The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-07-22


important position with fidelity for
many years thereafter
Among the carpet baggers who came to
play politics for pelf were Datus e.
Coon George f. Beach and Charles An
drews. Andrews. who had charge of the
captured and abandoned cotton, after
wards aided in the formation of the STAN
dard OIL company. Charles Turner, the
carpet-bag chancellor was brought to
Selma by Southworth, United States dis
trict attorney at Mobile.
Yes, l remember throwing the ink
stand at Rhoddy Thomas, one of the
negro members of the City Council. John
Hardy was Mayor, and although elected
by the negroes, he was disposed in a mild
way to help check them. A motion was
being debated to require a two-thirds vote
to carry all important legislation. Hardy
was favorable to It. Rhoddy Thomas in
solently and persistently interrupted me.
tried again and again to secure protec-
ton from the chairman and the marshal,
who was sergeant-at-arms. and falling l
warned Thomas that If he persisted
would take matters into my own hands;
he did persist. I seized a large flat-bot-
toned glass ink stand, gave it a pitcher s
curve and threw 1t with all my might at
the fat yellow negro. In its passage it
scattered ink over the corpulent person of
Edward l. Morgan, a yankee member of
the council, spotting him from head to
foot, sprinkling his white vest; it grazed
! the head of the lodging negro and struck
the wall with such force as to make a
deep dent therein which remained for
years after.
The Negro Carpetbagger.
"Rhoddy Thomas was bright mulatto
heavy set negro, highly educated, who
vainly tried to get the kinks out of his
hair When he was elected judge of the
criminal court he had him a special bench
made very high up. l refused to practice
before him.
'Rhoddy Thomas was impeaohed. but al
lowed to resign. The circumstances were
these: One day an old negro man,
Stepheny, came to my office, and handing
me SO showed me an old handkerchief
with a lot of papers and letters in 1t,
asked me to look over them and see what
could be done about them; that Thomas
had defrauded and deceived him. He emp
tied the papers. | looked over them, hand
ed his money back, telling him that If he
would let me have the papers | would
impeach Rhoddy Thomas He did so.
brought an action of impeachment be-
fore Judge John HARRISON of the city
court and gained it. Thomas appealed 1t
to the supreme court. 1t was reversed by
Judge Brickell on the technicality in that
Thomas was called a "practicing attor-
ney' instead or WORDS or the code,
licensed attorney" Thomas saw there
was no hope for him, so he came with a
proposition TO resign and to move west
of the Mississippi river IL the proceedings
were abandoned. He did so, and | heard
after this he became quite noted teach
err among his race in Arkansas.
EVERY argument and influence was
brought into use to try to persuade the
negro to vote with us all to no avail.
! The very best men of the county were
put up for the legislature, such as Pettus,
Dawson, Morgan and others, all to no pur-
pose The negroes refused to elect them.
| came into the constitutional convention
of 1878 by a peculiar procedure. The
negroes over my printed refusal to serve.
elected me to the constitutional conven-
ton. l declined to serve. The democratic
caucus by resolution invited me to sit
Lieutenant Governor Moren presided.
William C. Oates and William NJ. Lowe
were appointed a committee to bring me
in They found me In the supreme court
library.
What speech do I take most pride in?
MY speech at the first memorial associa-
ton meeting at the cemetery in Selma l
began as follows:
The day has wasted its sultry fire;
calmly and sweetly the evening is falling
around it and we have come from the
homes in yonder distant city whose
steeples and towers are now beautiful
with the parting rays of the last steps
of day to honor the memory of the south
ern soldiers who sleep their last sleep
beneath these funeral shades