Birmingham state herald., 1896-01-15
MORE VIOLENT TALK.

peet from the men who are working 10
 bring about a fusion between the pop
 ulsts and republicans is shown by let
 ter written to the Birmingham Tribune
 by Dr. G. B. Grove, who figured at the
 recent fusion conference in this city. Dr.
 Crowe's letter is in the nature of pro-
 test or rebuke for the cratic editor of
 nondescript paper published in Green
 yille and edited by MT. Whitehead.
 Speaking of the article in the Living
 Truth to which he takes exception MT.
 Grove says:
 "The article grew out of the motion
 submitted by myself to the conference
 to appoint a committee of three, consist
 ing of Messrs. Kolb, Goodwyn and Bow
 man, for the purpose of selecting com
 mttee of five in Birmingham to be
 central committee to organize our forces
 for the coming campaign of 1896.
 Tt seems to me that MT. Whitehead
 with a great many others, have been
 attempting to make a mountain out Of
 a mole hill in regard to this committee.
 My object in having said committee ap-
 pointed was simply to get our people, the
 populists of Alabama, ready to maintain,
 at any cost and at any hazard, their
 rights at the ballot box in 1S96.'
 Mr. Grove then proceeds to tell us of
 the reasonable conspiracy by which he
 and his deluded followers sought to ap-
 peal to arms rather than abide by the
 peaceful arbitrament of the law. Says he:
 Now in 1894, at the convention in
 Montgomery on the 18th day or NoVem-
 ber 1 begged and prayed to the members
 of said convention to issue proclama-
 ton to our people, who meant business,
 to get ready, arm themselves ana organ
 ize and be in Montgomery on the lst
 day of December to defend their rights
 and liberties at any cost, but the conVen-
 tion oyerruled me on this, and week or
 so after the adjournment of the conven-
 tion, and perhaps ten or fifteen days
 prior to the 1st of December, Captain
 Kob issued proclamation calling on
 all lovers of liberty to meet him in Mont
 gomery on the 1st of December, as he in-
 tended at that time to take his seat and
 be sworn in as governor. With only ten or fifteen days time in which to pre- pare | succeeded in getting together SeV- eral hundred men to join me in move ment to stand by the governor and see him seated, even though we paid the pen alty with our lives. On December 1 we | met in Montgomery. but owing to the | timidity of the so-called leaders of the party no decisive action was taken. The state militia were there in force, armed | to the teeth. Their orders were to shoot | and to shoot to kill if need be. The re- suit of the days work demonstrated
  | to accomplish our object was due to | lack of thorough organization.
 After December 1 I established head quarters in Birmingham and, under a | commission issued to me by Governor | Kolb, as adjutant-general of the state l proceeded systematically to work to or ganize a body of militia sufficient to hold their own with the present state militia. Governor Kolb assured me when he is- sued me the commission that IT l would organize the men and get them ready that If the state legislature failed to pass a fair contest law before it's adjournment that when 1t did adjourn he would give me orders to take charge of Montgomery | or some other county in Alabama and there establish a dual government. Pur- Suant to my instructions from Governor Kolb, our commander-in-chief,I I went to work and organized a number of men and had them ready for action when the | legislature adjourned. Upon the ad- | iournment of the legislature, owing to | the fact that they had passed no contest law, the chairman of our state executive | committee called that body together for | the purpose of consultation as to the wisest course to be pursued. l appeared | before that committee, and it is possible that I did use some language that was not purely classical, and possibly un- parliamentary, but if you will take into consideration the fact that for months had been engaged upon this work of or ganization, and had defrayed all ex- penses incident thereto. asking no man for the contribution of single cent, and that I realized that we had victory with | in our grasp, and that the action of said committee in refusing to do anything meant further degradation and enslaVe- ment of our people,
 Ir appears that the gallant adjutant- | general was deserted by his crowd at every pinch. They would not take up arms when MT. Kolb ascended the cart | and declared for God and liberty. They | would not take up arms when the legis- lature adjourned They were recreant | to their plighted obligations and left Dr. | Grove to hold the bag He says that he | had bis troops ready for action." Mer- ciful Heavens. How little Governor | Oates knew of the danger that threat | ened the state authorities! But MT | Grove Is not through with his campaign He is still organizing his forces and if his crowd does not carry the elections next August we may expect to hear blast from his bugle and see his army in motion.
 MT. Grove further says:
 "When I saw that the committee was going to take no action and do nothing I did turn to Governor Kolb and say to him that if the committee had not the manhood in them to stand up for thosr | rights and be men, that If he would give | me the orders would guarantee to fur | nish him men and means to either cap ture Montgomery or to go into some | other county and establish dual gov ernment, and thus prec!pitate or bring matters to a focus.
 "Since the adjournment of the commit | tee have been at work quietly, but sys- | tematically organizing our forces and preparing for '96, so as to be able to meet | fraud with force if necessary
 This kind of talk would be very anus | ing if it were not for the fact that many | good men are being deceived and led into an attitude of danger. We would inform Dr. Grove and his agents and followers | that 1t is treason to levy war against the state and that the punishment of trea- | son is death. If he and his associates | persist in exciting the people to arms | and in organizing armed forces to resist | the orderly process of law it will be the | duty of the law to hang the ringleaders before they get to Montgomery.