Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-06-09
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GENERAL Il. A. O'NEAL NOMINATED.

special 10 the APPEAL from Montgomery
announces that, after twenty -four ballots,
General f. A. O'NeaI, of Florence, Lauder
dale county, was nominated yesterday as the
Democratic candidate for governor OF Ala
bams. During the past two months the
APPEAL has earnestly and persistently urged
the nomination of this worthy and distn-
guished son of Alabama, and of course it is
rejoiced that he is to be the standard-bearer
of his party in the present contest. The
friends OF General O'Neal, in every part of
Alabama, unite in declaring that the two
leading editorials published in the APPEAL
in April last started the O'Neal boom, and
the many private letters received returning
thanks, and the several congratulatory dis
patches received yesterday, indicates graft
tude seldom manifested in this selfish and
thankless age. General O'Neal will make
brilliant canvass, and as he is one of the
most eloquent speakers in the South, and
combines all the elements of popularity,
there can be no question as TO his election by
an overwhelming majority. He was raised
in Huntsville, and graduated at LAGRANGE
College, in 1885, when Bishop Paine was
president OF that now defunct institution.
For over forty years he has been leading
lawyer and prominently identified with all
that concerns the material interests of the
people, whether in war or peace As a
speaker he is unsurpassed in his eloquence,
~ his deep earnestness, his command of lam
guage, his infallible memory, and his vivid
and gorgeous imagery-he is impetuous,
nervous, and throws himself soul and body
into his speeches, aud as his voice is full of
compass, rich and sonorous, he always attracts
the attention and admiration of an audience
He is small in structure, but large in brain
and intellect, and although sixty-six years
of age he can endure as much physical
labor as men twenty years his junior. The
name of Edward A. O'Neal is sweet on the
lips of every Albanian; for he has ever been |
true to his party, his people, his section, and |
always 'loyal" to his friends. He has great |
intellectual grasp, and his strong mental |
faculties have been enriched by the studious |
habits of his life. His interest in public af- |
fairs has always been keen, his knowledge |
of public questions is that of the philoso-
pher. He has never been a dema-
gogue, because he has never been an
ofice-seeker, and prefers the life of the ideal
statesman; and his name is unsullied 1t
would be impossible to find in either party
in the South an ADLER man or a whittier name;
he is great in private life, in culture, in the
stately qualities of publicist and in I'M
blemished and scholarly repose. His capa-
bilities have stood every test by which they
have been tried, and he has always grown TO
the full measure of his opportunities; he
has come out brightest from the severest or
deal, and, as candidate and governor OF Ala
hama, he will rise with the occasion by
making brilliant canvass and model ex-
ecutive. General O'Neal is connected with
the best families of the South. The late
ames Phelan was his brother-in-law, and
George r. and James PhelaD, of this city, are
his nephews. We congratulate our Alabama
friends on the nomination of General O'Neal
as the Democratic candidate for governor.
We know the man in all his hight and
length, and breadth, and depth, and know
ing his great talents, the warmth of his gen.
erous heart and the nobility of his amiable
nature, we will rejoice with them in his cleo
ton to position which however high it may
be, will be made still more exalted when oc-
eupied by statesman actusted by the
Hottest patriotism.