The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-06-08

sentatiNes to meet for deliberation at any time.
 Chairman Clanton called the first state convention under his authority to meet at Montgomery in September, ls67, some so days after the Patton state government was abolished by Congress and the state had been as- signed to military district No. g. un- der Maj. Gen. John Pope. U s. A. General Pope ordered an election to be held the first three days of oe- 1 tober.
 Adoleseent freedmen were thus ad- mitted to register and vote for the first time. The state had no part in creating the new electorate. Clanton called state convention to determine upon a policy for the whites Should the whites endeavor to incor- porate the newly enfranchised blacks into a white mans partya
 Less than one third of the counties sent delegates to the convention but I there was a full house. Clanton him. self favored incorporating the negroes in the party. He caused IA intelligent negroes to be seated as delegates In | eNo dlltT l0e convention au- l journed everyone of the IA negro dele ! gates had joined the Union league, secret political order of Montgom- cry in the interest of the republican party. open only to the membership of negroes who were republicans. 1 The scheme of piebuld party then and there perished forever from the organized democracy
 Ia ,nvf 1n1 -fa fN f1x. to meet at Montgomery June 1, 1868. to appoint delegates to the national demo- cratic convention to assemble July at 1 New York to nominate a ticket for Pres ident and Vice President
 Old line whigs, of whom Clanton him 1 self was one, secession eemocrats and all l factions met in that convention. There and then the democratic and conserya- tive party was first organized. In 1874 the democratic and conserva- 1 tive party elected Houston and a white mans legislature and supreme court. Sixteen years after this fact of organi- zation the party that elected Houston elected Thomas G. Jones governor by a l majority of 9T,522 over R. NJ. Lany, re- l publican opponent.
 1 But the party was shaken by rival fac tions representing differences of opinion | and views of policy almost to formal dis ruption.
 In 1892 the factions became irreconcile- | able. Governor Jones was renominated l by the regular state party convention and | reelected Capt. R. F Kolh was nomi-
 mated by bolting democrats. He sue
 ceeded in reducing the majority Jones l won over Long two years before to H. 435 votes
 Under these conditions of party discord | Thomas G. Jones took the office of chief 1 executive Monday, December 1, 1890. to 1 hold for the four years that formed the period decisive of the capacity of the whites to maintain the unreaxing su- I premaey of their race in the political and social life of the state. The intellectual | reach of application and the moral cour- age of the governor in this period of cru
 cial test was arbiter of our destiny. i The inaugural of Governor Jones was | most encouraging presage. No corre- spending occasion had brought forth SC
 elaborate and vivid a rehearsal of the | principles of representative government l In the first few minutes of the dis course a striking contrast was presented ! between the principle of the secret indi-
 vidual ballot of the layman and the se- cret vote of the representative of the laity college boards town councils and
 the caucus of the legislature. Fidelity
 to a trust becomes a fiction when the | representative is granted the privilege | to conceal his part In the conduct oi his trust.
 The members of the legislature. coming | in new with every election, could not ir the 30 days limit of biennial sessor
 serve the purposes of their high office | Pay the members a salary and leave
 to them the responsibility of fixing the
 date of their adjournment sine die. | There was supposed to be valid req son for refusing school education to thu
 negro in slavery. The question now vas txrrI,rr rt1. ,At 4l.A ~H A. require 1t to educate the freedmen.
 It would be wise, the incoming gover
 nor thought, not to call a constitutions
 convention at that time. great variet,
 of questions. naturally arising from rad
 ical changes in our political. social ant
 industrial conditions. would force them
 selves upon such a convention. IIpoi
 many of these mature public opinior
 had not vet been reached. The suffra 2,
 was perhaps paramount. To fix a prop
 erty or educational qualificat ton appeared
 to be the only recourse of reform Of tn,
 wisdom of attempting this at all an,
 especially at this time there is yer,
 great diverity of opinion.
 The penitentary system. the governo
 denounced in unmeasured words. Man,
 convicts sentenced to the same duration
 of service for crimes committed wer punished uneaually by the supplement
 tary sentence to pay costs. The punish , ment inflicted was really determined il
 such cases by the length of the con victs purse.
 "A well regulated militia is essential t.
 the security of free state" and thi
 maxim Alabama should forever bear fl mind.
 One hundred and twenty thousand nel i had gone out to defend Alabama tn governor said, by command from the hal where he now spoke. The maimed am broken remnant should be taken care O | from the same source Society has soul as well as body" The splendi, monument to those who sleep on histori / battlefelds should be completed by tn state.
 "Churches and schools are on the in | crease: there is an earnest and upwar movement of all class of our people t, | improve in those things which make mel wiser and better. Alabama mineral wealtl | has attracted the attention of the whol world and makes It's competition fel throughout the union.' There was rapi, ! increase of manufactures. Timber land
 had risen to great demand Demand fo cotton grew faster than production. Tn
 races were dwelling together in peace.
 The constitution of 1875 then in fore limited the tax rate to 71a cents on tn
 $10o, assessed value. This very high rat
 was recommended by the debt commis
 sion to enable it to exttnguish two-third
 of the face value of the state debt b
 making safe the remainder. The legis
 lature. however was left with power t
 reduce the rate. which it could not ex
 ceed. The privilege of reduction had bee from time to time exercised by that bod
 and when Governor Jones came into oi
 nfce the tax rate was only cents on til
 $100 of assessed value