The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-10-16
DISTRUSTFUL OF THE A. P. A.
POLITICIANS SUSPICIOUS OF THE
MOVEMENT TO DIsBAND.

They Believe 1t Is n Ruse to Deceive
the Public and AlIay the Feeling
Against the OrganizatiOn-LittIe
Doubt, However, That the Order Is
on It's Last Legs In Savannah-The
Causes Which Have Led to It's
Downfall.
Many people were inclined to look upon
the announcement in yesterdays Morn
ing News of the dissolution of the A. P.
A, with some suspicion, believing that 1t
was ruse on the part of the A. p A.
leaders to deceive the public and thus allay
the feeling which has been aroused against
the order and Its allies, socially and polit-
ically. This, however, does not appear to
be the case.
Several prominent members of the order
were seen and all stated that the report in
the Morning News of the meeting al Odd
Fellows hall, Wednesday night, was sub
stanually correct They expressed sur
prise that the matter should have become
public, as it was understood that it was
to be kept secret until after the meeting
next Wednesday night, when 1t is propos-
ed to formally dissolve the local councils.
Now that 1t has been made public many
of the members discussed it freely.
THE order has been on it's last legs for
some time" said one gentleman who has
taken very active part in the work Of
the A. P. A. 1T was all we could do to
hold it together until the election. When
the Citizens Club was defeated, it was the
general opinion of the members that it
was not worth while to hold together any
longer If the Citizens Club had won we
might have been able to hold on, but we
would never have been as strong as we
have been The trouble was that five or
six men thought because they had money
they ought to be allowed to run the whole
business L for one, and a number OF
others, objected to this and we had a
monkey and parrot time of it, especially
in the campaign committee of which l was
a member. There were certain men who
wanted to put out candidates against all OF
the county officers at the recent election.
The conservative members were opposed TO
this, and a great deal of bitterness re-
suited The order was never given a
chance to endorse the Citizens Club tick
ct, the nomination being made between
meetings and the election being held on
Wednesday, our meeting night. The only
way the members of the order endorsed
the ticket was by their attendance at the
theater when it was nominated. The re-
suit of all this dissension was that the
A. P A. did not give its unanimous sup
port to the ticket. Many did not vote at
ALL and others went to the Liberal Club.
l know this to be a fact One of the
main things that contributed to the down.
fall of the order, was the treachery that
existed among it's members. For months
hppQ
nished full reports of everything done at
the A. P. A. meetings.
How about that ironclad OATH"
1.-THE oath is as ironclad as it is posi-
BILE for an oath to be-" was the reply.
1.-THE members of the order here ex-
ceeded 1900. That was the whole trou-
ble 1t was a mushroom organization.
Men were taken in indiscriminat elY.
There was a rush to get into it at one
time. 1t was no uncommon thing to initl-
ate fifty men at meeting, and extra
meetings were held on Sunday. If we had
taken four times as long to reach tnls
strength the order would have been a
power As it was, it could accomplish
nothing. AS matters stand now, l am in
favor of disbanding. If 1t had been con-
Quoted on a different basis and only relia-
BILE men admitted it would have been a
different matter. I am as thorough a be-
lever in the principles of the American
Protective Association as ever, but no
good can be accomplished by continuing
as at present"
There were four white councils in Sa-
vannah," the member said, besides the
ladies council There was one negro coun-
Gil. The four councils were reduced to
three some time ago. and an effort was
made before the election to consolidate
these three councils into one. The men
who were trying to control wanted to do
this, but were unsuccessful"
f1,T..n NIanl,v 10,
inclined to discredit the report of the
disbanding of the A. p. A., and to regard
it as a bluff made for political effect,
with the hope of removing a principal
cause of opposition to the Citizens Club.
This was doubtless a potent reason with
many in urging dissolution, but of the
fact of dissolution there can hardly be
any doubt. The majority of the men who
composed the order in Savannah are so
Disguised with it that they have already
abandoned it, and a formal dissolution
only forestalls a general breaking up. At
the same time there are undoubtedly
number Of men here who are thoroughly
in sympathy with its principles, and
ii would be no surprise if they should
get together and reorganize. Some have
so thoroughly identified themselves with
the order that they can hope for no ad-
vantage by declaring that they had aban-
doned it. 1t is certain however, that it
will never again be as strong in Savannah
IS it once was and that it will never play
the part in politics which it attempted to
play.
No Time should BE Lost
BY those troubled with constipation in