The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07
DENSON DEFINES HIS ATTITUDE IN RACE
Has Never Favored Ma tional Prohibition By Con-
 stitutiOnal Amendment

Judge N. D. Denson yesterday issued statement in defense of his attitude as candidate for delegate at large to St Louis and stress the fact that he has never favored national prohibition by con- stitutional amendment. He writes: Tt would seem that Captain Whites re- ply to the 'trooly loyal the affinities, is | sufficient, but some comment has already 1 been made upon lack of reply by the other candidates for delegate at large, and ask indulgence for this response. Tn the first place. it is unfortunate for my friends, Allen, ct als., that I happen to be one of the candidates whose alle- glance to the principles advocated by MT. Wilson," is discounted in their public ad- dress.
 Has it been forgotten that I supported Underwood in 1914; that I was member of his campaign committe, and was one of the speakers in his behalf; that made 1t clear in that campaign that, whilst am statewide prohibitionist and was for the amendment in 1909, and would, if it were in my power, write it into the con stitution of Alabama, and am in favor of congressional legislation such as the Webb Kenyon act to better enforce pro- hibition, yet, that I believe every state should be allowed to act for itself on the question?
 T have never stood with Mr. Bryan on the question of federal prohibition by amendment to the constitution, nor have I sympathized with him in his policies of peace at any price, but am and have ever been squarey in line with the President on these questions. And, this is assured by my record" Therefore. so far as these questions are concerned, think the ad- dress of my friends might be revised Now, some questions: Is it national prohibition that disturbs the equilibrium of the ''affinities." or is it not true that the cause of the disturbances. and that what actuated them is the presence of sta te-wide prohibition in Alabama?
 Another thing: The address carries a statement that four of the candidates have been selected by small coterie of prohibition politicians Who selected our opponents? Who inspired them to become candidates? Did they just swing into the same orbit voluntarily? Did the four of them have the same patriotic thought simultaneously; was there sort of telepathy that brought one from the north, one from the south and one from the east. all to combine with the one in the central part of the state to announce themselves candidates and to make the grandiloquent address to the democrats of Alabama, and to offer themselves as a sacrifice on the altar of party fealty ? Or, was there some letter writing and some telephoning, and then some more letter writing and some more telephoning that finally aroused their sense of fealty and caused them to think that without | iv,fn 1,xrf fJ,- t< of democracy was liable to be desecrated and induced them to rush to common center as satellites about a fixed lumi- nary? And who what is that lumi- rary? In short who constituted the said ''affinities'' guardsmen of the vestal gates of democracys temple?
 Is it not too plain to the mind of the ordinary man that neither federal pro- hibition, Wilson's policies, nor Bryans constitute the meat in the cocoanut but that the existence of statewide prohi- bition is the thing that is pestering the folks?
 Tt has been stated that an effort was made to get an equal division of dele gates in respect of the lie.uor question, and it was turned aside by prohibition ists' and recently the suggestion has been made by those opposed to our can didacy that it is foolishness for good democrats to be contesting with each other for the office of delegate to the national convention: just get together and select eight candidates for dele gates and give them half vote each in the convention. This to my mind gives the whole thing away and emphasizes the point of my question in the preceding para graph of this letter. In other words, tbss suggestion would send discred- d(D gentlemen into the temple of de-
 1ocracy to pull it down, but the fall would not be so disastrous if per chance the ''trooly loyar' are with us.
 ''In conclusion, so far as the writer is concerned, if I am elected as a delegate to the convention, I have no entangling alliances that will prevent me from standing by the president to the uttermost