The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-20
STEPHAN TALKS 0N FIGHT ID bE MADE Committee Will do Anything
 Underwood Wants NO SECOND CHOICE Opportunity, However, May Be Given
 Voters to Express Their Choice
 for President at the Ballot Box

"The state democratic executive com lnittee will do anything oscar Underwood wants it to do. If he should say he wants primary, it will be a primary, if he should say he wants a convention it will be convention,' said Will T. Shee- han, associate editor of the Montgomery Advertiser and for the past 12 -,vears- a politics. He is in Birmingham to attend the meeting of the state executive con mittee today
 'The committee is Underwoods, lock, stock and barrel.' continued Capt Shee- han. But he probably will not feel like intimating that he has any preference Tn the matter~of convention or a primary. He probably will not even let a near friend tell the committee what his pre- erence is. In that event there will be a lively and spectacular fight before the committee Wednesday.
 That fight will be fought over a single proposition-that is, whether the delegates to the national democratic convention will be selected in a primary or in a convea- ton. All else is settled. A primary will be held to decide every other question except as to the manner of selecting delegates. Frankly, as I see it, the out come of that fight is in doubt. It can not be prophesed until all members of the committee have reached Birmingham The delegates from my section of the for convention to select delegates, not withstanding the fact that probably pop ular sentiment in our section is for a primary.
 Second Choice Idea
 "The proposed second choice idea-that is that the voter shall not only declare his preference for the democratic nomina- is as dead as Hector. There is not a chance for it to be favored by the com mittee. Why? I have just said that the committee belongs lock, stock and bar rel to Underwood, and every close Under wood man is saying, If we go up with q second choice it will be saying to the convention. We've got a candidate but we really do not consider him serious candidate" The committee, as l see i,, will make short work of the second choice instruction idea.
 'The tug of war will come when it comes to naming the delegates. The com mittee will In all probability order a presidential preference primary by means Of which each voter can put a mark op- posite the name of Underwood, of Har- mon or of Wilson as he prefers But, it is argued that this will be a hollow provision for it is taken for granted that Alabama will pile up an enormous popu- lar vote for Underwood
 So we come down to the scrappins point; shall the 24 delegates from Ala bama be named in a primary or in a The convention advocates will argue that it is a foregone conclu- sion that Underwood will get the Ala bama delegation and if Alabama is going to give him its vote 1t should not be about it; 1t should give him also delegation which would be heart and soul for Underwood; a delegation made up of Forty-four Calibre men, who could go to the convention and do things for Underwood It will be argued that pis ploau Sauseu HieH cdnnot De ln- duced to go to the expense and trouble Of making canvass of the state for the empty and unpaid honor of being dele- gate to the national convention, but that if they were selected in convention they would gladly accept the honor con ferred upon them by their party.
 Primary Advocates
 ''On the other hand the primary advo-