The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-17
JUDGE JONES HAS
 REPLY ID COMER
CONTINUED FROM PAGE s2)

|
 trolled. and the abnormal votes, as we'll as 1 large majorities, those counties boiled in
 their favor in the state election of 1892. l The Regular Nominee Had Larger Majority of the White Votes Than
 the Total Majority Shown By the l Official Count
 1 1 have no personal knowledge of any l fraud on either side. Like any other | candid man who has investigated the 1 subject, I have no doubt whatever that l in many instances considerable frauds were committed on both sides, in a goodly
 number of localities In very many local-
 ties, however, no sincere complaint was ] ever made of any fraud, no matter -or l what candidate the county voted.
 1 But leaving particular localities aside,
 after fairly weighing all that may be salo I as to the vote in them, when we take the, l pivotal and indisputable fact that the reg l ular nominee was nominated by the votes
 of delegates who represented a very large
 majority of the white voters of all shades
 of opinion in the state, who participated | in the primary, and that the Opera House
 candidate was notoriously weaker nfter 1 that convention than before, no intelligent man can entertain a reasonable doubt 1 after eliminating all frauds on both sides. | that a very large majority of the white
 
 l nominee in 1892, and that his majority Of white votes was greater than the majority I shown by the official returns, which in- l cluded in their aggregate both the white l and negro vote alike. and the result of all I the frauds on both sides.
 Unkind to Commissioner of Agricul- | ture |
 The statement that the present commits sioner of agriculture was chosen in the l last election, because the voters of the I state thought that some return" should
 be made to him, flor the outrage perpe- trated- on. him in 1892, is not only without | foundation, but is hardly fair to him. No l such thought. among any consdera ole l number of voters, turned the scale in ms l favor. He was the peer of his two com 1 petitors, and received q handsome puraia | ity. though the majority of the vote polle6 | in that contest was divided between his | opponents. He had been a good soldier, I had rendered service to the state, had
 reached the age of three score and ,en
 and had suffered his share of the vicissi- l tudes and, tSials of this life. There was I therefore a desire among the great body I of his old opponents to help him, and "to | let bygones be bygones.v So far as thase | men knew he was making his campaign | solely upon his own merit, and not on | any plea of alleged martyrdom in 1S92-9l
 
 icaaly, our personal relations had always | been kindly. When he was a candidate | against me in 1891 I had appointed Hector | D. Lane, Sr, to succeed him, When it
 became known that his son, Hector ., | Lane, Jr., who thought of opposing his
 candidacy. had agreed to take a subor-
 dinate place under him in the department.
 In the event of his election and had com bined fortunes with him in the race, it l seemed to many of us that it would 1e a | graceful and appropriate thing to confer | the office upon him, and that doing so | would strikingly manifest the healing of | all differences between the men who vent l outside the party in 1S92-94 and those wno l remained in it. I and many of the lead CTS who supported the party In ISq2-94 aided him and voted for him. We little | thought this kindly spirit on our par,.
 would afterwards be ungenerously or tured by any one into an admission of wrong to him in the past, at the hands Of his old opponents. Whether our rood feelings are msjudged anywhere or not. there Is no lesson to be drawn from his
 The Absurdity of the Thing The absurdity of the claim that the vot- CTS in the last election felt that an s,out- rage had been perpetrated in 1892, and elected the present commissioner of agri- culture 10 redress 1t, is proved by the fact that these same voters, in the .ame election, chose as state treasurer one yho had been a beneficiary of the alleged
 outrage as state auditor in 1922 If any belief of an outrage" had existed in the minds of even an insignificant per cent of the voters, inevitably it would nave turned the scale against the auditor
 Of 1892 and defeated him in his race for treasurer in 19l0 Three of the state of- ficials elected by the democracy in 1892. the governor, the auditor, and the super. intendent of education, were honored uv- the people in subsequent elections, and their opponents thought the "outrae charge so flimsy that it was not even mentioned in the canvasSes The attorney general and the treasurer elected that year. who were also benefciares of the outrage" if there were one. were sig nally honored by the former governor him self. One of them was elected as hi, choice to the speakership of the house and the other he appointed to one of the most important offices in his gift. If the former governor believed for moment that his appointees had been participants in or beneflciaries of an "outragen which brought more evils to Alabama than nv- thing except the civil war and recon. struction,' he could not as an honest nan have honored or commended them, as he did.
 Favored and Aided Contest Law
 CUnNefSdHt with the history of Alabama, former Governor Conner in- cuded, notwithstanding his inuendos to the contrary. knows that I heartily fa- vored and helped in the passage of contest law in 1892. Shortly after the August election l gave out an author ized interview in The Age-Herald and Advertiser stating my attitude, in the course of which I stated If the lim- ited session allowed by the constitution will not give sufficient time to hear and decide such contests as may be brought, I will not hesitate to, convene the gen eral5 assembly in extraordinary session for that purpose.' Even the Alliance Herald, very intolerant organ of the opposition, for the-first time in it's his- tory, commended me.
 History of Contest Bill and Its Dis position
 Early in the session contest bill was introduced in the senate. It was so un- skillfully drawn and so faulty that the committee to whim it was referred made an adverse report. I aided in get 1 ting non-concurrence, and urged sen | ators who opposed the bill to perfect it and pass it. Some of' the opl5osition ! leaders seemed more anxious to engage 1 in political Reclamation and to try the merits of contest then and there than to | frame a good bill. There was much de- bate about security for costs, whether bonds should be required alike from con
 selection of legislative committee and after the adjournment of the legislature <.. Il Aef ann facfc f1,a