Birmingham state herald., 1896-02-23
A LITTLE ANCIENT HISTORY.

Twenty years ago, on Christmas day, 1875. George s. Houston was governor of Alabama, sometimes spoken of by the Montgomery Advertiser as a goldbug. On that day the editor of the Advertiser was the present distinguished postmas- ter, Major Screws. The editor of the Tus- kegee News was the energetic gentleman, MT. McIver who is now dancing attend ance upon MT. Clarke and playing upon a loud bazoo. The then active editor of the Mobile Register is now the editor of the State Herald. The chairman of the state democratic committee was then gentle man whose initials are Joseph F. John ston. These are the dramatis personae. On that day the Advertiser published an editorial. which we reproduce in the State Herald this morning. Its caption was "The People vs. Wall Street." The Ad- vertiser had said that the people would not bow their necks to Wall street. That was before Mayor Grace dickered with our esteemed cotemporary. The Mobile Register took issue with the Advertiser and remonstrated with that paper for de- nouncing the effort of the government to resume specie payment and very proper ly advised it to stop talking until the democratic national convention should set the pace. Then Mir. McIver of the then Tuskegee News felt bound in con- science to rebuke the Advertiser for pre- sumption In assuming to represent the people. He read it lecture about dic- tating to the party on financial questions before the national convention had spo- ken. It seems that the Advertiser was thotn is now engaging its powerful intellect. The Advertiser came back at the esteem ed Register and the esteemed McIver in one of its absorbing intellectual efforts
 It declared the effort at specie rsumption was hostile to "the people" and in the in- terests of Wall street. It wanted no re- sumption It would have no gold or sil- yer. It failed to see Grover Cleveland and Dick Clarke in the misty future, and it declared with it's hand upon it's heart that Wall streets financial politics are dametrically opposed to the best interests of the people," It was "the people" against Wall street, and the Ad- vertiser, come veal or woe, was for the people and against the sharks. Other people, like McIver, might be on the side of sharks but not the Advertiser! Mayor Grace was then younger than he is now. He is now wiser than he was then. Our esteemed postoffice contemporary rose upon his toes and said that resumption should not be forced, and that the green backs were the best currency the world ever saw, or words to that effect. The idea of retiring the greenbacks and of substituting them with national bank currency was abhorrent to the patriotic soul of the Advertiser. Before its vision rose 10000 national banks, and in agony of spirit it declared that the national bank notes should give way to the green backs. It favored 8 paper currency is sued by the national treasury in prefer- ence to either gold or silver or the notes of national banks. It yearned then for fiat money. It would have none of Wall street, but would go with it's people.
 All of this was twenty years ago, but the Advertiser has the same editor now as then. It also has McIver of the Tus- kegee News. When these distinguished gentlemen get together and look at each other across the baize table of the edito- rial room, and when, mayhap, MT. Clarke may be sitting at the same table in a melancholy state of mind, the distin- suishd postoffice will say to the distin- guished perambulator, Mac, how are we going to get out of that fix?" and then the distinguished candidate, who offers himself vicarously upon the altar as an atonement for the sins of his people, will suggest: ~An you can do is to say that in the last twenty years you have been studying this subject and have experl- enced change of heart"