Birmingham state herald., 1895-12-19
THE SPEAKER TALKS.

The Hon. Thomas H. Clark, our own Tom, speaker of the last house of repre- sentatives, citizen of Montgomery, the capital city of Alabama, has been to Washington. Now, Speaker Clark got back home last Sunday or Monday, and on the Tuesday following an Advertiser reporter. after a long, exciting and very heated chase, captured him and succeed ed in wrenching from him an interview. The interview, thanks to the pluck and determinatio of the Advertiser reporter, appeared in the Montgomery paper yes- terday. For it we will say, by way of parenthesis, the reporter is justly enti- tied to and should be unanimously voted a resolution of thanks by the reading public of Alabama.
 It is an exceedingly interesting inter view. and as matter of course it is in- struetive, coming as if does from the speaker of the Alabama legislature.
 The speaker, after being captured by the reporter proceeds to tell in his usual fluent way what he found at the nations capital. and, startling as 1t may appear, he tells us that he actually found the administration and "sound money dem- oerats away up at Washington, D. C.. on the Potomac. perfectly delighted at the prospect of the candidacy of Con gressman Dick Clarke for the governor ship of Alabama. The speaker now having come to a full realization of the fact that to escape from the Advertiser reporter was entirely impracticable, goes right into being interviewed in dead ear nest, and next startles the natives by informing them that he also found at th,& fl,a l ,;,,;e tion and sound money" democrats Con- gressman Clarke's candidacy was re- garded as an absolute necessity in order that the democratic party in Alabama may remain sound money" party and not take a large infusion of populism on the line of Captain Johnston's sug- gestions."
 Is that all? Not by any means. Once in the hands of the Advertiser reporter Speaker Clark continues to talk He informs the country further that he re- ally learned something while in Wash ington. What he learned he assures us makes the candidacy of Congressman Clarke "even more logical necessity" We are told by the speaker that he even found it going about loose in the air at Washington that Cleveland has con- sented to run again." The republicans he tells us, have already so decided. Not satisfied with what he could sniff from the very air of the Capital City the speaker tells us that he actually talked with "a distinguished northern demo- crat" and from him gleaned many things, among which was that the president had somewhat yielded in his objections to making another race and the reasons why he had so yielded This "distin- guished northern democrat" 1t seems, gently whispered into the anxious ears of our speaker that the presidents friends have repeatedly urged him to become a candidate. telling him that if he should retire at this stage of the game his work would be unfinished.
 Tine distinguished northern demo- crat" and our speaker. evidently having by this time grown considerably chummy the former, confidentially. of course, re- marks to our speaker that the president ''has cost his party a large number of votes" This profound secret the speak CT kindly lets out in his interview with the reporter. we presume between breaths. as he panted for wind after the chase. Our speaker learned also that the presidents friends have informed him that if the party ranks shattered by MT. Cleveland are to be filled up by bring ing into the party republicans and in- dependents he should by all means stand for re-election-being. as they say he is. the exponent of doctrines calculated to deplete the ranks of democracy. he is