The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-12-10
WALKER DECLINES TO DIVIDE TIME
 AT MASS MEET INC
Says Civic Bodies Have En- tireIy Misconstrued Pur- pose of Shop Craft
 Gathering

 ecutive committee of the striking shop crafts men of the Birmingham district, last night sent to Maj. Lu- cien c. Brown reply to the com munication from civic organizations, in which he gives reasons for de- clining to permit speakers of the military at Sunday afternoon s mass meeting to present their case.
 Mir. Walker says Major Brown misunderstands the purpose of the mass meeting when he states that Fit is the intention to discuss the national guard in it's relations to the railroad strike"
 Mir. Walker also says he is unable to see two sides to the constitutional provision that No person shall be deprived of liberty without process of law"
 Debate in Future He adds that if the writers of the itlNGI ip iiliii WISH q ioihN IT. lhe future, his organization will be glad to take up the matter with the l understanding that fthe shopmen's representatives shall have the affir- native side of the proposition: That unlawful searches and seizures and cursing and abusing and imprisoning citizens by soldiers shall not be tal- erated.'
 "On Friday night you handed me letter purporting to come from six clubs, three other organlzations and the sheriff. says Mir. Walkers let ter, replying to an invitation to the mass meeting on Sunday after nc on. l explained to you at the time that was unable to give an answer to the communication, being then without authority to bind the com- mittee of which 1 was chairman. Un- til my committee met at 1 ?. m. to- day was unable to bring the com munieatlon to their attention.
 Petition to Commission
 The committee is informed that you carried some sort of petition around to the city commissioners and others, seeking to get them to re- quest that something In the nature of a joint debate be had at the theatre meeting, that you failed in the ef- 1 fort and then obtained the presi- | dents of several clubs and organiza l tions 10 sign the names of their clubs to the request. The committee is also informed that none of the | organizations .whnse names are 1 signed to the letter authorized their presidents to make such request, and that therefore the request does not come from the organizations whose names were used.
 T told you last night that 1 was not authorized to make any reply then, but was under the impression m that complete program for the sunday meeting had been provided and suggested it would be the prop CT thing 10 have the members of the various organizations attend the theatre meeting and do as the strik ing railroad men did at the Biiou theatre On the morning that the Law Observance and Enforcement league had it's organization meeting, namely, there were in the neigh bor hood of 1000 of them present at that meeting, consisting in fact of four fifths of your audience and they gave sympathetic applause and orderly attention.
 Instructed to Report
 However, the committee of which | am chairman has instructed mo to
 
 lows
 First: You are entirely mistaken and misunderstand the purpose of The Sunday afternoon meeting when you say that 1t is our "intention to discuss the national guard in it's rela- ton to the railroad strike"
 By no proper course of reasoning CT imagination could the letter ad- dressed to the various business and s.tl lion Ia T ,1 mean what you say Is the purpose of tho meeting The invitation spe- officially stated, that addresses will be upon true law and order. constitu- tic nal rights and guarantees"
 ''It is not the intention to discuss the national guard in relation to the railroad strike, but, either incidental iy or directly, in relation to search iag the homes of citizens without authority of law. seizing men and children. cursing and abusing them and imprisoning them without any process of law for days a a time in the old post office building
 Second. You say the question has two sides. We are unable 10 see twt sides to the constitutional provision that No person shall be deprived of liberty without due process of law,
 Third Whether constitute nal hbdEdHiitH tDAi bf maintained anu upheld by American citizens is not debatabIe
 Program Is Completed
 Fourth, That the committee has perfected complete program for the meeting of sunday afternoon and declines 10 allow discussion of railroad strike or other matters not within the. purview of the meet ing.
 Fifth: However. if you or the or ganizations whose names are signed to the communication wish a public meeting and q joint debate ss to any matter outlined in our letter of in Nitation or in our advertisement. we shall be glad to take it up with rep reseniativcs of those organizations and arrange such meeting at an early date. it being understood that q representative -of the committee .of which am cha!rnian will take the affirmative of the proposition viz That unia wful searches and seizures and cursins and abusing and impris- onins citizens by soldiers shall not be tolerated.