Birmingham age-herald., 1894-10-28


 build on that foundation7 And if you
 build wisely and prudently and economic
 ally, how much will you build in vainf
 Nothing. You can build everything upon
 1t that relates to the prosperity and wealth
 of these people, and you can build almost
 nothing in vain. Now, possessing just in
 one spot here in Alabama this magnif-
 cent monopoly of the iron domination of
 the whole world, have we not some-
 thing that ought to increase our
 devotion to the state that God
 has left in our charge and our devo-
 tion to those principles of government
 which will prevent marauders from com ing in to take it away, or to prevent our
 people from promoting the industries that
 are established here? They are in every al.
 rection, and you have other fields of pro-
 duction, many of them tributary to this
 point, of the greatest possible richness.
 What is the cotton crop? It is that crop
 which cannot be produced anywhere in this world successfully except south and
 east of the isothermal line which comprises the cotton growing region Of this country, and which is utterly inexhaustible in it's capacity of production. and is given to us by the laws of physical geography, which obtain nowhere else in the world. Cotton cannot be produced by mere artificial as- sstance; it is the offspring of peculiar condition of climate and soil, the like of which was never bestowed upon any coun- try in this world and of which we have got the absolute monopoly. The yellow pine that stands to mark this wonderful cotton country, like the isothermal line of which l have been speaking, product of incomprehensible value, beautiful, splendid and necessary timber, that Flu rope is now reaching out it's arms to grasp; that belongs to us, and nowhere else in the
 world is it found except in Norway,
 which produces little of it. But no other
 country in the world grows the yellow pine to any commercial extent, except that
 portion of our country lying between pnta arohr is,V irio d int That region is watered by the showers that are poured out from the winds that cross the gulf stream, which keep the pines and the cotton alike in growth and full vigor. We have these things. Then how can you complain that you have not a state worthy of your care, when Alabama is a selected spot for the concentration of these great monopolies? Fellow citizens, 1t fills me with consternation when find an Ala bamian who honors not his state while he
 enjoys it's prosperity. These men assem- bled here tonight have the opportunity of placing their children in possession of heritage which would give them posi- tion equal to the wealthy princes of the earth. Now l claim, under the circum-
 stances and under these conditions, that we cannot be idle or indifferent to those things
 which affect either the prosperity of our state or the organic laws of government and society here, but which, when per- verted, always result in disaster and 1n de- struction.
 The democratic party of the United States and of the state of Alabama has been con-
 tin ually striving to preserve the power or th ese people to take care of their heritage, for the people of this country have all DO. litical power except only to tho extent that they have delegated such authority to the government of the United States. And the man who stands by the rights of the state of Alabama, and denies to congress and to the government of the United States and to all who have used the means and powers
 of concentrated authority at Washington
 to the disadvantage of these people, and
 who stands by and resists these en-
 croachments and says, in the name of these
 people, "We are sovereign, and this Is our land that God has given us and we 1nten d to take care of it for all time to come, v iapplausel, is a true democrat. THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
 had it's origin in the effort to de- stroy the Institutions of this coun- solemn guarantee that the constitution could give. Nobody ever heard of that | party until it arose like a devouring dragon | for the purpose of destroying, staying,
 running and betraying the people ln these .hess we had two great parties in the United States, as we will have and ought to have two great parties in the United States dividing, as they will hereafter, upon party and the old democratic party were in themselves pure, upright, honest and patriotic, alike revering the constitution of
 the United States, but interpreting it in respect to many matters differently. But
 when the purpose of political domination
 seized upon the people in the other end of
 this country and mastered their con-
 sciences they at once organized party
 through which they could wield those
 they destroyed the old whig party, many of them coming to the democratic
 party, while others went to the republi-
 can party, and still others remained neu- tral. Commencing in this way, organized
 for that purpose, intending to grasp au-
 thority through these political movements. by force of arms, they went on through the
 career which have described very briefly
 and very imperfecty they went on, con
 tinually seizing power, continually de-
 manding that the different states, particu- larly of the south, and finally of the whole
 union, should yield into their hands the
 control of matters which belonged entirely
 to the states. The first power they seized upon after the civil war, which was utterly
 unconstitutional and obnoxious, was the
 civil rights bill, by which they undertook
 to lift up the negro by force of law to po-
 sition of social equality with the white
 race. They had given them the. ballot;
 they wanted to give them the privilege of
 the family circle, beginning with the thea
 ter, the railroad trains, the church and other public places like that, in order
 tion of things went on until we had con-
 troversy after controversy, conducted
 mainly by the lawyers of the south, who opposed their arguments and pleaded the
 principles of the constitution of the United
 States against the authority of congress to
 bestow such privileges with such zeal and
 ability that the court, composed of repub-
 licans, declared section after section of
 these civil rights bills unconstitutional.
 The resistance to that measure, fellow cit
 izens-the attempt on the part of the re-