Birmingham state herald., 1895-11-14
IN THEY WENT.


 As predicted in these columns yester- day morning the leaders of the populst party succeeded in getting in their work at the conference yesterday. Hon. Thom- as K. Jones is certainly to be congratu- lated on his timely departure from the populist party. Notwithstanding the Tribune, Captain Kolb's paper, has been assuring it's readers ever since the last meeting the leaders held in Birmingham before the one held yesterday that there would be no fusion of the populist party with the republican party, that very thing came to pass yesterday; so in that particular it can be said, and said truly, that the Tribune was not a safe prophet. The idea of the populst party fusing with the republican party really appeared ridiculous from the very fact that with the populists the silver question has become the leading plank in their platform and the republican party is known of all men to be strictly for the single gold standard; therefore the won derful feat of fusing these two parties, which was accomplished here yesterday, is but verification of the adage that pol itics makes strange bedfellows The fu- sion was accomplished by the adoption of resolution which must be closely stud jed if it is desired that a clear under btandng of it be had. On it's face and at first blush it does not show up for much; but the meaning is there all the same For quite awhile the republican leaders have been contending that their party was fur lnishing all the money, all the brains and two-thirds' of the votes. The resolutions provide for cooperation with any party on the following terms:
 "In furtherance of these resolutions we advise the cooperation of all men who favor honest elections and full monetary reform, regardless of past or present par ty affiliations, upon terms of fairness and justice to those who participate"
 If, as the republicans claim, they car ry into the fusion the money, the brains and two-thirds of the votes and the terms of the resolutions are complied with and Fairness and justice" is given them, there will hardly be more than one pop ulist named when it comes to nominating candidates for state offices. So much for what the resolutions indorsed prove It is we'll known that propositions voted down frequently go a long ways toward demonstrating what deliberative body favors or opposes and defeated resolu- tions can often be used in construing the meaning of adopted resolutions. Let's apply that test in this case A resolution proposing cooperation with any indivd- ual or collection of individuals of whatev- CT party who favored fair elections and the free coinage of silver at 16 to l, who would in the event the party to which they now profess allegiance should de- clare against the free coinage of silver renounce their allegiance to said party was offered as substitute for the resolu- tion which was adopted and was voted down. So we have it clear and plain that by the resolutions adopted the republi- cans are duly authorized to take charge of the assets of the populist party, which consists in superabundance of unskilled leaders and a large number of men who are really at heart democrats and who have been, contrary to their expectations, assigned to the re- pubpublican party, and use them as they may see proper in an effort to turn the electoral vote of the state of Alabama over to a gold bug republican candidate for president in 1896. Men who prefer republican success in 1896 and a continuation of the single gold standard to democratic victory and financial reform, who are now in the ranks of what began as the Jeffersonian democratic party, have only to remain where they are, but those of them who want financial reform and desire to see democratic principle prevail had best come on back to the democratic fold. A meeting called ostensibly In the interest of the free coinage of gold and silver and fair elections has been turned into a meeting to help return the repub- lican party to power in Alabama and the United States, party not in favor of either of the free coinage of silver or of fair elections.