The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-09-27

Sketch Oh bls Lfles
Richard Henry Clarke was born In
Marengo county, Ala, February 9. lS4S,
and was the son of William E and
Rebecca Raincock Clarke. His father,
a native of Petersburg Va. was we'll
known member of the Alabama bar
and a member of the secession conven-
ton of 1851. The elder Clarke was
State prosecuting attorney in his dis
trict, State Senator from 1861 to
Circuit. Court from 1881 to 1892 and a
delegate from Marengo county to the
constitutional convention of 1875.
Richard H. Clarke received his early
education in local schools and after
course at the University OF Ala
bama took first honors of the class
of 1861 At the age Of Is and almost
Immediately after concluding his uni
versity course, Mr.. Clarke took SER
vice in the Confederate Army as a
lieutenant in the 1st Battalion of Ala
bama artillery and after participating
In some of the minor engagements in
the beginning of the civil war, his bat
talon was stationed at Fort Morgan,
General Whiting of Mobile being then
captain of the battalion, which re-
NAMED on duty at Fort Morgan until
the surrender. In addition to the du-
ties of first lieutenant Mr.. Clarke was
Judge Advocate of the military dis
| trict
/ At the close of the war Mr.. Clarke
returned to Marengo county and pTac-
ticed law with his father, being af-
forwards prosecuting attorney of the
judicial circuit in which Marengo
reputation as a State Solicitor and
participated in several important
trials.
Mr.. Clarke moved to Mobile in 1881
and formed a law partnership with the
late Thomas Mccartney. which contin-
ued until the latters death. During the
first year in Mobile he defended with
| out pay twenty citizens of Wilcox
county who were brought to Mobile
for trial on charges of intimidation
arising out of the political conditions
existing in Alabama during the re
construction" period and through MS
patriotic labors all were acquitted. The
people of Wilcox county never forgot
| Mr.. Clarke for his exertions on their
behalf at that time and they Loyalty
| supported him in congressional and
state campaigns whenever he was be-
fore the people.
He was elected to Congress from the
First district in 1889 and served IN
the Fifty-first, Fifty second, Fifty
third and Fifty-fourth Congresses re-
turning to the practice of law in Mo-
Die III 1881. tOtlOTt lteiN lIS SOiA5ASSS
Mr.. Clarke was prominent in the OPP
position, to the free silver doctrine
and as he had gained a reputation in
Congress as thinker and speaker and
participated in important debates with
credit to the South, he was one of the
big men in the national movement
which eliminated in the formation OF
the 'lgold wing" of the Democratic
party and was at one time mentioned
for vice president on the gold ticket
eventually headed by Generals Palmer
and Buckner. In the course of his
earnest opposition to the silver agita'
ton Mr. Clarke debated the subject
with William Jennings Bryan in The
Mobile Theatre and on that occasion
Mr. Bryan made one of the first free
silver speeches delivered by the presi-
Dental candidate in the country. A
large number of the voters of Alabama
were influenced in their opinion by thu
logic of Mr. Clarke and other Demo
cratic leaders of the State although
the Democratic ticket in the presden
tial campaign of 1896 was given
large majority and IN the next cleo
ton for governor Mr.. Clarke was in
vited to represent the gold STANDARD
Democrats. He was defeated for gov
crnor by Joseph F Johnston after ;
hard fought cambaign. the single issue
of the contest being gold standard YER
sus the silver plank OF the Chicas'