Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-03-05
HON. MIR. DEM AS.

Ihe republican cOlOred patriot-the
kind asked to cooperate with white pop
ulsts in naming a mongrel ticket in
Alabama-is at his old tricks. The re-
publican convention of Louisiana NOM
mated Henry Demas, colored, as one of
the delegates to the St Louis convention.
Demas secured his election as a Reed
man. A number of delegates certify that
they only voted for Demas upon his en-
phatlc assertion that he would support
the speaker the Rev. David Young, for
example, testifying that he seconded the
nomination of Demas upon his
positive assurance to that
he would vote for Reed, and
that he had some time since written to
Mr.. Reed to that effect" The chairman
of the delegation from one parish, whose
votes turned the scales in favor of De-
mas AYERS that Demas went to the head
quarters of the delegation and made
them a speech, "pledging himself unqual-
ifiedly to vote for Reed" Within a week
after the convention Hon. Mr.. Demas
announced in a card that he is in favor
of Mckinley. We are left to conjec-
ture as to the causes that led to this
rapid Conversions conversion almost
as sudden as that of the Advertiser from
its declared principles before 1898 and
back as far as 1876 when it opposed
specie resumption and demanded green
backs as the money of the people in
preference to national bank notes.
These rapid conversions startle the pub
lie. They arouse doubt and distrust.
The colored republican delegates, as
soon as the convention was over, APP
peared in new suits of clothes. They
stepped about more briskly and held UP
their heads as though they had something
in their pockets. 1.-The principal feature
of the aftermath of the Louisiana repub-
1ican state convention" remarked a New
Orleans paper, was the sudden appear
ance on the streets of hordeS of negroes
wearing new clothes and putting away at
cigars of questionable quality" The Pic
ayune says that "this is always a sequel
of republican convention, but 1t was
more noticeable than usual in this in
stance, for no one can deny that this was
battle of the giants, and there was no
lack of funds in the hands of the respec-
tive managers" 4r4 =
Mr.. Kellogg, of unsavory reputation,
who has been engineering matters for Mr..
Reed, charges that the sta tesman Demas
was bought up after the convention by
the protection barrel, which the friends
of Major Mckinley are rolling around
over the south. Having once gone over,
Demas became a most earnest Mckinley
lite, and when the republican committee
in his district met few days later he
attempted to run everything by declaring
all motions made by his faction carried
without allowing a roll CALL What fol
lowed is thus described:
This action of Demas started row
that lasted fifteen minutes or more. Cries
and yellS went up from majority of
those present and Roby Green made a
rush for the table occupied by the chair
man, which he smashed to pieces. Wal
ter Cohen of the Fourth ward struck
Roby and reached for his pistol, but his
arm was caught by some one before he
could draw. In the, meantime Herman
Blunt had rushed for Demas, and these
two statesmen clnched. BY this time
many of those present had closed in on
the comba tants, who were struggling in
one corner of the room. The writhing
mass of Africans finally went down in
heap. After they had extricated them
selves the turmoil was kept up until they
were all put out by the sergeant-at-arms
and the doors locked
This is very interesting reading. 1t re-
minds us of the old carpetbag days.
which we will in all proba bilty see re-
peated in Alabama when General j. w.
Burke obtains his consent to run as the
republican candidate for governor in this
state.
We must not be too hard on the Hon.
Mr.. Demas. 1t may be that he had
studied up on the question and had
changed his mind, just as greater men
before him have done.