The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1898-04-07

racy was rescued and has ever since been
In the ascendent and no third party man
has ever been elected to Office in either
county.
In my own county the work of disintegra-
ton had gone secretly on till fourteen out
of seventeen democratic committeeman, in
Guiding the chairman. had gone over to the
enemy. leaving but three loyal old demo-
Gratis faithful to the party. They called
me into counsel We recognized the COM
mittee. I was elected chairman and ON the
hrst Tuesday in April. 1892, 1 issued a cali
for mass meeting of the democrats of
Hall county. In the call said:
'Democrats-A crisis is upon us. No
such peril as now confronts us has me-
naced the south since the stormy days of
reconstruction. Our cruel and implacable
enemy. the republican party, having failed
to break the solid south by force and fraud
and bribery, now resorts to strategy The
hired emissaries of the republican party are
now securing Georgia from the mountains
to the seas exhorting the farmers to stand
on their platform and vote for their own
destruction. They go into the alliance
lodges and behind barred doors teach the
FARMERS lies. They go on the stump and
cry aloud and shed crocodile tears over the
woes of sthe farmer. They tell him that
the democratic party is equally responsible
for the wicked laws that Cypress him. But
they do not tell him that every one OF these
laws was enacted by the republicans over
the protest of the democracy. Thew do not
tell him that there has not been a day In
thirty years when the democracy has had
the power to enact law or repeal a law
or amend a law. They do not tell him that
Blount and Crisp have supported every
measure brought forward in the present
congress for the benefit of the farmers m
earnestly and as effectually as have Wat
son and Winn. Farmers, democrats Geor-
CLANS. rebuke this mongrei crew of ONCE
hunters who are organizing heil In Geor-
gta,' to crafty their greed for Office and
power and pelf. Listen not to them In their
enorts to array class against class. coun-
Try against town, nedghbor against neigh
Dor and son against father Let them non
postpone the day of our deliverance. Re-
member that United we stand. divided we
fall.' Remember that always in this re-
pubic, when the democratic party taa
peen united and In power We have had
peace and prosperity and hanni
ness. Remember that when by d.
vision In our ranks our enemies have
ruled. we have had debt and deso-
iation end want and war. Let us on the
nrst tuesday in May come UP to Gaines
VINE IN mass. snd. as did our fathers In
better days take counsel together. Let
vows to the faith of our fathers. Under
the eenigh rule of democracy. there "a
SAFETY and peace and prosperity and han
| piness. Under the baleful rule of repuhli-
canism or its bastard offspring, the third
party, there Is nothing for US and our
children but serfdom end poverty We
must determine this day whom We will
| trust. There is but one course open TO ia
That is prompt, vigorous, decisive action.
There Is no time for hesitation or doubt.
At this crisis
''He that dallies is a bastard
He that doubts is damned"
Thus I spoke in 1892 The people of my
county responded to my CALL They came
as requested en- masse, democrats and al
liancemen alike, because they had otter
trusted me and had never deceived them
l spoke to them for two hours, two thou.
sand OF them.
showed them all the deformities Of this
new party. l showed them that the demo
cratic party was the only peoples party
tnat ever had or ever would exist in this
country.CI spoke all over the ninth con-
gressional district and in other parts OF
the state. not In my own interest, for ]
had. though often importuned, declined to
Dc candidate for reelection to congress
put In the interest of my party and my
party's candidate. My people believed In
me. The wavering were confirmed in the
democratic faith, and hundreds who had
back slidden came back into the demo-
cratic fold. Hall county was rescued and
the ninth district redeemed and the DEM
ocratic flag has foated proudly over oul
valleys and mountains ever since.
No, fellow citizens, the charge that I
at least. stood and looked on from afa,
on, like many other charges in this cam
paign, Is untrue. was, as have always
been when democracy was at stake II
the thickest Of the fight
In 1882. when the spirit of independentisn
mad permeated the democratic party oil
Georgia and when the rvalries of aspir.
ing politicians and the questionable meth
DDS employed by them in some localities
mad we'll nigh destroyed the party, wher
nrst the seventh congressional district wa
lost to democracy, then the ninth in tive
successive elections, and the contagion hac
caught over into the fourth and
sighth districts. and democracy was
threatened in its every stronghold, wher
such men as Dabney. Lester Billups Rel
and Harris had gone down in defeat before
the resistless torrent of independentism,
when old party leaders gave up in despair
and refused to bear the democratic banner
Il, though only tiller of the soil and Q
I
roads, was called by my party to lead
forlorn hope. In the ninth congressional
district brilliant young champion of in
dependentism, taking advantage OF the
jealousies and factional divisions which
had sprung up in the party, and of alleegG
irregularities and unfair methods which
had prevailed in the party management
flashed like a meteor upon the political
armament, and by his sophistry and match.
less eloquence. swayed the people like
reeds in the storm. Democracy went dowr
in the conflict overborne by an adverse
majority OF over 1000. and no leader coulC
be found for the vanquished host In re.
Spouse to the call of my party, then, as
/ have ever done in the past and as 1 will
ever do In the future grasped the tatteret
banner, inspired the vanquished host of
democracy with hope. and in one OF the
fercest and most bitterly contested cam
paigns ever fought in Georgia, democratic
supremacy was restored by nearly 5000 ma.
jority, and her ancient and honored stan.
dard was planted on every hill top and
mountain in the glorious old ninth, which
had in the past so often honored itself by