The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-12-26
THE AGE-HERAID, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2e, 1899

feathers. You upbraded me in your card
fer not having mentioned the trusts and
the New Jersey corporation n my discus
sion with you. I did not know of your
conduct in that connection at that time.
nor until within the last few days. If
you agree with Mr.. Maben that 1t is laud-
able, 1t is strange that you omitted 1t
from the show window in which you dis
played your gubernatorial trophies.
Your discussion with me related largely
to my age the length of time had been in
tho senate, the salary I had drawn, and
that you had drawn only $1,000. That it
was time for me to seek retirement and
repose. That I am not in touch with the
people; spent too much of my time in
Washington. You said that you loved to
visit around amorg 1.-THE plain people," and
when you came to Washington" you said
come to my house, you will find the door
open. Take chair; put your feet on the
mantle piece and spit on the floor" The
insulted plain people, understood this
low appeal to their supposed vulgarity,
and they resented it with strong majori-
ty for Mr.. Erie Pettus at every place at
which You spoke. If 1 had known you
thought 1t becoming to discuss in con-
test for a seat in the senate, I would not
have asked you for a joint debate.
Claiming to be a democrat, you boosted
of your defiance of the authority of the
party convention, and that you would not
permit the executive committee to put
shackles upon you. You have attributed
dishonest motives to the majority of two
thirds who, in tho last democratic state
convention voted to carry into execution
the recommendations of your message to
the legislatures, when they found express
sion in the bill 20 call convention that
you aided IN preparing and passing
through the house and approved under
your oath as governor
When l and my colleague followed you
until your ambition was alarmed by the
shadows of Messrs. Clarke, Harrison, Cole
man and a few other gold men that fell
In the sunshine of your path, you ordered
a retreat of tho whole body of the demo-
cracy. We would not obey the dastardly
ocder and you attempted to pillory Gen.
eral Pettus and me as participants in a
mob to intimidate the legislature in the
discharge of It's duty, because we were
invited to attend a mass meeting of dem
ocrats at Montgomery You attempted to
fix stigma upon the senators from Ala
bama in your message to the legislature,
against which we can have no means of
relief, until the legislature shall hereafter
remove 1t.
Severe Invective
The falsehood of that message is shown
however, by the fact that the legislature,
by a concurrent vote of the houses invited
us to discuss before them the bill you were
pressing them to repeal, and I respectfully
declined to do so because 1 did not wish,
even at their request, to discuss a measure
pending before Them especially, when you
had charged me, in your message, with
coming to Montgomery for the purpose of
intimdating the general assembly from the
discharge of their duties
If you are chosen to the senate, it will be
worth your while as 1t will be for the honor
of the state, that you should have some APP
probation of the comfy and the courtesy
that is, at least, becoming between those
who hold respectively the highest offices the
state canconfer. namely, the Office of sena-
tor and governor.
You, doubtless, feel very strong in your
supposed ability to rule the state, by the
machinery in your hands; but very recent
lessons should admonish you that you are,
also, subject to the power of the laws,
state and federal and you cannot press
your defiant contempt of the rights OF the
state and the people to complete success.
When you threaten the university, which
~ds part of the state, with your vengeance
because the alumni and the trustees would
not submit to robbery to enrich a foreign
corporation that you assisted in promoting,
you will find that the old and noble strain
of blood that has given honor to Alabama
will not curdle in the veins of this genera
ton for fear of your impotent wrath.
You will also find that the plain people"
whom you insult by appeals addressed to
their supposed want of wisdom and self
respect, will convince you that your con-
tempt for their constitutional rights and
the laws of the state, and for their intelli-
gence and sense of proprlety, ds fully I'M
derstood and deeply resented by them.
Respectfully,
Dictated) JOHN T. MORGAN