The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-05

In the livestock markets of the year 1s44 there was a great premium placed upon mules of a certain particularly ugly hue. Flooded horses did not com- mand so much ready money in the Ken- lucky marts. That was because every loyal whig In the country wanted to ride in the Clay procession at the big Whig barbecue and he wanted to ride on a ''claybank" mule. the while he sang:
 -Get out O the way. you're all uniucky. Clear the track for old Kentucky"
 True 1t is that certain very naughty boys of Democratic parentase. did se- cret themselves along the roadsides and lie in wait with the felonious pur- pose of staining the wethers of those beautifully ugly "claybank" mules with a pigment made by expressing the For was not Polk the Democratic can didate7 And had not Andrew Jackson. the beloved "Old Hickory" given the stamp of approval to this Young Hick- ory of Tennessee"7 And did not the Democrats, defying Mexico and Eng land alike. prove themselves true pa- triots in raliying to Folks cry for the reoccupation of oregon and the re-an- nexation of Texas" and did not every Democratic heart beat faster when he heard the alliterative slogan. Fifty. four forty or fight!'
 And when it was all over and the unbelievable news was borne in upon the minds of the people that the great Clay, the gallant Harry of the West" had been defeated by a nonentity. a mere nobody. like Polk, did not strong men give way to tears? And even the Democrats could not help but feel sorry for the great Kentuckian, whose life ambition was once more denied.
 The election of James Knox Polk the first dark horse" candidate for President. and the defeat of Henry Clay, then sat the apex of the glory of personal popularity. ended political campaign which had more profound effect upon future history than any other yet recorded. It brought about tion of California, and made the Civil War inevitable.
 The whigs had sung and shouted their gallant Harrison to such noble victory that they were certain that Clay could not be. defeated. Harrison White House. and had been succeeded by John Tyler. The Whlgs of the Clay wing believed In a Bank of the United States, They passed two bills to char ter such an institution, but both were vetoed by Tyler. The result was complete break in the Whig ranks and the reorganization of Tyler's cabinet along Democratic lines. Then Tyler began to give heed to the appeals for annexation from the new Republic of Texas. The South wanted Texas to come in. as it would be slave terri tory. For the same reason the North wanted Texas kept out.
 Both whigs and Democrats were still afraid to take hold of the slavery ques- ton. The leaders feared that the in- troduction of the Texas question would break up both parties and endanger the Union. Mexico had announced that the annexation of Texas would be regard ed by that nation as declaration of war. although 1t had already acknowl- edged the independence of Texas. Eng land and France, Jealous of the growth of the United States, were exerting every possible diplomatic influence to prevent annexation.
 Henry Clay knew that he would be the Whis candidate. Martin Van Bur en was equally certain that he would be the Democratic standard bearer. Although bitter political enemies, Clay and Van Buren were good personal friends. MT. Van Buren went to Ken- Nvcky and spent several days as the Eaest of Mir. Clay at Ashland. There tley had a conference, each recognfz- Ing the other as the Presidential can- dnate of the opposition party. Each bpieved the Texas question was load eS" So they agreed to keep 1t out of tfe campaign.
 The Whig convention was to be nd in Baltimore on May 1, 1s44. and thi Democratic convention was to meet Tn Ehe same city on May 27. The off cia organ of the Whig party was the NNional Intelligencer. while The Wash