The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-07-06
t True Alabama Anecdotes
& tss =. esz tssst ~ e sss
By D. W. McIver.


 This Is from The Washington Post or
 "A clerk in the Pension ofice who halls from the State of Alabama, tells good ished in his. state during the civil war and the period immediately following those troublous times.
 When the tocsin of war first sounded through tho Southland, no more rabid fire1eater could be found from the Po- tomac to the Rio Grande than this par ticultr politician. He raved and charged about the country. making speeches to ing them to join the mEitary companies then forming in. every county. In his argument he used to say:
 e Gentlemen, this war is going to be not going to fight worth cent. The fact is. gentlemen, we can whip them with pop-guns."
 "The armies of the confederacy moved S..,S and has sns bsa sousis n paired by reason of his strenuous efforts toward firing the hearts of his neigh- bors with patriotism, sought the genla1 climate of Nassau to recuperate. Noe being improved in health during the next four years. he made his visit prolonged one. However, the news of Appomattok caused a speedy recovery. and he took the first boat home. Arriving at his na- tive town. he cast his eye. around the political horizon and allied himself with the ascendant party.
 'SShortly after this he was making stump speeches in the interests of his newly adopted political faith and was most vehement In his denunciation of the hair-brained policy that had plunged the South Into hopeless war. Upon one oL these occasions he was interrupted py man in the audience, who recalled to him his fervid speech in advocacy of the war, and his assertion that the armies of the North could be put to rout with pop-suns' also alluding to the absence Of the posl. dared to Interrupt him this answers q
 "Yes, sah, I did say we could whip the Fanees h1 wifh ft. ads ta speech found out it was not going to De pop gun wah. As I could not have the choos- Ing of the weapons, sah, did not propose to enter the combat"
 This old story has gone the rounds of the after diner occasions and of the press and the reason 1t lives so long and is told so often, is that 1t is true. The verhage has been changed time and again, bat the story is the same. Those familiar with the real occurrence will hardly re- cognize 1t in the above. The foundation for the story Is that the late Judge Sam tel r. Rice made Q speech near Biount Springs in the latter part of 1S60 in which he said that there would be no war-that if there was i've could whip the Yan- kecS with DOp-RuHS. <hlNcI bAc Wat was making a Republican Party speech near the same place when old man Jet arose and asked him if he did not say that i've could whip the Yankees with pop-gans?' Always ready with a suitable reply, Judge Rice said, ''Yes, but the d-d raseals wouldn't fight us that way"
 1 have in mind an occurrence that took place in the meeting of one of the leading organizations of this State that probably has never been printed, but which is too good to be lost.
 The matter of the selection of officers was being considered when the name of a gentleman, who had been Republican until the election which had taken place a short while before, when for the first time he voted the Democratic ticket, was 1 placed in nomination as the representa- | tive of the young Democracy ot Ala | bama" "Yes," said a member. rising to his feet and addressing the assembly, the | gentleman mentioned Is certainly the | Youngest Democrat in this body. for he | is only three weeks old. " The effect was startling. and the nominee did not get a vote, not even that of the gentleman nominating him.
 Speaking of Judge Rice reminds me of another true story of him that shows his readiness at repartee, On one oeea'