The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-01-04
FOR A SOUTHERN MAN.

comes out squarely and decidedly in fa- vor of a Southern man as the Demo- cratic Presidential nominee for the next race. It insists that for forty years "the South has furnished most of the votes. most of the brains. and still more of the character of the Democratic Par ty," and argues on the following line: Throughout the Northern and West ern States men are sometimes Demo- crats and sometimes Republicans. It Is only from south of the Potomac. the Ohio and the Missouri, that the party 1 can rely upon veteran corps of sup | porters. Do we propose forever to be | the mainstay of the party in all that and forever content ourselves with fol- lowing docilely in the wake of any leader. that the Northern Demoerats selves as a candidate for the Presidency and summon us to vote for!
 If we put up man of our own and are defeated our contemporary argues that it will be no more than has several times happened to us with Northern candidates. and that we can't be worse off than we have been on previous oe- casions. Then it adds:
 It is to the South that the party, and perhaps ultimately the nation itself, must look for salvation. True, we have far less material wealth, fewer gorge- ous palaces and stately temples; less of that boundless luxury and display that accompanies the possession of riches | beyond the dreams of avarice. but we have race of men and women whose characters have been strengthened and disciplined in the school of diversity | who have preserved intact many of the sacred traditions and lofty ideals of IL tx@rf s.a Cf<x1 and still retain their love for home and country. and their simple faith in themselves and in each other.
 The Journals reasoning is sound but can the party be made to see 1t and act on it? True, we have allowed the North to dictate the candidate for forty years, while we have acquiesced and put in the votes to elect. where suc- cess was possible. When we have fail ed the South has been the greatest suf- ferer, beyond all question. We tried Seymour and Greedy and Tilden and Hancock and Bryan and Parker. and failed to land President either time. We do not see that we can do any worse with a typical and representa- tive Southern man in the lead than we have done.
 And yet there are bound to be good and patriotic Southern men who will not be willing to take any chances. | They will argue that there Is still prejudice against our section which will only end when all the present gener- ation of Northerners have passed away. They will argue that in view of this feeling patriotism will demand that we shall do nothing calculated to continue Republican control of the Government. 1 They will insist that our first duty is i to our country. and that we should put away all sectional feelings and unite on the man best calculated to rescue the Government from the Republicans.
 But it is just possible-nay. it is probable, that by the time another cam paign comes around the whole country will be so sick of Rooseveltism that the North will be willing to join the l South in the nomination of South erner. There are indications so plain 1 that The who runs may read" that all over the country the Republicans them | selves are getting weary of their chosen and much-lauded President. There are plain evidences that he is trying to | build up a party of his own, either to continue himself in power or to put in a man of his choice. If this belief, or l conviction, shall continue to grow until 1908 1t will be good time for true-blue Southern Democrats claims to be con-
 sidered and admitted.
 
 South come into her own again! As the Democratic. constitutional section of the Union we for many years fur nished the Presidents and dictated the policy of the Government. Then we had constitutional government in fact as we'll as in name. and were a happy people. When the dark and damning blight of abolitionism descended on the North it estranged from Democracy
 many of it's best and strongest men,
 and when a long and bloody war fol- lowed as the natural sequence of abo- litionism the result put the seal of con-
 demnation on Southern Democrats as
 leaders Since then the Democrats of
 our section have been hewers of wood l anu QTdWeTS OL NdleLs dNCSpNlH6 lIC
 candidates selected for us and voting
 for whomsoever our Northern allies se-
 lected.
 Shall that program hold good for all
 time? Shall the great constitutional
 party continue to regard Northern birth
 and residence as a condition precedent
 to a presidential nomination.? There
 are numbers of good and sound men
 up there for whom Southern Demo-
 crats would cheerfully vote, but it
 doesn't seem fair to keep on barring
 out the section of the Union which
 much elect a Democratic President If
 we ever have another. There are men
 in the South who woud honor the off,
 flee. as Southern men have honored 1t
 in the past, and if the Democrats of the
 South would unite on one and insist
 on his nomination it would be done. and
 his chance for election would be as good
 as that of Northern Democrat.
 A WEAK EXCUSE.
 The statement Is going the rounds,
 as coming from Secretary Shaw, that
 TsLs 70 uya1sh praaidant of the hurst. .