The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-11-16
THEIR sCHEME UNMAsKEp.

The real purpose Of the fight against | Ratification has been made clear. It has been suspected from the beginning. | but how it is avowed
 General Shelley. the Chairman of the Anti-Ratification Committee. has boldly admitted the whole scheme. In an inter- view with him printed in this paper yes- terday occur this question and answer:
 'Is there any probability, General. that | the anti-ratificationists will have a can- didate for Governor" General Shelley | was asked.
 doubt of 1t. Emphatically yes. We will have candidates for every office in Ala bama from Governor down to consta- hles.'
 The determination to bolt the Demo cratic Party and to organize one of their own was made distinct enough in those words. but that is not all the light on the subject. In yesterdays At lanta Constitution was a similar inter view. In that General Shelley was more specific as to ways and means He is reported as saying:
 The large majority of white men who | | counted in on them will not longer sub init to the old organization. We will | retain the name of Democrat and have a real Democratic Party on a platform | of honest election, white supremacy and fair constitution. My associates in the campaign are in sympathy with the movement.
 "The next step will be the calling of a State Convention early next year, and l forE ra- | and other State officers. and for Con 9ressmen In all the districts. We will | not ight inside "the old organization. because we would be counted out in the | primaries and convention, just as we have been in the recent election. l It is further understood that there IS to be preliminary conference at Birming- ham next week of General Shelley aud his associates in the campaign" as the next step towards calling the convention | to nominate candidates for every office from Governor down to constable"
 So there stands revealed the true in- | wardness of the whole anti-ratification campaign. It was for the purpose of | organizing a bolt from the Democratic Party. for creating new organization, | reach of General Shelley and his asso- ciates.
 l So it is plain that the plan in the antl- ratification campaign has been to make a mask of 1t behind which to stalk the skeleton of an independent movement. The program has been to stir up all the bad blood possible among the white people of the State, to appeal to pas sion and prejudice. and to heat as large section of white voters as pos sihle to the fusing point. The leaders of the standardization move- ment have never had any serin4A idea of defeating the new Constsza- tion, nor have they any such hope now. as General Shelley has admitted. Their whole thought has been to bring about political condition which they could use for their selfish purposes. They are after the offices, from Governor down to constable.
 General Shelley and his associates therefore. are trying to play Kolbs game in 1892. They call themselves Democrats and propose to reorganize the Demo- cratic Party. They expect to infiame tbe minority of Democrats who voted against ratification with the cry of fraud, just as
 Kolb did, and to split them off from the Democratic organization. And they will go the same way the Jefferson Demo- crats" did in 1S92-soon land in direct op- | position to the real Democratic Party. The real purpose, of General Shelley | h.tz | Republican Party of this State. They ] are glad the new Constitution is ratified and they wouldn't upset 1t for the world. | They will make a great hue and cry | about fraud, but that Is only pretense. 1 They reguard the new Constitution as | means to their end of the building up a formidable. permanent white opposition | to the Democratic organization. They are after the offices they have failed to l get-from Governor down to constable. | They are too smart to come out now and say that they are recognizing the Republican Party. They would not then be able to carry so many white men with them. But that is just what they are up to. They will land bodily in the Republican Party in two years, and dump | all their followers into it, if they can, just as the Jeffersonian Democrats went over into the Populite Party in the | course of events.
 l It Is not to be expected that General Shelley and his associates will be able to work their game on any considerable | portion of the standardization voters The latter were informed that the new Constitution was not d Party matter and they had a right to vote against 1t. If they saw fit But they are bound to know that General Shelley has no right | to lead them into another organization. | He has no authority to reorganize the 1 Democratic Party, and he cant do it. | Thousands of the Jeffersonian Democrats who were led off by Kolb in '92, long ago saw their blunder, and returned to the | true DemocI atic fold. They can't be led off again in another so-called reform movement.
 In the meantime the Republican organization of this State had best be on It's guard. or it will find Itself pushed off the log by General Shelley and his as- soclates.