Huntsville gazette., 1882-08-19


TO insure their hold permanent upon
.. the State. the first act of the Bourbons af-
ter coming into power was to enact laws
looking TO the crippling Of the colored vote
which would have the effect of suppressing
this power in South Alabamasto large
! degree At that time they never dreamed
that q revolt from their ranks would ever
take place in North Alabama; but it did
take place and eliminated in the election
of the gallant Lowe in 1878, as an Indepen
dent member of the 10Th Congress and his
reelection in 1880 to the 47th. This re-
suit manifested to the Democrats that they
were losing their hold upon their thereto
fore faithful followers in the northern part
of the State, snd, as an offset to this disaf-
fection in their stronghold. every species
OF fraud that depraved human ingenuity
could devise, were brought into requisiticn
and put in practice IN the "Black Bel"
where the great body of the Republican
vote lay, aud by the counting out system,
"they have succeeded so often in over
riding the black vote in that section thas
tlis once powerful element has be ;ome :
terly demoralized, and, for the want of in
telligent leadership, disorganized and l.
moss wiped out as a factor in Alabama pol
itics. Some may ask Why is this abnor-
NAL condition Of things allowed to exist
70 those acquainted with the politics OF
Alabama since Reconstruction the answer
is clear
The Campaign of 1874
Was the most bitter of any ever had in
the State. The .'All hazard policy was
inaugurated and prosecuted by the bour-
bons to its fullest extent, and IN nearly
every county in the State where the blacks
were numerically in majority, whlppin87,
destroying property belonging to colored
men, murder and every other outrage were
perpetrated upon the poor blacks Simply
because of their adherence to the Repu Il
can party.
In this campaign the order was given 10
single ont the leading and most Influential
colored men whenever an opportunity
should present itself to make them the vic
tins of their zeal for the cause of Republi-
cani,m, and to draw bead on their crava is
whenever called upon to suppress the RI
otous blacks" These instructions were
iaa and a nNlOrnH
leader was sent to his ''long home,' called
to his 'last account" for his unfinching
advocacy of Human Rights, whilst others
fed to other States in order to preserve
their lives and manhood from destruction
by their relentless oppressors. Thus was
colored lea 1erships, and as natural Sc
quence, ,-colored power broken up in Ala
baIn,, and many ot these brave le.slurs OF
the past in that State are nos refugees III
other localities reduced ttsthe most b,ect
of misery where their only consolation is
that they were ever faithful and trGe to
their convictions of right and duty, and
that among the faithless they have ever
been faithful found
In the meantime new set Of leaders l?)
(God save the mark have sprung up in the
places formerly occupied by their unfortu-
nate predecessors. These new leaders
might very appropriately be called the
Bread and Butter Brigade" for they care
little about the breaking down of Bourbon
~ - ~
lowed to hold positions of emolnDent n.
der the government. At the installation
of President Arthur, these self constituted
leaders, with the cry The King is dead
Long live the King F." rushed to Wash
ington to pay their r spects (?) to his ex-
cellency as the par excellent representative
say that not one i'll ton of them mas inhu-
ence enough with the colored voters to or
game ward club Yet these very men,
strange to say. have succeeded In imposing
themselves upon the Administration and
the Republican Managers here, as the
leaders of the party in that State, and as
such, recognized power among the col~
ored people. These dwindled sous of lit>
tie men are preferred before the veteran
colored leaders who have time and again
pointed out the only way by which success
might have been attained Ii is eeedless
to say that these new leaders are white
men.
Senator Warner, Ex-Gov. Smith, Judge
Samuel T. Rice, Hon. K. Nj. Reynolds,
Col. Isaac Heyman and other white gentle
men of their calibre, seconded by the old
experienced colored leaders, the State
would have been carried by the Greenb back
Labor Republican combination by at least
10000 majority. Some uniformed skeptic
may ask How could this be done ?''-
Easy apouUh The oapflanan pao,al ~,