Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-04-09
BATTLING FOR BALLOTS
Dr. Cunningham and Col. Tomp-
kinS at WoodlaWn.
BIGGEST C'h WD FOR SILVER
Not"ith'ta"d' : Free Tr'n'portati0" to the
clpkins Speaking.
LuGalNq CLEVELAND INTO THE RACE
Seems sSHavo Been the Burden of Colonel
Tompkins' Performance tor the Gold
Standard-Dr. Cunningham
Speaks Straighout.
BIGGEST C,N WD FOR SILVER
CLEVELAND INTO THE RACE

| DIR. r. M. Cunningham addressed an
! enthusiastic audience last night at
| Woodlawn in the public school building.
| BY actual count there were 126 voters in
| the audience, and, judging from the
hearty acclamations of the audience, it
was evident that the speaker had secured
126 ballost for the silver tickets.
Dr. Cunningham's manner and words
are captivating with peculiar elo-
quence of conviction. He alludes
to himself as an humble coun-
try doctor, who. for long while, allowed
other people to think for him in matters
| Of public interest. He believed they were
| thinking right, but he had at last learned
to think for himself.
1t was particularly noticeable that
| those who were present are with DR..
| Cunningham in his views on public
| finance and when he shouted: Johnston
| for governor" the applause that followed
drowned all efforts a speech for several
moments. He spoke to the workingman,
the home-lover and bread winner as q
wise friend and counsellor. He caught
the ear of the young men, too, who are
to make their sweethearts wives and con-
front the problems affecting their future
homes.
In short, the address gathered all the
phases of the money question and pre-
sented them in an interesting and coher-
ent entirety to the people.
He explained his position on local ques-
tions. On the commissary check ques-
tion he said that Re was not in favor of
any oppressive or unjust legislation.
But there was an equity involved which
gave the people and employees of corpora
tions certain rights, which 1t was the
duty of legislator to make operative.
His own plan to solve the problem was o.
two-weeks pay day. This, he had no
doubt, was constitutional; that 1t was
just and right, and not impolitic. He
committed himself unequivocallly to the
principle involved in the rights of the
people, and would support bill to give
the employees of corporations and the
community at large all the benefit that
could be obtained by constitutional and
| equitable legislation
He also discussed the convict ques-
| tion fully, and said that legislation in the
interest of humanity, philanthropy and
our miners, who had to- compete with this
class of labor was necessary. He said
1T was a difficult problem to solve satiS-
factorily to an environment or circum-
stances Incompatible with life, health
and limb, nor to force the exclusive COM
petition of its convict labor upon the coal
miners of this district.
He was in favor of public education,
and a just and equitable taxation for
lHdt purpose OpOH III uueSllOIlS VI ioCdl
interest he would execute the wishes of
his constituents.
He said that he was very sorry that
his opponent was unable on account Of
sickness to be present. That Mr.. Porter
and he had jointly discussed the finan-
cial and local questions as gentlemen,
good citizens and good democrats.
1t was certainly an anomaly to see
good democrats so widely divided upon
what is democratic principles and dem
ocratic policies. Right here in Wood
lawn tonight we have one of the most
distinguished democrats in the state, a
man a peer of any in his profession a
democrat of unbroken loyalty to party
and democratic organization, leader in
the democratic party, and, / am inform
ed, candidate for United States senator,
discussing this financial question from
the so-called sound money, that Is to say,
gold standard policy, recently put for4
ward as genuine democratic principles
and the proper policy to be adopted by
our government. At the same time one
of the rank and file Of the boys in the
trenches discussed the question from the
bimetallic standard, at the ratio of 16 to
|, making 1t one of the leading issues of
the campaign.
"The battle will soon be over and when
the final count Is made. Ii will be found
that instead of the people being edu-
Gated up to the gold standard they will
have brought down to defeat the gold
standard advocates all along the lines,
and will have demonstrated to the world
that the rock-rlbbed, iron-bound masses
of democracy In Alabama are for the
money of the constitution, of the demo-
cratic party and of the people," This in
spite of the educational bureau of Wall
street. Our party will be restored to it's
once estate of simon-pure democracy,
without the unpatriotic alloy of foreign
permission.
the coinage of gold and silver In this and
other countries, and the relation of
standard money to prices, and the fall
that invariably followed the demonetiza-
tion of silver In all countries. The crime
of 1873 was handled without gloves.
He said that the policy of our gold
standard friends, IL carried out. would
cause our commerce, Industries and ag-
ricultural interest to constantly suffer
and gradually shrink In volume. We
might as well expect a child to grow and
prosper upon the blood of an infant, and
a man upon the blood of a child, as to ex-
pect our Industries and commerce to grow
upon constantly decreasing volume,
and, therefore, appreciating currency.
He quoted statistics and authority to
show that there is not sufficient gold in
the world, nor was this added to by min-
ing sufficiently to provide for gold mono-
metallism. AS to the policy we should
pursue here, considering our local inter-
est, that no permanent gain or real pros
perty could result from temporary ex-
pedient. That capitalists would not In
vest in commodity producing industries
so long as commodities and, therefore,
the Industrial plants were constantly on
the decline. They preferred United states
bonds, and would corner all our gold
whenever it suited them to do so. so long
as our policy was to give the option OF
gold or silver. when they were entitled
only to coln-gold or slyer-at the gov
ernment's option. Let the United States
treat silver fairly, and our bonds for the
purpose of maintaining gold basis will
be thing of the past.
His peroration was nothing short OF
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fContipued ON Fifth PaRe.j