The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-11-06
ooyr roO FAR

Livingston has gone too far, and at last
found that IN the alliance there are some
men who decline to he led by the nose
these are their own words where principle
Is at stake. He has been stubbornly fought
in an alliance caucus and his right TO be
there challenged. Last night as soon as the
caucus met 10 which, be it borne in mind,
all elliancemen, some from other states, we're
admitted and no non-aliance legislator was
entitled to admission, the first motion
offered coolly proposed that all members
present should bind themselves TO abide by
the action of the caucus, though they had
not the slightest knowledge of what action
the caucus was going to ttke. except that
it was generally understood that it would
be on the United States senatorship.
A RIG ROW.
Then there was big row, and the state
ment in this mornings Constitution that
the meeting was harmonious is misleading.
Read of Putnam kicked, Harper of Carroll
kicked, and Read and Harper kicked
together and again, until they made Rome
howl Their right to remain unless
they acquiesced in the proposed
throttling was questioned. They retortsd
by asking what right Mr.. Livingston,
who was not member of the Georgia
legislature, had to be present. He said he
came as an invited guest, and then there
W0o q EOAuo do ubdi d5 uuucEhIauu,
about whether the caucus was an alliance,
pure and simple, or a caucus, as every one
had supposed, of alliance legislators. This
produced confusion, which seems not even
yet to have been cleared up.
A PROTEST..
Read and Harper protested that they
were good alliancemen, but also legislators,
and would not allow their connection with
the first organization to stand In the way of
the rightful discharge Of their duty to the
other. They declined to leave the hall. but
at last did so, protesting that the beginning
made that night in the caucus was such as,
If more was to follow on the same line,
seconded the death knell Of the alliance in
politics.
They then withdrew, with about fifteen
others. In order that the position of these
gentlemen may be more exactly understood,
word or two will be said about the stu
alton
THE SITUATION.
AS everybody knows the alliance has an
overwhelming majority in the legislature
Whatever the alliance members indorse with
unanimity the Legislature must adopt. An
alliance Caucus, therefore, has the power to
pass in the leg stature any measured so in
dorsed IN the caucus-in other words, to all
practical intents and purposes. the caucus,
whenever it acts with unanimity, is the
legislature. Then if the caucus programme
were continued, much of the legislation of
this state would, and any of it on which
the alliance happened to be unit, could be
disposed Of with closed doors.
Again, it is said that all the alliancemen
have vote in the caucus-certainly mem
bers from Texas Mr. Sledge), from North
Carolina (Mr. Polk, from Washington, |
believe (Mr. Turner, who is the national
alliance lecturer or secretary, these gentle
men have certainly the privilege of speak
ing on the floor and influencing legislation
II they cannot actually vote.
For instance. Mr.. Livingston. congress-
man elected from this district, and in no
wise connected with the legislature, was
frequently heard last night. 1t is then
plain that under the caucus programme
legislation could be carried on
WITH CLOSED DOORS,
and its current affected by persons other
than those elected by the people of the state
to give them laws. This is what Mr.. Harper
and Mr.. Reed are kicking on, aad they say
that such tactics sound the death knell OF
the alliance in politics, because they know
that the people are not gong to stand any
thing of the sort After they had left
the caucus, which they did not
do before talking themselves hoarse,
Senator Todd Is said to have taken UP the
cudgel and poured into Livingston for all
he was worth. The caucus broke up with
out definite action on the big issue it was
probably
CALLED ITO FIX"
Tonight it reconvened, but the meeting
was very different one from last nights
storm. Aliancemen had had tune to re-
fect, and it seems by this time there were
30 many of them who declined to be led by
the nose" that little IL any effort was made
in that direction. Only one things appears
to have been definitely settled, and that
was that the senatorial question should not
be fixed" in caucus at all, but that every
legislator. allianceman or not, should have
real and not a merely formal voice in
deciding the issue between the candidates.
HOW IT LOOKED LAST NIoHT.
1t looks very much tonight as If this
secret caucus business had been broken I'D.
so far as the legislature is concerned, and
that those held hereafter will be of the kind
advocated by Mcssrs Reid and Harper and
their colleagues, open to democrats.