Birmingham age-herald., 1895-02-27
Chat With the Champion of th
 Alabama Gold Bonds.
HIS STORY OF THE FEGHa
In the Legislature Which Ended in Establishing the Credit I
 of the South.

The following is taken from the New York Sun Of Monday, February 25:
 ssAny community is fortunate in beidg anywhere represented by man like Capl. Frank P. O'Brien of Birmingham, Aiai, especially any southern community, f4r while he carries with him all the pidf turesqueness and romanticism of the south, you are never for moment while in his presence allowed to retain any delusionB which leave you in ignorance of the fact that the south of today is the new south. T
 ''Captain Frank is a personification of ihe new south. He is eager, alert, obt servant, ambitious, nd-comprebendint all else-he is successful. Yet he satisfiesj artistically, for he wears soft black hatl a chin 'goatee' supplem snting droopt irg mustache, turned-down collar wi;H without an effort. One in his presence i5 not allowed to speculate drea nify on the meaning of sgoatee, aud soft silk tie for any length of time3 you have to speculate on the vaster, If less romantic, meaning of crushed iron ore de- livered at the Alabama furnaces for 90 cents a ton; of pig iron at S5 a ton; of the poten- tiality of three adjacent Alabama noun tains, one of iron ore, one of coal and one of limestone.
 "Captain O'Brien is the owner and pub fisher of the Birmingham AGE. HERALD, and is just now in New York buying inn proved mechanical plants for his news paper. A Sun reporter who met him yes- terday at his hotel, the Imperial, had been instructed to learn from the captain some- thing of the history of the sound money legislation in Alabama, which has called forth so many compliments for that state, not only in the north and east, but from foreign nations.
 ''CapLain O'Brien, who is member of the Alabama legislature, was largely in- strumental in bringing about that sane and safe legislation, but 1t was some time be- fore the Sun reporter could induce him to talk about 1t. Ore, at the mouth Of the furnace, tat 90 cents ton, crushed, sir, was much more in his mind.
 "The legislation iu question concerned the funding of something-like $9, GOO ,000 of Alabama's debts, and the captain, when he was convinced that the north had very lively interest in the history of the whole question, as in that history is told how the silver spectre was laid low in a southern state, said:
 '' Last session the Hon. Willis Brewer of Lowndes county introduced bill having for it's purpose the same object as the bill introduced by MT. Davis of Marion county this session. MT. Brewer's bill was re- ferred to the ways and means committed, of which Mir. Brewer was chairman and was member. When the bill was called up for discussion in the committee room I discovered there was no pro. vision for the specific character of money in which the interest and prin cipal of the proposed bonds should be paid: and while Mir. Brewer was explain ing why the committee should make a favorable report prepared an amendment specifying that the principal and interest should be payable in gold. The amend- ment created howl at once, Dr. Francisco Rice of Huntsville, now judge of probate only member besides myself who supported the amendment. The bill was then returned to the house, with favorable report, as originally drawn. When 1t came up for it's final passage offered the same amendment again, and, having had three or four days in which to work, l succeeded in making several converts to my way of thinking, and with several members who had always believed in the idoa that no bond could be negotiated which did not e1- pressy provide that the interest and prin- cipal should be paid in gold, we made 8 very respectable showing, although de- feated.
 's'This session MT. Davis of Marion county introduced bill upon the same lines as the Brewer bill, the only difference being that the gold clause was embodied. Again MT. Davis and myself were mem bers of the ways and means committee. When the bill came up for discussion Davis and your humble servant made a fairly good presentation of the case, with the result that the committee unanimously voted to make favorable report and pledged them- selves to fight for confirmation of the re- port on the floor of the house, with the gold clause included. 2.
 "'The bill came up for discussion during my absence in Birmingham, and after a hard fight and by a vote of 46 to 32 was amended by striking out the gold clause, and as amended passed the house and was sent to the senate. My honored colleague, Col. Sam Will John of Birmingham, than whom DO better man lives, led the opposi- tion, and succeeded in striking out the life- giving principle contained therein. The bill had careful consideration in the sem ate, and the gold clause was again inserted. When the senate mes sage returning the bill for con- currence were read MT. Davis and myself, having had notice, were prepared for the struggle, and after two hours' hard work we were declared victorious by vote of AZ to fl. My belief in the justice of the gold clause was confirmed by my knowledge of the fact, through Mir. Frank V. Evans and Mir. Eugene Enslen ,who were representing . Dutch syndicate, that Ex- Governor Jones tried to fund the debt under the pro- visions of the Brewer Dill of '93, and failed because the gold clause was not in the bill. Thereby there was year. If that was not sufficient founda- tion for an argument in favor of the inser- tion of the gold clause, am at loss to know where a man would go to get better one. l related on the floor of the house during my argument my personal knowl-5 edge of the effect of refusing to insert the gold feature in the Brewer bill two years before, and some converts were made in consequences ~~~~~~~~~~-~~~-~-~-~~~
 [Continued on Second fagc.l