Birmingham state herald., 1896-06-07

us aSunder. In the coming years Snouid the senator reoccupy true populistic ground, throwing off the weight of CO., operation Qusion) that doth so easily beset him, shall be proud to render him that support I may not, dare not, yield him now. Whenever there Is established in Alabama genuine, trustworthy and self-reliant populiSt organization that has the ability and will to stand on it's own legs and responsibility shall hope to be received as a member, but do not yearn to be counted a member of a pop ulist organization that has to await the action of the national republican conVen-
 tion to complete its county ticket for
 Jefferson county. The food of man and the vital air he breathes creates his blood and furnishes the vital circulation. Upon the character of the circulation de- bends the tone the spirit, the very life of the man. The blood, the circulation of the cooperation ticket, of the fusion | combination, is republican in source and | effect.
 | The arterial system of cooperation be- | gins and ends in the republican party. l But for the electric batteries of republi- can countenance and support located in Washington and New York cooperation l would languish and die. It is artificial, l abnormal, unsuited to Alabama condi- | tions, and depends for its nourishment upon external sources of supply. The gold l standard operated from New York is
 
 and cannot live under a state govern | ment operated from the central office of 1 plutocracy and the unholy precincts of | Wall street. The Samson of co-opera- 1 tion professes opposition to the spolia- | tion of the Philistines of the gold stand ard, and to prove it repoSeS for sympa thy and support upon the bosom of the De- lilah of plutocracy. As a reward for his 1 folly he will be shorn of his locks, de- l prived of his eyes and led from Dan to | Beersheba an object of universal de- | rision and contempt. Whatever our local | troubles, vices and deficiencies, they l should be removed, corrected and SUD- piled by the action of the people of Ala l bama. We have never advocated and do l not believe in the exercise of federal pow
 CT to correct the evils of our local gov ernment. The remedy for those evils
 must be sought in the will and supplied | by the action of the citizens of Alabama.
 The characteristic and abiding autonomy | of our American system of government | is the State The states have delegated | some powers to the general government. l The general government in the exercise 1 of those powers is sovereign and su- preme. The war has decided that those l powers are irrevocable by the states at I will. The rights of local self-government | are still intact and form an invaluable and indestructible feature of our federal 1 system Upon correct conception and l application of the principles of our gov ernment will depend the preservation of l the domestic tranquility, the common | welfare and the liberty of the American people. Let Alabamians rule Alabama. The majority of the white people of Ala bama have the virtue and the intelli- gence to reform her abuses, correct her
 wrongs and direct her government. It | has been the proud claim of populists that in our ranks were found the ma l jority of the white people of Alabama. | The roll call of 142,000 negroes and 75,000 l white men in the cooperation camp 1 abandons the impregnable fortress of
 white supremacy. What will be the fu- | ture policy of party composed of 1000 racial republicans and 75,000 white fu- 1 sonists?
 That is magnificent soil in which to | plant the seed of populistic truth. The party exigencies in such case would call for Leonidas and the pass of a | Thermopylae. Nothing but disaster and | desolation could follow the conflicts of | such a party. He who enters those pre- cincts must leave all hope behind. The l threat of possible federal interference in | the result of the Alabama state election | is threat of reconstruction. What Ala | bama populist really wants that? Boss | ism-ring rule-was one of the causes of l the revolt and split in the democratic party in Alabama. Cooperation is the | product of boss rule, which is a leading characteristic of the fusion machine. | The form of beat meetings was merely used to impart an appearance of popu- | lar impress while the bosses got in their premedtated work. The fusion machine | is great labor saver. It requires min- | imum of men to work it. The two Me | Kinley republicans nominated on the CO., | operation ticket are running upon two | distinct platforms one declaring for Sil- | yer at Is to 1 and the other declaring | against silver at 16 to 1. This is the diff l ference between populism and republi- canism. What compliment such can | didates pay to the intelligence and virtue l of the people of Alabama. The immorali- | ty and folly of such political exhibition | is calculated to make a ballot box suffer | blush at the vast possibilities of political | depravity. What an object lesson of re- l forml Senator Goodwin represents the | issue of a resurrected, rejuvenated, re- edited and revised republican party of l Alabama. The whole thing is a desper- ate experiment, clumsy expedient l brought about at the instigation of those | who could not afford to await the normal l development of principles. The condi- | tions in Ala abama call for the exercise of patriotism, wisdom and courage. Let 1 every patriotic citizen speak out and let | us have the benefit of sound judgment | genuine patriotism and an unfaltering | courage on the election question. I fa- vor constitutional convention of the l state as early as practicable to recast our | state constitution, attach an educational l qualification to the exercise of the suf- l frage in Alabama, amend our public | school system and make such other | changes in our organic law as wisdom | and experience may suggest. I am em- 1 phatically of the opinion that the state | government should be controlled and di-
 rected by the intelligent and virtuous | people of the state. If anybody is in fa- 1 vor of it's control by the ignorant and l yipfoue lot him mt himself on record | The sooner this issue is joined and set l tied the better for all concerned