Birmingham state herald., 1896-02-21
SENATOR BLANCHARD HERE Talks About How Louisiana
 Democrats Manage.
QUIT THE MONEY QUESTION
Leaving It for the National Convention to Take Hold of-Result Has Harmonized
 Louisiana Democracy.

United States Senator Newton c. Blanchard of Louisiana spent few hours In Birmingham last night on his way to his home at Shreveport. He came via the Southern railway and took a delayed Queen and Crescent train after midnight.
 The senator was going home to take part in the campaign of his state, Louisiana being the first state this presidential year to hold an election, full state
 ticket and United States senator hav- ing to be chosen. The election takes place April 19 next
 In conversation with State Herald reporter, while waiting for his train, Senator Blanchard said, regarding the
 political situation in Louisiana:
 Tt is an interesting situation. The
 democratic party in Louisiana is con fronted by combination of national re- publicans, old line republicans and popu-
 lists. The national republicans are the men who abandoned the democratic par
 ty because of the last tariff law The old line republicans are the same old repub-
 lcans who have been after the flesh pots since the war, the great majority or whose votes are negroes. To these two elements is joined a populistic appendix, forming an incongruous and discordant combination. The democratic party is united and harmonious and is led by ex-
 perienced and capable men. The cam
 paign opens at Shreveport on Saturday,
 the 22d, and will be conducted very vigor- ously. The democratic state ticket is that
 which was nominated in December last
 with Murphy J. Foster at it's head. Gov ernor Foster, who is the present incum-
 bent, has given the state one of the very
 best administrations it has ever had"
 Does administration CT anti-adminis-
 tration, or the money question cut any
 figure in your state, as far as democrats
 n nNn affrafa fJ Irs~1 %1x~
 "The democrats of Louisiana" he said,
 'have wisely kept these disturbing is sues out of their campaign. They have
 been relegated with us to the domain of national politics, where they belong. The
 wisdom of the policy is seen in the har- mony which now prevails in democratic ranks and councils in the present contest. In this regard I think the democrats of Louisiana have handled their affairs
 more wisely than has been the case in
 their sister states of the south. Yet we had the same effort to inject the money question into our state campaign as has
 been made elsewhere, but the leaders of our party, those standing for free silver,
 as well as those favoring the single gold standard, united in eliminating all discus sion of the question. The men nominated
 by the convention were chosen without
 regard to their views on the money ques- ton. In addition, our leaders have suc- ceeded in removing the old factional bit terness engendered by the lottery and anti-lottery contest of four years ago. The present governor, then elected as an anti-lottery candidate, Is now supported
 by the then pro-lottery faction as he Is by those who were originally opposed to
 the lottery. demonstrating the wisdom and conciiatory policy of this adminis- tration. So in the face of common danger, the democrats of Louisiana have put aside all their factional differences and have come together in compact ar ray to maintain the ascendancy and in tegrlty of the democratic party. This, it is my conviction, ought to be the course to be pursued in every southern state" MT. Blanchard is candidate to suc- ceed himself as senator. He has thus far
 had nobody to announce against him in the democratic party of this state He
 exerted himself to prevent the drawing of the deadline of the money question in
 the state campaign, and gained friends
 by it.
 Touching the status of the money ques-
 ton in congress, Senator Blanchard said:
 Tt is still strong in the senate, but dead
 as far as the present house is concerned.
 There may be factionaI divisions here and
 there, but the republican party is really
 the single gold standard party in this
 country and the democratic party must
 and will reaffirm it's adherence to bimetal-
 lism. The talk of sound money is the
 use of @ catch phrase-one which has
 been successfully used to deceive. We are all for sound money, and we want no fifty-cent dollars. As soon as the degrad- ing weight of adverse law is taken off sil-
 yer it will be dollar as free from stigma
 as the gold dollar is. That is unmistak-
 a ble democratic doctrine"