Birmingham state herald., 1895-11-24
IT WAS IGNORANCE.


 The State Herald is very anxious for the bars to be let down. and permit everybody who says he will vote for the democratic nominee to vote in the prima- lies, in order to carry the convention for silver monometallism. The leaders of the democratic party are not fools. The State Herald wants all the populltes to have showing in our primaries, and thereby slip into the democratic house. hold through the back door of the kitch- en.-Linden Reporter.
 Of course. the Reporter in making the above statements is not chergeable with making false accusations against the State Herald knowingly.
 That paper does not know any better It gets it's ideas, however. from papers that do know better, and the State Her aid has two grounds of complaint be- cause of such allegations as the above.
 One is against that class Of journal ists in Alabama who are willing to will fully misrepresent a contemporary in the hope of gaining political advantage, and the other is against communities that are sufficiently indulgent to support and maintain in their midst men in the position of editors of newspapers minus sufficient intellect to enable them to think for themselves.
 In the first paragraph the charge is made that the State Herald fayors ad- hitting into the democratic primaries all men who say they will vote for the dem ocratic nominees. To that charge the State Herald pleads guilty. In the same paragraph the charge is made that the State Herald fayors such action in or der to carry the convention for silver monometallism. That charge is utterly untrue and has not the shadow of a foun- dation. In the first place the State Her aid is not and has never been in favor of monometallism, either silver or gold mon ometallism, and has so announced from the day the first issue of this paper ap- peared. On the other hand, the paper has not only declared all along its oD- position to monometallism, but has stated repeatedly that it wanted all those who would agree to support the nomi- nees of the democratic party admitted into the primaries for the purpose of reuniting the white people of Alabama thereby strengthening the democratic party, which Is not a monometallic party now, nor never has been.
 Having stated most positively and in unequivocal terms from It's very birth that 1t was opposed to monometallism. and further that it's reasons for adVocat- ing the admttance of all democrats into the party primaries, was its desire to see the white people of Alabama reunited and the democratic party strengthened, what motive other than ignorance could prompt the editor of the Linden Reporter to indulge in the making of the charges made by him in the above clipping? We much prefer attributing it to ignorance than to what it must necessarily be if 1t is not ignorance.
 In the second paragraph the charge is made that the State Herald wants all the populites to have a showing in the democratic primaries. A charge more completely without foundation and more utterly untrue was never uttered by a newspaper, and while we would not think of defying the Reporters editor to find a single line paragraph or editorial in the files of the State Herald in the remotest degree favoring foundation for such charge, because so long as we allege ignorance on his part as the excuse for his making the charge we could not think of shouldering upon him the task of de- termining what would or would not con stitute evidence-such conclusions hav- ing to be made up from an intelligent understanding of plain reading matter we do defy that class of journalists in Alabama directly responsible for the ideas of such papers as the Reporter to find anything in the columns of the State Herald bearing out the charges they have caused the Reporters editor to make.
 There is but two grounds upon which an objection to admitting all those who will agree to support the democratic nominees Into our democratic primaries can be founded. One is 1t would strengthen the party, otherwise the men who at one time constituted large part of the rank and file of the democratic party have grown to be utterly unworthy of belief. The other Is 1t might to some extent loosen the grip of a certain set of politicians on the party machinery in Alabama. To neither of these do we have objections. Of course those who think a large class of our fellowmen would go to the polls and agree to do a thing just to get to violate their agreement can make the best of their estimation of Alabam- fans. The State Herald does not hold the men who have fought the battles of this country, both in time of war and in time of peace in such low estimation as that. Tt thinks those men worthy of belief. and. therefore. fayors that policy most likely to get them back with us. thereby the party.
 ~S>
 BEARING FRUIT.