Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-05-22
WITH PI.RAsuRE.

wynn become a republican, and what has
| he done to make him republican?-Lu-
verne Journal
For the Information of the Journal the
State Herald will say that Mr. Goodwin
began In 1892 the Journey politically,
which has landed him into the republican
| party and made of the once democratic
Goodwin the now republican Goodwin.
The descent has been gradual. The steps
have been taken one at time. The
change was not a sudden change; 1t runs
over a. period of four years. But having
come by degrees, the change is none the
less complete. Up to 1892 Mr.. A T. Good
wyn was democrat, because he advo-
Gated and believed in the principles of
the democratic party Up to some time
during the spring of that year Goodwin
was good, loyal democratic party man.
because he advocated and believed in
standing by and loyalty supporting the
actions of the democratic party through
it's primaries and conventions. The first
step taken by Goodwin when he started
on his downward political career, which
has landed him into the republican party
and made of him promulgator of repub-
lican doctrines and principles, was when
he refused to submit to the action of the
party In whose primaries he had particf-
pated in 1892. He went into the opera
house convention and participated In
boiling convention which nominated a
ticket in opposition to the ticket noml-
mated by the convention whose nominees
he pledged himself to support when he
cast his vote in the Gilmore county pri-
mary a few weeks before that time. On
emerging from that opera house conven-
ton Goodwin had completed the first step
towards becoming a republican. He had,
taken the first step-that of all
steps which, when not in the right d.
rection, is the fatal step. He still pro-
claimed that he adhered to democratic
principles. Under the name of Jefferso-
MAN democracy he aided in the struggle
of that summer which followed between
men who had up to that time been stand
ing shoulder to shoulder for good gov
eminent and white supremacy in Ala
bama.
The next step was a step that carried
| him beyond the mere disobedience to par
| ty or the breaking of solemn pledge.
| That step was taken when, at Lakevlew,
| in this city, he Joined in an unholy COM
bine which had for its object the deliver
Ben Harrison. Had the effort proved
successful Alabama would have been dis
graced by casting its vote for the repub-
| lican nominee for president in 1892. That
| 1t was not successful was not Goodwyn's
! fault; he did his best Thus we find Good
wyn, who started out in 1892 democrat,
doing his best to elect a republican pres
ident in the fall of that same year. At
the same time he was doing his utmost
to elect to the congress of the United
States from this state at least three life
long republicans. So it will be seen that
he was progressing away from democracy
pretty rapidly. In 1894 we find Goodwin
engaged in an effort to wrest the govern
ment of this state from the democrats
by appealing to republicans to stand by
what in that year was a ticket that we
think can best be designated as a cross
between Jeffersonian democracy and
popuism.
In the fall of that year we find him the
nominee of both the populites and repub-
icans for congress from the Fifth dis
trict, perched upon a platform declaring
for the old-time republican doctrine of
protection. Meeting defeat at the hands
of the people, he turns up at Washing
ton imploring q republican congress to
turn out the democrat who had been
elected over him and induct him into a
seat in that body. In this effort he sue
ceeded.
Next we find him at Montgomery ap-
pealing to the populite conventional
convention composed of men who repre-
scented constituency who applauded the
kicking of Bill Stevens out of their con-
vention two years ago-to place republi-
cans on the ticket with him for state
offices. He actually kept them sitting up
until 1 o'clock In the morning waiting on
| the negro convention, succeeding in get
| ting two republicans named for his tick
ct. He next turns up in Birmingham in
| charge of Bob Moseley and L. e. Parsons,
preaching protection and the free coinage
| of the American product of slver-some-
thing new to the populltes--and speaking
from the same platform with Moseley
and Parsons to motley crowd, So per
cent of whom were negroes, vieing with
Moseley and Parsons as to which of the
twain could speak the harsher of demo-
crats-the negroes in the audience fur
nishing all the enthusiasm, and supply
ing that, only when republican was COM
plimented, a democrat abused or Bob
Moseley waved his beaver hat.
To sum up for the informatio of the
Journal, we will put it this way: Good
wynn became full-fedged out and out
republican when he found that a seat In
congress depended upon his unreserved
| confession of faith. That was some time
| last fall. We don't know the exact date.
He had nearly reached that point, how
ever, when nominated for congress. He
had been standing on the verge of the
dividing line since his joinder in the bolt
under the leadership of Kolb in 1892. 1t
strikes us that the Journal will now have
no further trouble in ascertaining just
about the time when Goodwyn's change
from democrat to a republican was
completed. AS to what he has done to
make him a republican, that Is very plain.
He has ceased to be democrat by aban-
doning democratic principles, and became
republican by becoming a believer in
and an advocate of republican principles,