Birmingham state herald., 1896-02-08

| take in entering the home county of his | pponent.-Mountain Eagle.
 | How many doubtful voters would vote | for MT. Clarke if nominated? Could he, | with his gold standard views, draw any
 strength from the populists? It is quite | different with Captain Johnston Hun
 dreds of them would vote for him because | of his stand for the free coinage of silver. Sumter County Sun.
 Captain Johnston has declined to meet | MT. Clarke in public debate. The reasons are simple enough. Such course would l create much discord and would embar- | rass many sound money democrats who are the supporters of Captain Johnston | The most conservative democrats of the | state are opposed to joint debates.-La- ! Fayette Sun.
 We are informed that some one of MT. | Clarke's ardent supporters in Bibb has
 made the crack that this county will
 send a Clarke delegation to the state convention. We would like to see the
 color of the mans hair that has gall
 enough to make such an assertion.-Bloc- l ton Intelligencer.
 l The old lady Advertiser is making a l terrible bugaboo over Captain Johnston | declining to go into a joint debate with
 MT. Clarke. We think Captain Johnston l did right in refusing and MT. Clarke
 would have acted wisely if he had not
 sent the challenge. The party is split
 bad enough as it is, without making mat ters worse.-Gurley Herald.
 We would have liked very much to | have heard our candidates for governor | discuss the questions of the hour, but l have no thought that such discussion would have been conducive of any good | to the party, therefore we think that | Captain Johnston's grounds for decln- 1 ing joint discussion were well taken, | as it is not probable such debate would | tend to promote harmony.-Marion Coun- | ty News.
 The present campaign for governor possesses one very novel feature-that of | Colonel Clarke's invading Jefferson the | home county of Johnston, as the very | first step in his race for the nomination. | Of course the Mobile candidate will find | number of Supporters in that county, but after all noses have been counted it is very likely that he will find that his rash breach of customary courtesy will gain him not one vote in the state con- | vention from Jefferson, while it may tend | to lose him some other counties In the l state.-Randolph Leader.
 | We think Captain Johnston acted wise 1 ly in declining a joint canvass of the | state with MT. Clarke These men are | both democrats, and the only issue be- l tween them is the financial issue, which we have all along been opposed to drag ging into the state canvass. A joint can | NdSS COuIu ODly nave StlTTeu up StTllt anu | discord in the party, and the people of Alabama have surely had enough of that. Either of these men, if elected, will make an honest. capable governor. We have no harsh words for either and, while we are for Johnston in the race, we will cheerfully support MT. Clarke if nomi- | nated.-Fort Payne Journal.
 Hon. R. H. Clarke has organized a club in his own name and for his own behoof up in Jefferson county, and at last ac counts some 150 had come out to it's meetings If Clarke wants to organize lsa club up there let him do so. He won't get the delegation from that county, and nobody will be injured by it. Personally the club is composed of good men, but the membership is too limited to do much in the great county of Jefferson Now everyone can see that his club was or ganized merely for the effect it might have elsewhere. It is merely scheme, and one that would do credit to the astute intellect of Br'er Rabbit, who, in plantation tales. is said to be the boss schemer of all the animals. However, this Jefferson club won't have the effect of soaring anybody, though it's organiza- tion was a brilliant scheme. The trouble 1 is that the people know why 1t was or ganized and it msy-may. well, react | and injure the very man 1t was designed 1 to help.-Canebrake Herald.
 ! Still we see the Montgomery Advertiser claiming fighting chance" for Clarke | in Madison and Jackson. We'll, well! 1 But of course the Advertiser has to man. age in some way to pucker it's lips to the whisting point, while passing nearer and nearer to the inevitable grave of it's hopes If any one wishes. for instance, l to learn the real facts about Madison | county he has but to talk to the many representative men attending circuit 1 court It is all one way and that way | leads to a solid Johnston delega tion. In Jackson the trend in that direction is. if anything, even stronger. It is prepos- i terous to claim anything for Clarke in north Alaba ama.--Huntsville Argus. ] In it's unreasonable opposition t. the