Birmingham state herald., 1895-12-31
CLARKE RnrRAYHn.


 strained to say:
 "Mr. Clarke would not only do his par ty great damage were he to listen to the voice of the siren at Montgomery, but he would blast his own personal pros poets. Colonel Oates saw plainly that those who tempted him with the apple aimed to drive him out of the senatorial Eden. MT. Clarke ought to see that the same tempter is eoiled about the tree with the same half-bitten apple. If he aecepts-if he bites-the angels, with their waving swords. stand ready to shut from his Approach the senatorial chair of Mir. Pugh. He cannot be gov ernor today and senator tomorrow. Be- hind the tempter who offers him the ap- pie is the shadow of a dark horse.''
 At the time this was written there was a very general impression that the cabal at Montgomery had promised MT. Clarke to have him elected to the senate to sue ceed MT. Pugh on condition that he would make the race for governor. This idea was that if MT. Clarke could win the race he could carry enough counties to secure the legislature to men of his way of thinking They failed to take into consideration that the enemy might con- trol a large number of counties and that the two wings of the democracy might be powerless to harmonize their differ ences and that one or the other might decline to go into a binding caucus II any one will take the trouble to scan the counties closely he will find that the counties carried by Colonel Oates at the nominating convention cannot send to the general assembly enough members to elect senator. The counties carried by Captain Johnston and those which he is certain to carry now will send up majority of the legislature. If Colonel Oates could barely win the nomination by a questionable handful of votes in Lee and a dozen ma ajority in the First ward of Mobile, there would be no hope for man of MT. Clarke's attitude. The difference between Oates and Clarke is very marked. Oates was distinguished soldier and lost an arm in defense of his people. Clarke has no military record of note. Oates was a poor boy and made himself, whereas Clarke is the son of distinguished lawyer, with university education and born with gold spoon, not merely a silver spoon, in his mouth. Oates became leader in congress and made many bold and strong speeches, which put him up among the statesmen, while Clarke has said but little and at tracted no unusual attention. Oates did not agree with the presidents currency views and many voted for him under the impression that he was still as he had always been, a friend of free silver. But Clarke agrees with everything the presl- dent has said and done about the cur rency, and in his recent interview, when the Montgomery cabal tempted him, he declared that we must continue to sup port the presidents money policy, al though, to judge from MT. Carlisle's pro posed bill of last session and his recent treasury report, 1t would take Phila- delphia lawyer to determine precisely what is that policy. Colonel Oates went into the canvass last year with many things in his favor which MT. Clarke can not command. He brought to his sup port a large number of influential men in north and middle Alabama who had fought with him at Malvern Hill and Gettysburg. He also enlisted those coun- ties where he had practiced law and where he was personally known to all the people. MT. Clarke will have none of these advantages He is man of un- doubted intellect, of high personal char acter and of pleasing presence, but when that is said all is said. As a candidate his appearance is simply the result Of pressure brought to bear by interested and jealous men who seek his destruc- tion His only hope of success is to ride upon the back of the president and to sed at defiance the voice of our democrats in congress. not one of whom agrees entire ly with the president in his vagaries
 It is sad to see a man like MT. Clarke at the beginning of a career which might, after hard study of the money question, become so useful, following the enticements and blandishments of the Montgomery cabal, which, after leading him into the pitfall, are not decent enough to remain quiet until he an nounces himself for governor before trot- ting out the dark horse for the senate. MT. Clarke has been betrayed. The ca- bal will use him and then throw him overheard for MT. Tompkins.