The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-21
DETAILED ACCOUNT
 OF COMMITTEE WORK
CONTINUED FROM PAGE D


 providing for an earlier date for the pri- l mary be offered and accepted Greene accepted the Long amendment. | A last effort to have the resolution laid on the table was lost overwhelmingly. The Greene resolution was then adopt ed by a viva voce vote. John Gamble of Pike presented reso- lution indorsing the candidacy of Os- car w. Underwood for President. It was unanimously adopted amid prolonged applause.
 w. L. Pitts of Perry then precipitated the hottest fight of the day by offering a resolution making population the basis of county representation in the state con vention.
 Lackey moved to lay the resolution on
 the table, which was done by vote of
 IS to r.
 T. l.. Long of Walker then introduced
 a resolution providing for the preclusion
 from participation in ensuing democratic
 primaries of all so called prohibition
 democrats in other words, those who
 voted for H. s. D. Mallory in the last state campaign and against Governor O'Neal in the general election. t, He was ruled out of order because one of the rules of procedure previously adopted provided for the appointment of a committee of five, the function of which
 would be to pass upon the qualfica- ton of democratic electors. Based on Democratic Votes w. MI Lackey presented a resolution providing that each county should be represented in the state convention on the basis of one delegate for every POO votes and fraction thereof cast in the gubernatorial primary of May ?, 1910. The black belt committeeman made futile fight to bring about adjournment. H. c. Thach of Limestone spoke to the effect that the last convention had established the basis of representation. Chairman Goodwin ruled that the con vention had made the basis the voting strength, but had left it to the commit tee to determine what the voting strength was. Pitts and Dixon then offered various amendments, all of which were lost. Thach moved the original question: Aber-
 crombie rose to a point of personal priv ilege protesting against the dlsfranchise- ment of the counties of the black belt. Before the previous question was or
 dered it was necessary to take an aye and nay vote. the representatives Of the
 black belt conducting a most determined filibustering movement Abercrombie then moved adjournment,
 which was lost, the vote being 20 to -12.
 Pitts moved the indefinite postpone
 ment of the Iackey resolution. At this time all of the spectators had left the hall and several of the mem- bers of the committee had slipped away. Thach declared the motion of Pitts to postpone was out of order. He was over ruled by the chairman. Callahan ap- pealed from the decision of the chair The chair was sustained by the close vote of 15 to 15. Pitts then made a patriotic appeal in favor of the black belt counties.
 Callahan made vigorous speech against the population basis. Chairman Goodwin yielded the chair to MT. Spragins. It was exceedinly difficult to maintain order.
 The Pitts resolution to postpone in- definitely was lost 1 Lackey thcn made long speech in | favor of the adoption of his original mo- | ton.
 Defends the Black Belt l Chambliss Keith of Dallas made an l impassioned appeal in defense of main
 taining the representation of the counties of the black belt.
 l Greer spoke in favor of the population basis and Long in favor of the voting l strength basis.
 Everybody endeavored to speak at the  | same time.
 MT Spragins had enough and yielded | the chair again to Chairman Goodwin. | Gardner Greene of St. Clair then spoke | vigorously in favor of permitting the | counties of the black belt to receive a certain political advantage from their preponderance of negro population. He l thought 1t decidedly unfair to cut down the representation of the counties of ne- gro population in view of the fact that the constitution of 1901 had disfranchised
 the majority of the people of those counties.
 Dixon followed with speech along the same line | motion indefinitely to postpone ac- tion was lost 16 to 10.
 The original motion of Lackey then car ried, 17 to g.
 Keith moved a reconsideration of the
 vote.
 Callahan moved that the Keith motion
 be laid upon the table. The Callahan
 motion carried.