Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-09-24
NOT THAT BUT SOMETHING WORSE.

| The Troy (Ala.) Citizen-Journal in an
article copied into these columns yester-
| day morning we are satisfied from the
! testimony now before us has made mis-
take and COMPOUNDED Gen. John Palmer
of New York who spoke of the southern
| flag as rag Of treason" with Gen. John
! Palmer Of Illinois, who in ordering a par
ty of young people arrested and fined S25
each in Athens, Ga, for singing Bonnie
Blue Flag" and requiring southern ia
dies in the same city to go before off
GERS of the post and take the oath be-
fore they could get their mail from the
postoflice. offered the greater of the two
gross insults to patriotic southern men
and women
Our reproduction of the article from
the Citizen-Journal resulted in a request
for the publication of the following with
which we readily comply:
Birmingham, Ala, Sept 49, 1896.
To the State-Herald, City:
Gentlemen:-In your issue of this date
you copy an article from a newspaper
published in Troy, Ala which charges
Gen. John NJ. Palmer of Illinois, the
nominee of the national democracy for
president, while COMMUNICATIVE chief Of
the Grand Army of the Republic, with
denouncing the southern flag as rag
knowingly supporting this man for the
presidency, Notwithstanding the fact that
| am the commander of the Alabama
Confederate Veterans.
deny that Gen. John NJ. Palmer OF
Illinois was ever the commander-in-chief
of the Grand Army of the Republic. See
certificate hereto attached and made
part of this letter
The John Palmer who, as commander
of the Grand Army of the Republic used
hn
southern flag above referred to, was
John Palmer of New York, a different
person altogether from Gen. John M. Pal
mer of Illinois,
Having given currency to this erron-
eous report and used my name in con
nection with it, | respectfully request
that you publish this communication as
prominently as you did the article now
complained of.
Very respectfully,
F. S. FERGUSON.
We, the undersigned members of the
Grand Army of the Republic hereby GER
ttfy that Gen. John NJ. Palmer of Illinois,
the nominee of the national democracy
for president, was never commander-in-
chief of the Grand Army of the Republic.
VIM. SNYDER,
w. II. HUNTER,
Past Dept. Commanders of Alabama
While on this subject we append the
following editorial from the Rome Trib
une of September o. to say nothing of
the unsavory record made by the Illinois
Palmer in Kentucky who now seeks the
votes of southern men. We feel sure
that those so ready to make correction
of the statements contained in the article
copied yesterday will be glad IL they can
promptly establish the fact that it was
the New York and not the Illinois Pal
a c Oh 1,vrt
from the Tribune, grossly 'insuted every
true southerner and forever forfeited
any claims to southern votes and re-
spect By his conduct at Athens Ga. We
regret that the last charge, which we
think the graver, can not be proven err
roneous as promptly as the former. We
know 1t needs to be before southern men
can be expected to show much Palmer
enthusiasm:
"Those who remember the career of
General Palmer in Georgia have no spe-
cial reverence for mis- memory The re-
collection thereof will not win many votes
for the gold standard candidate in this
state. Especially is this true with re-
gard to Athens, where he was stationed
for time, just after the war His ca
reer in Kentucky has been already ven
tiated.
But at Athens he ruled things with q.
nigh hand and lofty idea of his own
Importance. He was appointed to COM
mand or the northern forces stationed
at the Classic City, and he took such
measures as would most thoroughly an
noy and humiliate the good people of
Clarke and the surrounding counties dur
ing his temporary reign.
Those who lived in Athens Just after
the war and who visited the Classic Cry
at that time will remember that the
beautiful college campus was real Cam
pus Martius. Troops were chartered in
the rooms of the Phi Kappa and Demos
thenlan societies. The college chapel,
where public worship had been held and
where Hill, Stephens, and the Cobbs had
spoken, was a barrackroom full of row
STEERING bluecoats A sentinel guarded
the gate surmounted by the arch and
coat OF arms of Georgia. All exercises
We're closed. In the rude clash of arms
letters as we'll as laws were silent.
ON one occasion party of young peo-
pie were walking through the college
campus. They burst into song and
among their selections they gave Bonny
Blue Flag. They were summarize ar.
rested, carried before an officer and fined
$25 each. Ladies and men were required
to go before the officers of the post take
the oath in order to secure letters out of
the postoffice. This latter condition was
not peculiar to Athens, but the prom-
nence or the commander of that post
now does not serve to cover up the inn
pressions left in the university town at
| that time
And now this man comes forward
| with the braZen assurance to ask The
people of Georgia to absolve their allie
glance to the regularly organized demoo.
racy and to support him In his aulxotic
efforts to support the will of the people
The war is over but there are some of it'd
memories that will not soon be forgotten
nor forgiven. Such high handed tyran-
ny of self constituted satraps is one of
the things that will be remembered as
long as there is spark of patriotic feel
ing in the heart of true southern man,
"As long as the gold men were deter
mined to put out a ticket, it does look
| like that they might have selected a
| man with less unsavory record than
| this man Palmer as their standard bear
| err. AS we said before, General Buckner
| is in bad company"
We have every reason to believe that
| the thoughts of being considered sup
| porter of q man for president who had
| denounced the southern flag as rag of