Birmingham age-herald., 1894-07-25
The JeferSonian Leader Falls An Easy Victim to the Power
 full Argument
Of the One-Armed Hero of the Wire GraSS-SynopSiS of
 the Speeches.

ATHENS, July 24.-ISpeciai. Taken all in all it was rather cruel performance. Captain Kolb was outclassed He stood his punishment like man and came up game, if groggy, on the last round.
 It was not his fault at all. They just forced him to meet Colonel Oates, his own followers. They could not get around it and hoped to save Limestone county, so he consented, and the cruelty of it all may be tacitly laid at the door, not of Colonel Oates, but of the Jeffersonians of this county, who permitted it as a last desperate chance to stay an overwhelming tide.
 THE MEETING AGREED UPON.
 The first joint debate of the campaign be- tween the champions of opposing forces originated with MT. Witt, the Salem beat committeeman of the democrats, who sent Captain Kolb challenge to meet Colonel Oates at Salem today. Captain Kolb re- ferred the matter to the county committee, and the result was an arrangement by tele- graph. Captain Kolb proposed that one should lead off in an hour and q quarter, the other to follow in an hour and half, the first to close in a quarter, Colonel Oates to have his choice. Colonel Oates insisted that the debate should be an hour and halt hour to close, and Captain Kolb &C., cepted that, though privately Colonel Oates had insisted to his friends here that they accept any terms whatever that would give him a chance at the genial Reuben. It was arranged for Captain Kolb to open, Colonel Oates to follow and the captain to close, the whole time being four hours.
 Salem is church in northwest Lime stone, fifteen miles from Athens, in sec- tion strongly Kolb the last time, but now in an exceedingly hopeful condition. There was a barbecue dinner and big crowd, over 1000 voters and over 2000 peo- Y pie, lmore than half for Oates, and , these ready to cheer and yell and laugh.
 WHERE THE MEETING OCCURRED. The speaking was from little stand un- der an immense white oak tree, which shaded the [crowd. The ball opened at 10:20 a. m., when MT. J. J. Turrentine, chairman of the Jeffersonian committee, introduced Captain Kolb as a faithful old Confederate soldier, best known in north Alabama by the abEse heaped, on him by his political enemies.
 KoLB's ADDRESS,
 Captain Kolb was just little nervous before the speaking began and was not greeting everybody in that old happy way. He was received with applause and given the closest attention from begin ning to end. He closed his hour and half amid the most profound silence, not ripple of ap- plause giving any evidence of satisfaction, much less enthusiasm.
 The captain led off by referring to the hope that had been entertained in the be- ginning that personal abuse would be avoided during the campaign, but he was sorry to say that the organized democrats had falsified that hope. He opened copy of the AGE HERALD of Sunday last, and, referring to the fact that the man who name, proceeded to read an editorial headed "Two More Weeks,'' in which contrast was drawn between the democratic and polyglot parties to the considerable disadvantage of the latter. He left off the last paragraph, however, and closed with nothing scored, except that everybody looked over at the reporters table and wondered which one was the AGE E-HERALD man. He declared the editorial vile slau- der on his party and resented it for him. self, his supporters and their wives and daughters.
 Captain Kolb next referred to the fact that the organized are connecting him and his party by a chain of sympathy with crimes and criminals of Jefferson county, and said that he had been informed that Colonel Oates at Bangor intimated or sug- gested that his friends had been responsi- be for the burning of the Caldwell hotel. Any suggestion that he or his friends are the inst1gators or apologists of any crime is vile slander, and he denounced it.
 NOT AN ORGANIZED DEMOCRAT.
 1T am sound democrat" said he, 'but don't call me an organized demo- crat. What sort of a democrat is Colonel Oates? A Cleveland, Morgan, Gresham or Bill Stevens democrat?' He here drew a picture of an interview which he sup posed to take place between Colonel Tomp- kius and Bill Stevens, the two calling each other Henry and Bill, and Bill insisting on that promised BIO, 900 for that last indorse- ment of Colonel Oates. At this point there was considerable laughter.
 NEXT CAME BALLOT BOX srUFFINa.
 II never stuffed a ballot in my life. It in gof h.y md saw it done and winl,ed at it, but because 1t was then necessary to suppress the negro vote. But there is no need for that now, andswe must have fair ciections.''
 Quoting the platform of his party he said Morgan and Simpson both approved it as better democratic platform than that adopted by the democrats at Montgomery.
 Honest elections are the supreme issue, and the captain went exhausiively into these alleged facts, which have been doing duty for two years and are familiar to everybody He read Colonel Oates' letter in reply to hisr questlng joint action in ri <,tolr