Birmingham age-herald., 1894-07-20
HON. E. L. RUSSELL.
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dent wives and children were murdered in
 the name of the defenders of labor. And
 1t is also true that attempts were made to | blow up trains loaded with innocent men ],
 women and helpless children. And if this | hellish purpose had been accomplished, it
 might have destroyed some of your house.
 hold idols. And it is claimed that all of
 these cruel and brutal acts of bloody Vio- | lence were done to protect labor. As life 1 time friend of the laboring man, denounce l such as being a slander upon the honest l laborer of the country. Any man in this | state that condemns the action of Governor l Jones in suppressing the violence to which
 1 have referred logically puts himself in
 the position of faVoring and supporting 1 these acts. To even charge the citizens Of 1 Alabama as sympathiZing with these flaw | less and riotous mobs should cause flush l of indignation to paint the cheek of every 1 loyal son of Alabama. Understand me, 1t
 is perfectly right and proper for you to 1 sympathize with labor and to feel indig- nant when the laboring classes are not | treated fairly, or when advantage has been l taken of them.
 | Now in the discharge of your duties and | responsibilities as citizens, in respect to l matters pertaining to the interest of the l public, you should efnploy the same amount of intelligence and care that you employ in your own private affairs. When l you are about to make trade or to enter l into any transaction affecting your private | interest, do you allow your prejudices to | control you, and do you accept the state ment of facts made to you by the other party without making any investigation? | Is 1t not true that in such transactions you | take the counsel of your intelligence, the | wisdom you have learned from experience, | and then investigate and scrutinize all | statements made before you act? Is there a husband or father in this audience that will admit that he enters into transactions where the happiness and comfort of loving | wife and confiding little children are in- 1 yolved, guided by prejudces and blndly
 Accepts all representations made? l will | answer for you. Nol l know that you | would not betray so precious trust at the
 dictation of unfounded prejudices and the selfish am bitiou of others.
 As an evidence of the good faith of the democratic party to the people of Alabama
 look at the character of your supreme court judges, circuit judges and chancellors. Has there been failure of justice in single instance by reason of the corruption of any of your judical officers? Are not wrongs promptly and vigorously re dressed and the rights of all maintained? Is there man in this large audience that would dare go to Montgomery and attempt by any im- proper method to influence any one of your supreme judges? A thousand times, No. You would sooner place your arm between the jaws of the lion in his native jungles than make any such attempt.
 Your state statute is full of laws whereby all the rights of the farmer and lis interest are protected. Is there any law upon your statute books that discriminates against
 the farming interest? If so, have neither
 seen nor heard of it, and would like for some one to point 1t out to me. Again, is
 there any proposed law looking to the pro-
 tection of the interest of the farmer which
 IS opposed by anybody in the state? The truth is, the farmer and his interest in the state of Alabama have received the espe- cial attention and care of the law making
 power of this state.
 Well, some one says there is the Sayre
 election law. We are opposed to that law
 because it deprives the citizen of some of
 his rights. In what provision and in what
 respect does it deprive any citizen of any of
 his rights? It is true that you cannot vote
 under the provisions of this law unless you
 have registered. put the question to every
 fair minded man: Is not such a provision
 wise and right? Is it not the purpose of such provision to prevent fraudulent vot-
 ing. No good, honest citizen is in favor of corrupting the ballot box by fraudulent votes. Every honest citizen is in favor of
 free election and fair count. But really this election law has for it's main purpose the protection of the citizen while voting. The object is to afford to every citizen an opportunity to vote his choice without being controlled by his employer or dic- lated to by some political boss around the ballot box. Does any one object to such purpose?
 THE NATIONAL STRIKE.
 We are approaching the end of strike that has been as widespread in it's evil ef- feet and devastation as the territory of the republic. To show you how this strike has affected the farmers, even of the south, it Is necessary for me to tell you what l wit messed with my own eyes. Your neigh bors just across the imaginary line in Ms. sssippi, along the line of the Mobile and Ohio railroad, went extensively into the vegetable business. Their tomatoes had just began to move to the western markets when MT. DeOs declared the strike. Of course the Mobile and Ohio Railroad com pany could not receive the tomatoes be- cause it was unable to cross the Ohio river with them on account of the strike; and from Corinth to Meridian l witnessed the product of years toll rotting along by the side Of the road by reason of the strike ordered by Mir. Debs. Now and then you can hear unthinking people praising Debs Tor what he did in Chicago and other sec- lions of the country. Such people cer- talnly have not stopped to consider the loss of life, destruction of property, injury to honest labor and the widespread Suffering this man caused by the issuance of a single edict. l see that his sister in an inter- view has said that Col. Robert C.. ingersoil is the only. pope in the sstmatlon sna atlo of herself and brother. She also says, when speaking of her brother: He doesn't go to any church at all. He is an jnfdel. We are family of lnhdels, every one of us.' As an infidel at the head of great organization, it seems as if he is attempting to re-enact upon the American soil the same scenes that were enacted in the French revolution under the leadership of intidels. You are all familiar with the bloody and sickly scenes that occurred during the revolution in France. Every hillside and blooming valley Of that sunny land was stained with the blood of thousands upon top of thous- ands of the best Frenchmen. And it was claimed that this was light of the masses against the classes. But the people soon grew weary of the ruthless and relentless power of the mob and transferred the same power to Napoleon Bonaparte, who en- forced his edicts at the point of the sword