The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-06-17
The New Democratic Alignment.

Charleston Observer.
Under the above caption The New
activity of the Democratic party prior
to the st. Louis convention there is
something larger and more significant
than the struggle over candidates or
about the platform" 1t considers that
the latter is practically determined al
ready and that free silver will not
have the cerements of the grave strip
ped off it." which means that the CAM
paign will not be lost before 1t begins
Continuing. The Post, which is practi-
cally Independents in politics, says:
The alliance between the South and
the West has been dissolved. Again
there has been established the old
alignment of the South with the East.
This is the large political truth which
really comprehends and explains the
cident of his position as the most
available candidate of a great Eastern
State which has brought him to the
front; and that is only another way
of saying that the South has turned
from the setting to the rising sun
from a hazardous casting in of it's lot
with the radicals and the Populists of
the West to sober choice of steadier
allies In the East. 1t was after the
party disasters of 1898 in 1895 that
the South broke away from its historic
relations with the Eastern Democracy,
and struck hands with the aggressive
Democrats of the West. There was
something to say for that strategy.
Populism threatened to over-run the
South. Its ravages in Alabama and
North Carolina were alarming. If the
situation were to be saved at all in
1896, there was a superficial argument
for overcoming the Populists by unit
ing with them and absorbing their
doctrines. Such were Bryan's tactics.
II the thing could be done in the
West, why not try it on in the South
and let the East go? Cleveland had
carried Western States-Illinois and
Wisconsin-in 1892 Organism made
Colorado sure and Kansas fighting
grounds. with good hope of all the
mining camp States. 1t was a gam
blers chance. but the South took it,
We heard much few years ago
about the new alignment of the South
free silver agitation and was hailed as
delightful outcome of what had
grown to be an almost intolerable
condition. But. like the 16 to l agita-
ton itself. it worked out only in theory.
AS a matter of fact, there was no
special ground for unity between the
agricultural South and the silver min
ing Commonwealths of the West save
that the former had been inveigled into
believing that the more white metal
coined by the government the more
prosperous would be the country In
casting it's lot with the Bryan crowd
the South did take a gambler
chance" but hardly with the idea that
1t really stood to win. The thing, by
some means or other. got the Demo-
cratic label attached to it, and little
If anything else was needed to make
1t popular in the South. One of the
first hopeful signs of the stamping out
of the blight of Populism in this sec
tion was the turned toward the Fast
once more as the rightful political ally
of the South, and The Posts declara-
ton that the Democratic leaders in
the South awoke this year to the need
of a change of policy" and waited only
for an Eastern Democrat to come for
ward and supplant Bryan and avert
Hearst" is a fairly accurate view of
the situation, and the declaration that
1t is the true explanation of the Par
ker movement is doubtless we'll found
ed. The paper quoted further says
that lit is a situation full of hope for
the (Democratic) party" To this prac-
tically all Democrats will doubtless
agree. Certainly there was never
anything to be hoped for from the
miningcamp combination