Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-03-08
MORGAN ALL RIGHT.

VI tWO WtthS morgan county mas been
beseged by Clarke and his forces. The
county was close two years ago. Captain
Johnston and Governor Oates having
made tie of it in the delegation from
that county. Clarke made two cam
paigns of the county, speaking ten times,
divided among the nineteen different
beats in the county The powers that be
at the national capital were called into
service, and an appointee of the presi-
dent, citizen of Morgan county, was in
structed to pour hot shot into the county,
which he did industriousy. From this
county H. H. Brown and Ben Carter,
leaders of the sound money forces here,
were imported into Morgan county for
the purpose of informing the voters of
that county that Clarke was going to
carry Jefferson county. The two fresh
members of the railroad commission
took an active hand in Morgan. The
secret service agent of the Louisville
and Nashville Railroad corporation was
called for, and HE'D himself away to Nor
gan on Thursday night, and proceeded
to use the power of the corporation be-
hind him, which is the Louisville and
Nashville railroad on the employees of
that corporation working in the compa
nys shops at New Decatur.
In spite of all this Johnston did not
simply hold his own but carried solid the
delegation of which he only got one-half
in the race in 1894. Had Johnston only
carried half the delegation, 1t could not
be claimed as victory, but having car
ried the county solid over the combined
forces of the opposition and making only
of tba nd nj
speeches, as against Clarl1e's two cam
vases and ten speeches. it cannot be
gainsaid that the victory was complete
it was triumph.
In 1894 Johnston lacked only II votes of
controlling the convention. Yesterdays
victory carries into his column four of
them. He has now only 10 votes to gain
over his strength in 1894, provided he
holds his own; that he will do this none
can now doubt since his sweeping vic
tory in Morgan, capturing one-half of the
county and holding his own at one and
the same time against the combined and
concentrated powers of the opposition.
When the facts are generally known,
as they will be, and comparison Is made
by the public between the way Clarke
got the four votes in Geneva, now claim
ed for him, report of which
appears in this paper, and the way John
ston procured his eight in Morgan,
which was a straight, square fight, the
voter casting his ballot direct for his
choice for the office, it will not require
much time in which to reach the conclu-
sion that the "blue-eyed boy of destiny"
has entered the ring just one time too
often
1t has been evident for several weeks
that the Clarke forces were making a
desperate effort to carry Morgan county
in the hope that such an occurrence
would instill some life into their cam
paign and some hope in the breasts of
their followers, but they were doomed to
disappointment and from this on until
April IL the Clarke campaign will drag
it's weary length along without hope and
with certain defeat overwhelming de-
feat, on that date as its certain doom.
The action of Morgan county virtually
settles the contest. The people are for
Johnston and he will win hands down.
Really the proper thing for the Adver-
tiser to do now would be to take it's man
down and return him to Washington,
quence he is wasting on the desert air
and deaf ears in Alabama---Clarke is
not in 1t. The people are in the saddle,
and in spite of the railroad corporation,
that showed it's hand yesterday, and a
dsgruntled newspaper, they are going to
win