee; having been loved sufficiently by that great body of Christians to which he belongs to have caused them to repeatedly elect him pres ident of their convention; his genius, geniality and noh1e qualities having been recognized by that great organization of Masons to such an extent as to cause them to confer upon him the highest of- hce within their gift his legal learning and attachments having been recognized by the bar of the state in electing him as president of their association-his friends more than year ago besought and secured his consent to become can
 
 didate for governor.
 An Ideal Candidate
 He was then, and Is till yet, an ideal candidate As soon as his name was pre- scented he was instantly recognized gen orally as a winner and the people all over the state began ito look forward to the time of his assumption of the office as the great day on which the govern ment of the state would be freed from partisan control. bitterness and strife. At the time he became a candidate the legislature had passed, and the governor had approved, law prohibiting the sale of liquor at Gay place in the state of Ala bama. MT. Mallory was at that time, and still is, in hearty accord and sympathy with the principle of prohibi- tion as get forth and embodied in the law originally passed upon that subject.
 Had he been the governor he would have enforced it with firmness, good judgment and fairness. without bitterness.
 Comer's Efforts to Defeat Mallory
 But while MT. Mallory's candidacy was preeminently satisfactory to the great majority of the people of the state, his candidacy and almost sure election was . very bitter pill to Governor Conner against whom he had committed the un- . pardonable crime of not voting for him, and was, of course, very galling and de- pressing to the ambitions of Judge Weak ley, the attorney for the Anti-Saloon league, proclaiming that he had divine call to run liquor out of the state, advised the governor that to do so it was neces- sary to call special session of the legis- lature in order that, as was claimed, the prohibition laws might be strengthened and reinforced and made perpetual by an amendment to the constitution.
 Everybody knew that along with Judge Weakley's pretended divine call there was a severe itching to succeed Conner as governor. It has never oc- cured to anyone to even suggest that the special session of the legislature of 1909 was called for the advancement of the candidacy of MT. Mallory as governor On the other hand, he knew and his friends knew, and everyone else at all familiar with the facts at the time knew. that the political schemes behind the call were to get up something that would ac- cornplish his defeat.
 Mallory And the Amendment
 What is known as the Carmichael bill. every word of which was written by Judge Weak1ey the special counsel of the Anti-Saloon league, was first passed. A few days afterward what is known as the Fuller bill, every word of which was writ ten by Judge Weakley, the special coun- gel for the Anti-Saloon league. was passed. Along later there was introduced . bill proposing to amend tine constitution of the state of Alabama, every word of which was written by Judge Weakley the counsel of the Anti-Saloon league. It passed the house of representatives by a large majority By the time the bill reached the senate, which had passed by considerable majority the Carmichael and Fuller bills, people were beginning to suspect that back of 1t all there were deep laid political plans on the part of Governor Conner and Judge Wealkley. Some of the senators who had voted for ell the prohibition bills had decided to oppose this bill and the friends of the measure began to get uneasy about secur- ing the requisite majority for its passage. Some of the senators who were in favor of and had announced themselves as being in favor of writing prohibition in the con- 0titution, but being very reluctant to do anything tending to the perpetuation of Comerism and Weakleyism. and believing that 1t was more important to the people Of the state that it's next governor should be of an entirely different type from either Conner or Weakley. and being par tial to MT. Mallory. gave this as a reason for their reluctance to vote for a bill pro- posing constitutional amendment at that time. Mir. Mallory was In no sense re- Oponsible for the condition of affairs. He had not been consulted. advised with or Approached on the subject. He knew that ail that had been done was seasoned with . spirit> of hostility to his candidacy. He did not. as has been charged, presume to dictate, nor did he request any member of the senate of Alabama to vote for the bnl, but fin that unselflsh and unpar- tlsan spirit that has always characterized his conduct. he said to these senators that if they wanted to vote for the bill that he would ask them not to let their interest