The age-herald., 1900-03-25
NED BRACES BATCH
 OF SUNDAY GOSSIP

Senator Ben Tnlman Is scheduled to come to Birmingham and enter his pitch- fork into the dispensary fight Tillman is the father of the South Carolina dispensry law. He thinks the dispensary a great and profitable business enterprise for a state and is always ready to aid in its adoption when called upon by neighboring states. Yet the South Carolina senator. is no prohlbitionist. He takes his today and loves it. The ddspensary scheme is a busi- ness plan with him.
 Tillman's s-speeches on the stump are not only interesting; they are picturesque He is fluent, forceful, and extravagant to recklessness at times in his speech. There fcre, he Is always interesting. In his po- liticaI likes and disl1kes he is intense. against Senator Morgan. The Alabama senator offended him by declining to permit an interruption on the part of Tillman during a senatorial debate. Tillman like tion of expansion, and Tillman must give vent to his steam of thought in pic icturesque words when opportunity affords. There fore, when Tilman comes the chances are that Tf1lman will not devote all his talk to the dispensary issue.
 Speaking of Tillman there are those, who believe in luck who say no wonder he has been successful in politics and every thing else he has undertaken, though few others of such extravagant speech and temper could be politically successful He is the seventh son of an eleventh child His faith CT was the eleventh child, and he the sev- enth son of his parents. In the parlance of the plantation negro, he is a "seben 4elev- en-er," and that Is winner. It has surely been the case in Tillman's life. In every political contest he has entered success has crowned his efforts.
 The newspapers have it from Washington that c. P. Huntington, the millionaire pres- ident of the Southern Pacific railroad, Is taking hand in the contest to defeat Sem ator Morgan's reelection because of the senator's persistent advocacy of the Nic- araugua canal. don't believe a word of
 
 gan. Indeed he has been scotched in many legislative games by the Alabamian, but Huntington sees nothing to his personal gain now to be derived by an expenditure of money in Alabama to defeat Morgan. The Nlcaraugua canal bill will be finally passed by this congress and Morgan must remain year yet, even should he not be reelected. Therefore Huntington would be hut could defeat Morgan by its expenditure.
 No one need be alarmed by the fear of any Huntington campaign fund getting into this state to defeat Morgan.
 It strikes one as a bit funny that the board of aldermen of Birmingham should be considering a ifty-year contract propo- sbtion from the gas company to pay $1.5O per thousand feet for gas for the next ten years with reduction every ten years of 10 cents a. thousand feet, when this same board of aldermen last year passed an or dinance prohibiting any gas company from charging exceeding $1 per thousand feet for gas.
 The citiens will watch their aldermantio representatives with much interest in their discussion of this problem. Their gas or- dinances heretofore have not been effec- tive.
 I am glad to see that during the past week the candidates and politicians of all classes have gotten down to a calmer, moro sensible and respectable basis. Why should one candidate abuse another in political cantest? No man was ever elected by vir- tue of the weakness of another. His own ability, integrity and illness must elevate him in political life as in business. If candidate be dishonest that is another mat ter. He should be exposed. But where two or more candidates fer an office are honest men one never gains votes by endeavoring to expose the petty weaknesses of another Every man has his faults. And all men have virtues In most cases the good overbal- ances the bad Candidates who can best bring their virtues before the public are more often successful than those who spend their time in attempting to expose the weaknesses of opponents.
 "Mr. Cleveland it was who said public office is a public trust" said a clever local politician yesterday, "but judging from the number of candidates for tine offices in Jeff ferson county, it is manifest that in this neighborhood public office is looked upon as a private snap.'"