The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-03-04
(Commu cafedl RuShtOn'S Centerville Speech In Support of MT. Mallory
As Friend of r Mallory He Speaks to His Anti Amendment
 Friends In Bibb County-The Issues of the Campaign

friends in the senate to vote against and
 kill the constitutional amendment bill
 we today would have been in the throes
 of heated political canvass In which
 Judge Weakley would have been the can didate of the Anti-Saloon league and the
 Conner administration, running on the platform of constitutional prohibition, making the claim that Mir Mallory, all though lifelong and sincere temper ance man, when put to the test had re- fused to say the word to make it possible
 to have constitutional prohibition. And the issue would have been constitutional
 prohibition and continuance of the Co.,
 mer policies, and Judge Weakley would
 have been now canvassins the state
 claiming that Mir. Mallory was never
 sincere prohibitonist. i.nd charging him
 with having defeated the bill to give the
 people chance to pass upon the propo-
 sition and settle it forever. It MT. Nal
 Tory had never done anything else than
 to give the people chance to rebuke
 the extreme policies and break up the
 political schemes of that triunvirate, he
 would still be the man worthiest of the
 greatest honor that could be conferred
 upon him by a grateful people.
 Not only Judge Weakley withdrew from
 the race for governor, but many prom
 inent men who were spoken of did not see
 fit to go in, and all the other candidates
 have withdrawn except MT. ONeal. The
 candidates are now thinned out to
 stand, and 1t behooves us to inquire who is Mir ONeal, the why's and wherefores
 of his candidacy against MT. Mallory,
 and whether or not this latest aspirant
 to fill the shoes of Judge Wealxley as an
 nti-Maliory candidate has or can give
 any reason as to why the affections of
 the people should be weaned away from
 the grand old statesman of Dallas
 The only serious complaint l have to
 make of Mir. ONeal and the only con
 troversy that I have with him is, that
 he claims to be the anti-amendment can
 didate for governor, and claims right
 to appropriate to himself, and for him
 self, the platform put forth by the con
 ference at Montgomery on the 10th day
 of last September. Mir. O'Neal had al-
 ready let 1t be known that he was going
 to be a candidate for governor before the
 conference met It is claimed for MT.
 O'Neal that but for him there never
 would have been any conference at all;
 that he was the whole thing; that all the
 rest of the people of the state who were
 opposing the amendment had gone to
 sleep, and that it was he, and he only.
 that organized and led our forces to a
 great victory. There are a great many
 who were in that conference who did not
 so understand it at the time and do not
 so understand it to this day; and deny
 to him any right to go forth before the
 people of this state as the candidate of that conference for office. It is true that he has not said, nor have his authorised representatives said In so many words,
 that he was the candidate of the anti amendment conference, but that is the impression they are trying to create. After the election on the 29th day of No vember, the great majority of the men who composed that conference, including such men as Senator Moody, Walker Percy, Sidney J. Bowie and men of that type as well as thousands of others who had done unselfsh and patriotic work towards the defeat of the amendment,
 were willing to put aside all of theNfeel- ing that had been aroused and go to work toward harmonizing the interests of all of our people and the restoration of peace
 and good fellowship In the ranks of the democratic party. That MT. Mallory accorded with this idea is fully shown by statement given by him to the press on the night of De- cember f. in which he said: Alabama
 should have the opportunity of testing the
 merits of prohibition, freed from excite
 ment but calmly and deliberately. It Is
 evident that the people of Alabama do
 not want the amendment as proposed in
 their fundamental law, and no efforts of
 mine shall force 1t upon them" He also
 made it plain in this interview that while
 he had always been and was still pro
 hibitionst by practice. that he was, above
 all, however a democrat. and that he
 would stand upon and endeavor to carry
 out any platform that might be adopted by the democratic party.
 This declaration was satisfactory I
 verify believe, to great majority of the
 people who had opposed the amendment.
 But not so with MT. O'Neal and that
 portion of the anti-amendists who were
 in favor of continuing the agitation, with
 the end in view of filling the various of fees of honor and profit in the state.
 Taking advantage of some remarks that
 had been made by Brooks Lawrence and by MT. Fred Jackson g. le,,der in the nti-Saloon League and an adherent and
 supporter of Judge Weakley; Messrr. Bowman and Stallings appeared in Mont gomery on the 9th day of December at what was supposed to have been an O'Neal conference. but which Mir. O'Neal could not attend on account of the death of his brother. and at which conference it seems no one but Messrs 6tal1ings and
 Bowman did attend, and announced that Mir O'Neal would be candidate for governor upon the platform of the Mont gomery conference, held September 15. Mallory Not Anti-League Candidate MT. ONeal and his friends have been trying assiduously to create the inn pression throughout this state that MT. Mallory was the candidate of the Anti Saloon league, and that he (Mr O'NeaD was the candidate of the anti-amendists. In a speech made by him in what has leen widely advertised as an O'Neal rally at Birmingham last week, he made use of the following language: The Anti Saloon league declares that 1t is sat isfied with the p1atform of the candidates for governor and will keep out of this flght, yet in view of the fact that am the only candidate for governor who has announced any platform, Colonel Mallory contentirE hinoself with the declaration that he would support any platform the party would adopt after the nomination Is made 1t occurs to me that the simplest and surcst method the Anti-Saloon league leaders could adopt to convince the public of the absolute sincerity of their pub lished declaration, Is 10 withdraw <ses3r candidate from the race and make my nc mination unanimous
 This language can not be misunderstood. It is a direct assertion that MT. Mallory is the candidate of the Anti-Saloon league, and that the Anti-Saloon league have the power. if they would do so to take him out of the race and make his (Nfr. C'Nears) nomination unanimous. MT. Mallory is not and never has been the candidate of the Anti-Saloon league. He was never a member of the Anti-Salocn league; never attended single one of It's meetings or political conferences. The Anti Saloon league did not bring him cut as a candidate for governor and It has no power 10 take him out of she race for govtrnor or to make Mir. oNenl' B nomination unanimous When MT. O'Neal
 made the charge that Mfr Mallory vas the canSadate of tne Anti-Salpon leaKue.