The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-08-01


 told tho Alabama legislature ha would accept the honor of becoming a candidate for the democratic nomi- nation for president, If his home 1 state demanded it. He spoke to a joint session, In response to reso- lution indorsing him for the presi- | cency.
 "I appreciate the compliment paid me-" Senator Underwood said when l received your resolution suggest | ing my name for the presidential nomination. I have been greatly honored in the past by the people of Alabama, and no man could valus
 Il csc honors more than I do. To
 have my state for the second time suggest my name as the presiden-
 tial candidate of my party would be the crowning honor of them all-
 one that I would greatly cherish and
 be delighted to receive.
 "I feel that the question of be-
 coming a candidate for the demo- | cratic nomination for president Is
 one that l cannot decide for myself The responsibility is too great for
 any individual to arrogate to him
 self the right to determine so momentus question. l have long represented the people of Alabama
 
 they are well acquainted with me, | and know my record. They know the 1 principles that I stand for and the
 purposes that I seek to attain.
 Put It Up To People.
 "If the people of Alabama believe
 that I can properly represent them a the standard bearer of the great
 democratic thought of the nation and are willing to send their delegates to | the next national convention in- | structed for me, 1 am wilEng to do
 my part. but it must be as the can didate Of my home state that l enter | the campaign.
 "In reaching such a determination. I am not unaware of the difficul-
 ties that lie in our path. l have neither the financial support nor the organization to successfully make a | nation wide campaign, but do not expect that the friends of any par ticular contender for the nominauon will control the convention on the early ballots. In the interest of party harmony and success to our proves true. A great political battle lies ahead of us-one that involves
 the fundamental principles of gov ernment and the peace, the happi- ness, and the prosperity Of the American people. Our party should l
 it's platform that ring true to the l cardinal doctrines of democracy ae established by Jefferson. maintained 1 by Jackson and reaffirmed by Cleve- land and Wilson We must not for | get that it was under the advocacy of Thomas Jefferson that the bill of | rights was placed in the constitu- l ton, and the liberties of tho people | of America guaranteed
 we must not forget that local
 self government secured to the peo- pie of the states is one of the
 cardinal principles that comes 9owh
 to US from our democratic fathers,
 and that today 1t is more necessary I to the preservation of the rights I liberties and happiness of the peo- | pie of the several states under the | constitution than it vas when an party has declared its platform, the l selection of a candidate who can 1 wisely and willingly represent its / principles, will follow.
 Tn the interest of our future 1 success it is well that this selection should be made without rancor ana
 with deliberation. It has been go years since James K. Polk of Ten l nessee was nominated and elected | president of the United States. l Eighty years since we have had a democratic president from the south.
 Points To Two Wars.
 "Today it is said by some that it | it is not expedient to have the stand | ard bearer from the south, that Tn l the interest of eXpediency we must
 go to the doubtful states ol tne | union to select our candidate. Must 1 the south forever waive the right to
 select one of its citizens as the chiei 1 executive of the nation, or must 1t | weaken in its democratic faith Tn
 order that 1t can have one Of It's
 sons as the President of the United | States? There may have been q day 1 in the past when the cry Of expedi- | ency may have been justified but
 that time has long since passed. The
 scared veterans of two wars tes- /; tify to the part that we have played | in the union.
 Tt may be in the interest of some | politicians to raise the, cry that II is inexpedient to nominate a maa from a state that will surely espouse any nominee who maintains the prin- ciples of democracy, but l do not believe that any such thought rests in the hearts and minds of the greai mass of people in the north. l am sure that our brethren from the north are no longer considering as a vital question the state from winch the candidate halls, but their first thought is the principles for which he stands and the second the char acter of the candidate.
 We have seldom gained b. yield ing to eXpedienoy. In the past half | century we have elected two demo- | cratic presidents. When MT. Cleve- land was elected in 'S4, he carried 1 New York state by narrow margln
 his great personality and the fact | that he was 8 son of New York state i probably turned the tide, but when ta aH n | overwh elming and the question as to 1 what state he came from could not have affected the result. So it was
 with MT. Wilson. He would have been elected President after his nomination in 1912 regardless of what state in the union he hailed from, and in 1916 he lost his own state Of New Jersey but carried the country in spite of that fact.
 Time To Press Right.
 Unless the southern states are willing to forget their birthright the time has come when they have a right to ask of their sister states. whose sons have so often been hon- | ored by the votes of the south In the electoral college. that son of the southland should once gain bear the banner of democracy and be chosen | to direct the destinies of the nation. | We cannot maintain the respect of | others if we do not stand for reason able treatment for ourselves. It is no question of idle honors, 1t Is a quest where most serious govern i mental problems that affect the very ! life and happiness of our people are 1 a stake
 l Tt may not matter much to us | who represents us in foreign court, 1 or who commands our armies and | navy but there are certain great | governmental commissions that now | direct the agricultural and industrial ! destinies of the nation. We have not