New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-01-21

| the Legislature, and has seriously IMPAIRED his
usefulness In future operations. l do not believe
| ne Will be renomnated by the Populists His sue
cessor In the leadership Of the party will be Sena-
| tor A l. Goodwin, some other equally sane
| ana progressive man; and the issue Of honest
J elections and contest law which has been raised
must be settled some time. Elections cannot con-
tinue In Alabama on existing lines OF sys.ema-
| TIED fraud
An account Of Kolbism would be Incomplete
! without some reference to the element farnliarly
! known In the South the poor white trash. but
more correctly as the descendants and representa-
| tives OF the -slave-hodlng class engaged in
| agriculture. In the Calhoun States before the
! war the mercantile and professional classes as
simulated with the Shareholders OF he cotton belt
and occupied socially and politically common
plane Of equality with them. small PLANTER
who did his own work and did not slaves
| was despsed. and occupied inferior position
| He stood aloof from the slave baro1s. ard was
| despised a degenerate bit OF white trash Of
| less value than fu-blooded negro who could
always command a good market price. These
| non-save-h holding planters formed class by
| themselves. enjoying a form Of citizenship with
out the blessings Of social equality, eiucation and
prosperity. While they not themselves In
exercised little influence over public opinion
as the negro slaves
| have met a characteristic type CT this class
during my stay in Montgomery. He was small
| planter living in of the southern tier Of
| counties near the Florida line. Tail gaunt.
| burnt and weather-worn. he was DR. sssed in rags
| and tatters and was as forlorn and unsightly a
human figure as have ever seen. With sham
| bling gait. bent and broken form. unkempt hair
and restless. blinking eyes. he was the wreck Of
man. He bore all the marks of the and
| tear OF struggle for existence without any Of the
| signs Of self-respecting labor. Forced back uron
| the soil his father had been before Inn, the
primeval curse seemed to be written in his coarse
| features and grimy hands: "Thorns also and this
ties shall it bring forth to thee, and in the sweat
OF thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return
| unto the ground" Without any taskmas,er but
| poverty. old John had worked like any slave te-
fore the war, and he tollng still IN his little
| farm Scratching for d living" he said and
| getting little or nothing; but Of the dignity of
| labor and Of the possibilities of thrift ne had
| never learned
| He told me about his farm. how rIuch the fer
tlizers cost him for his fields, how much corn and
| potatoes he could raise and how many bales Of
| cotton he had to show for a years toll and how
| little he got for them Then he gave ne ir a
| crude way his ideas Of politics. The Democrats
| had told him that he must vote with them or
| 1.-The niger would be top and would rule HIM
| and he had believed them. Social ouiclst as he
| was, despisei and Stunned by the former slave
| owners and their descendants he had voted tie
| Democratic ticket steadily since the war n order
ITO keep the Niger down" But at last lie had
| found out that they were making a fool of hin
and giving him nothing for his vote against negro
i'm
| self could his children There was no school
| Ing for people Of his cass-no chance to do any
| thing but scratch along and barely make a living.
| He had nothing against the niggers." who were
| well enough in their own place. but he did not
| think that they ought to get on better than
| white men like himself: and the plain truth was
| that they were going ahead Of him and he didn't
| like it. While the Democrats were telling him
| that he must vote with chem against negro dom
nation they actually voting the niggefs'
against him. and what worse. counting them
when they didn't vote. That why he was for
| Kolb and would never again vote the Democratic
| ticket. lie had got through" with Democracy.
| Doubtless old John was an extreme type OF the
class that he represented but ne illustrated "A so
cial condition tina, enters into Populism In the
cotton States. There are 10000 Of that class 81
white people in Alabama alone-men who own or
|
| hard. tosome existence men who have sprung
| from the non-slave-holjing whites Of slavery
| times. Many are not az iiliterate as he Is; and
| few broken down and hopeless but like
| him. they are beginning TO find out that little has
| been done for their education and that negro
| domination Is political conjuring phrase.
DO not know what is the precise extent OF white
| iliteracy in Alabama. Judge Asa F.. Stratton.
who is sngulary well-intormed Republican
has told me that the proportion is about % per
cent OF the adult white population. Probably at
least 30 per OF the 90 900 represented BY this
| old cracker farmer may be put down as illiterate.
| This class OF whites has been held heretofore By
Democratic leaders through fear OF negro domi-
| nation; but they are now breaking away from the
control Of the ruling politicians, and are angry
| and Indignant when the negro vote Is fraudulent
! IS registered and polled against them. Captain
! Kolb has found thousands OF recruits among this
class OF farmers which has hitherto had nothing
| TO do with the formation and direction Of public
opinion. Stagnant before, they are now thinking
! for themselves and are convinced that their own
economic condition Is worse than II used 10 be in
Republican times, and that the Democratic lead
org who have been begung them with the myth
of negro domination. are examining ballot-boxes
In the black bet with fraudulent votes
Communism there Is none among TINS unfor-
| tunate class Of Southern yeomanry unrest there
is much and 1t Is better than the former cohdi-
lions Of credulity. stagnation and servie de-
pendence upon politicians who were 'rah'ckihg
with 1.-The Niger question" The financial ana
socialist vagaries Of Popusm are far less dan
gerous among these one-horse planters than
among Western farmers. Their political educa-
tion has been begun and their instructive recon-
against election crime. as it Is now practised In
this state Is a force that may be directed IN the
interest Of good government. Captain koio maze
n record. when he was training for twenty years
with the Democratic politicians. which may not
bear close inspection; he undoubtedly commute"
grave and mischievous tactical plumbers last De-