Evening star., 1896-09-30
WARRlNG PoPULISTs S
There is Lack Of Harmony in the Party in
Alabama
1t IL Said That Capt. kOlb and Col.
Bowman Will Help the Demo-
cratic Ticket.

Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
BIRMINGHAM. Ala, September %. 1895.
The long threatened split in the populite
party In this state Ia at last about to ma
terialize 1t will be marked by the action
of Captain Reuben F. Kolb. twice the popu-
lite candidate for governor. and the ablest
leader the party ever had in Alabama. and
his chief lieutenant. Col. Peyton G. Bow
man, chairman of Kolb's state committee
IN 1892, who will. 1t is stated on undisputed
authority. in few days take the stump for
the democratic electoral ticket, and the
democratic nominees for Congress Messrs
Kolb and Bowman VIII, it is understood.
do their utmost to persuade their former
populite followers to emulate their example
and give their support to the democratic
nominees and ally themselves with the
democratic party. SO long as 1t shall stand
for silver"
This split in the populist household seems
to have had Its origin in opposition to Capt.
Kolb soon after his last defeat for the gov
ernorship and his failure to take the Office
by force. as many of his hot-headed sup
porters wanted him to do. At various pop
ulite conventions this year an anti-Kolb
sentiment cropped out. At the state con-
Vention 1t was very manifest. The national
convention however at st. Louis did the
work that precipitated the tumble. Kolb
Bowman and their friends among the Ala
bama delegation were ardent supporters Of
the idea OF indorsing Bryan and Sewall. and
opposed the nomination of Watson. They
argued that to put up Watson would be
only to handicap Bryan. and that having
the cause of silver at heart they favored
Bryan and Sewall as the surest way to as
sure success for the free coinage idea.
Accused Of Being Traitors.
While Kolb and Bowman were making
this fight at ST. Louis Representative M.
w. Howard. DR.. Grafton B. Grove and
other middle-of-the-road members OF the
Alabama delegation. who opposed their
course. had published in the st. Louis
Giobe-Democrat 9 card. in which they de-
nounced them as traitors and accused them
of having betrayed the party. This engen-
dered the bitterest sort of feeling between
the Kolb-Bowman faction and the Howard
Grove midjle-of-the-road element.
After the st. Louis convention Kolb, 1t is
said, advised support of the Bryan and
Sewall ticket by the populists in this state
as the best thing that could be done for the
silver cause. The middle -of-the-road ele-
ment, however, was in control of the party
machinery, and not only put out q Bryan
and Watson ticket, but announced that the
only terms on which they would cooperate
with the silver democrats would be for
Watson to be substituted for Sewall all the
way through. Strong anti-kolb men were
given places of honor the state cam
paign committee and on the electoral ticket.
III DIlcl, tue oldtS executive
rode rough shod over their once famous
leader.
VIII support the Democratic Ticket.
All these things. as well as the tremend-
GUS amount of personal bitterness in the
various maneuyerings Of the campaign,
have led up to the parting of the ways.
Capt. Kolb and Col. Bowman will now, 1t
is said, give their former associates the
shake, snd devote a good part OF their time
and talent to helping elect the democratic
nominees for Congress and electors. They
say, 1t is understood, that the democratic
party has adopted the principles they have
been fighting for under the populite banner
and the success of these principles can best
be attained by electing democrats to Con-
Sress and to the presidency.
koib and Bowman will, IT is said, go on
the democratic stump within week or
two. They will fight Representative A. T.
Goodwin, late populist candidate for gov
erhor and populist nominee for Congress in
the fifth district, SO it is said. They will
also oppose DR.. Grove, middle-of- the-road
nominee in the ninth district, advoca ting
the election of Underwood, silver demo-
crat. Their strongest fight, however will
be directed against Representative NJ, w.
Howard, in the seventh district Col
Bowman says that he proposes to canvass
the entire district against Howard, and for
w. l. Bullock, the silver democratic nomi-
nee.
Rolb and Bowman have a strong follow
ing among the conservative element of the
populist party, and, it is claimed. will be
able to carry many with them into the
democratic party. If the detection is large
there is no telling what the middie-of-the-
road men may do. 1t is not without the
bounds of reason that they would turn
their support to Mckinley in order to try
to down the democracy and those of their
own party who had gone, as they express
it, back to that organization.
To Vote for Mckinley.
All efforts to bring about cooperation be-
tween the national democrats and repub-
licans in this state have failed. The repub-
lcan committee, after thoroughly consider
ing the matter, decided that it would be
best not to fuse with any party. The ma
tional democrats, on the other hand, were
pubiicans saying they were under instruc-
tions from their national convention not to
fuse with any opposing party, hence moth
ing came of the efforts to bring the two
sound money parties together.
1t is believed. however, that many sound
money democrats will support the McKin-
ley ticket, and that many more will stay
at home and not vote at all. On the other
hand. it is becoming apparent that a large
element of middle-of-the-roadp populists are
going to vote the republican ticket chiefly
out of spite to the democrats, and as q re-
buke to alleged ballot box stuffing 1t is
becoming more certain every day that Nc
kiniey is going to poll much larger vote
in this state than is generally thought. 1t
is freely asserted that If a vigorous cam
paign should be inaugural ted by the repub-
licans Alabama might be landed in the Nc
Kinley column, provided fair election is
had.