Birmingham state herald., 1896-04-29
The Enemy in Sight.

Montgomery Advertiser.
 The democratic state convention met in this city week ago. The re suit is before the people in the shape of platform and candidates. Whatever of disappointment may be felt by those whose views as to measures and men did not prevail there IS but one thing for them to do now and that is loyally support the ticket. It may be that some feel indifferent now, but if they could only look on the bodies which are to meet here today their indifference would speedily disappear.
 The old enemy is here. Every repubi- can of note is on hand. Many who have not been out for years have turned out, persuaded that by means of democratic dissensions the state government will be handed over to a party whose short rule of six years piled up such mass of debt and trouble that the state has not yet en- tirely recovered from it. Alabama knows something of that horrid nightmare, and all honorable means possible should be availed of to avert so dire disaster as it's repetition.
 The white leaders will be in about the same proportion as heretofore. The col bred men and brethren will be in the ma jority. They are better informed than when they first began to attend conven- tions and make altogether better show ing than they did then. They are largely influenced by white men and are strong partisans of the Reed combine or of Me Kinley, as circumstances may have led them. They are not yet the power in their party which their number could make of them. They have some men who are capable of leading them and giving them good advice, but the white men still epuIl the wires and the colored brother does the dancing. There Is no indication that today's action will be any different in this respect from that of other conven- tions.
 rbxara ic io ha posed altogether of white men, ninety nine hundredths of whom until few years ago were democrats. They have imblbed doctrines which are essentially undemocratic. and because of failure to engraft them as part of the democratic policy they have become bitterly hostile to their old party. They once favored the lowest of tariff duties and violently opposed all sorts of protective tariff. That is still one of the foundation democratic stones, and they ought to stand with their democratic brethren on it. instead of consorting with Mckinley and@Tom Reed, high protectionists. They once op- posed federal election laws and believed in home rule. The democratic party still holds to that policy, while the republi- cans are still meddlers in domestic con cerns and anxious to revive the force bill system of government There Is in fact no principle or policy on which the populists and republicans agree They seem bound together by the one common idea of hating the democracy, and yet the popullsts claim to be lthor- oughly democratic.
 The effort will be made to make a fu- sion of republicans and populists and to bring all of their forces to the support of one ticket. It is useless for democrats to underrate the strength of the move ment. The combine can be beaten but it will take work and not bragging to do it. We must realize that we have powerful and well org eanized enemy to fight There must be no stragglers or the democratic side. Every man must do his duty. This is all that is needed to secure a glorious old-time victory.