Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-04-05

week closed with a general conviction
that the strength of the Clarke organiza-
ton is brittleand crumbling generally.
Pratt City and Ensley Gatherings.
Pratt City and Ensley were headquar-
ters last night for the politicians in gen.
eral. Col. J. j. Altman spoke at Pratt
City, DR.. Cunningham and Mr.. Porter at
Ensley and Captain Kolb and Mr.. p. q.
Bowman were also mingling with the
people in general way while candi-
dates for all the offices were present put
ting in ticks at random with every voter
who had time to spare to talk. Every
thing passed off as pleasantly as an Eas-
ter Sunday, but the political camp fires
were left blazing out of the tops of the
chlmneys.
Colonel Altman Speaks Out.
Col ]. j. Altman addressed an audi
ence of about 200 in the city hall at Pratt
City last night. Colonel Altman dis
cussed the financial issues in the main,
but paid special attention to local issues,
especially the convict question. He ex-
pressed himself as long favoring the re-
moval of the convicts, but said that this
could not be done all at once. His
speech was well received by his hearers,
and while he did we'll for himself as
Legislative aspirant for the democratic
nomination. the free coinage of both gold
and silver found in him an able exponent
DR.. Cunningham and Mr.. Porter closed
their campaign for the week at Ensley
City last night.
Mr. Porter opened and closed the dis
cussion. His speech was devoted almost
entirely to the financial issue.
DIR. Cunningham, as usual, treated his
opponent with such courtesy, common
sense reasoning, logic and elegant orato-
ry that from his very first utterance 1t
was plain that while Mr.. Porter had his
close personal friends and sympathizers
at hand the doctor represented the
weight of principles entertained The
crowd was comparatively small not more
than sixty voters being present, but their
applause exhibited the fact that they
were men of thought and could not be
led astray from the time -honored prin-
cipes of their democratic fathers by the
pleadings of friendship or the offering of
the golden calf upon the altar of free la
Dor. free thought and free ballot under
the pretense that thrift will follow
faw ming.
The following peroration by DR.. Cum
bingham fell upon the ears of his hear
ers like words of inspiratio and the APP
plause was such as should ever make
that gentleman feel proud to know that
his people not only appreciate and adj
miro his genius as an orator, but appre-
ciate his honesty as a man who has the
ability to advocate his principles and
the dignity that wins the respect and adj
mhation of even his most ultra oppo-
nents:
The highest possible standard of NOR
ais, the greater acquisition of knowledge,
the greatest achievement in material de-
velopment and possession and the great
est good to the greatest number in all
fine relations OF life should be the ambi-
ton of all civilization and governments.
Whenever any of them are sacrificed for
the personal benefit of the few, it lowers
the moral standard of the whole, lessons
the dissemination of knowledge, aggre-
gates a nations wealth in the hands of
a few and prostitutes government to sell
fish purposes. which destroys the dignity,
the patriotism and manhood of the peo-
pie
Such a condition Is a fertile soil for the
growth OF communism and anarchy.
On the other hand. government for
the whole people. with special privileges
to none makes of every man patriot by
instinct, sovereign by right and DEM
ocrat I'm policy Such a government was
the conception of our forefathers. They
recognized that we bad here on the
American continent the garden spot of
the globe Every natural advantage in
latitude. altitude. climat tie. soil, water and
resources was ours. They saw country
10 which the best of all nations would go
for d home. They saw a cosmopolitan