The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-02-18

Editor The Advertiser: I notice in last Sundays issue of l The Advertiser long article under
 Hon. ihs a.a John pSd Dale. % Of Wiicos Vii % county,
 the leaders of the Lost Cause that !,
 think so o5 ou sd ss oEsS to so o challenged, and .uneorrected. Certain | ly Mr. Dale has been most unfortunate
 in this produetion, and t is simply ,
 The Advertlser. % infinsntiai and al- 1 ways so loyal to the South, should give its editorial endorsement. Mir Dale
 Iies meaning ing he did. but even . casual
 reader can see that in his discussion | of "The Reign of the Demagogue" he
 has done the South. and many of her | truest and bravest leaders, serious | injtry and gross injustice.
 | In his overanxiety to lay predi.
 cate on which tc fx the blame, or at stringency in financial matters now | existing on the present State admin l istration and it's associates. and to
 sEs sSows rrsat ssa as sea f but Ss sSssainy T t IS l not "according to knowiedge. for If | he had weighed his words am of
 the opinion he never would % nave nave maze ni,n,e men as Bob Tombs, Benjamin H. Hill. | Howell Cobb. Herschel V. Johnson and | others of equal prominence ln the | of the demagogus; with bringing. on l the great civil war and then for fear of "being perforated by Yankee bull
 i1 i1es tbs onartermastep's % or commissary's 1 departments or with taking "the first l shfp to Europe" And the literal, plain meaning of his language shows that l he has done this in no uncertain terms, 1 and to any true Southerner such an in- | dictment lis enough to stir fever m l the blood of age. and make infants | here, however, that 1t is not my pur- l bale in any unfavorabie light before
 S South Sat ans ssr Srsss s esa a
 1 patriotic sons with all the earnessness l of my soul and write this In defenee
 of those who freely shed their 6iooa l dear to every Southern heart
 l sense in which MT. Dale deals with
 the S character ] D is simply despiabie. l But all leaders of great relorms anu 1 movements are not demagogues al.
 though the cause for Wnien sns snex xbss J.a1s ,s l undoubtedly true with regard to tns l leaders on both sides of the great war l between the States And that xeafIua I brought on by the work of demagogues | Dale charges. Not In all the history | Sessplcabie 1sl character than this conflict l between the North and the sousn. t., ,. I gle that had been going on Tor years l between a class of able and conscien- tious men and women of the North con : 1 ofl one side, and q class of men equal | ly as able conscientious ana SinceEs 1 from the South. c0ntending Tor iegai rights on the other side; AnG A,,as sn3 candid conyiction that the incompasaS l bIe bravery, indonitable courage ana i interpidtty of our matcniess .ssss 2 ,.s | and Bars out victorious in that mems 1 orable conflict had 1t not been decreed I by Providence that slavery n sne l gn.- ta
 ted States or Ssr Amsr,ca ~ snyidt nsyncidents in ] the history of this great war WnlSn ns,n I seems to support this assertion. 4no
 quite similar to those tlat ,1 dscioea sass sns I drops of rain that fell just before qay- | iigkt on that fatal morning Of June | IS, Isi5. which prevented nina ron ts tIe fseid M as early as he had planned :, for the battle to begin. l believe. ., is 8 1 conceded by most historians to 1s ae sne
 primary eanss a,,,tasy Gl ans % renius of mod
 sra The stnnning blow and wholly SI'; SnI
 expected defeat of Seasrs, his rusv at TSl the l first battle of Manassas oy GsneEAt | Joseph E. Johnston, made the Soutna- osa : ern army practically master ot sns s.s- 1 ston had followed up his advansA&e and gone on to Washington As ne prog9s- ably could have done, Mr. Davis eeese sl
 alnost st the d,csayAd yssy Pessnn tern of peace.
 turn 1t to MT. Dale. After dsscEibiug the | glorious eplendor. and cniyairlc r.na mnl1
 ne s$SS Borders of this Beulah land | snpeared a small cloud about. Ine siss
 Of mans hand; Ss,,s Senhn0i who iixe the scr nsnt fn the Garden of Eden was soon
 fn spread devastation and woe. On
 the stump. in the hesorSsutisn Tor1this m his Voice voice
 couid be heard combatting some
 Swa Binary evil. With his silvery tongue, with his matchless eioggSnrss egs,a,,s
 ne % stirred the people; poor and rich
 alike" His exordiun was: HeA ss ss
 afioat and the river is rising ,nss aIs
 peroration was; strike a.n tnd when sn0 mere
 was no enemy to strike, But ne was a.
 @ettfng in his work all the same. IT
 the pitch of their frenzy, q Warh'hhg h
 some long sighted statesman. Permis
 a personal reniiniscence: On my Ieao W
 10 colIege--a mere .youth--l rememosss .s very small, diminutive man. about l the size of a pound of soap after E. 2
 few days washing. got aboard Gn tne train at or near Crawfordsville, Ga'
 It was soon noised among the passen-
 gers that this little man was Aiexan- der H. Stephens, the hrst statesmaht statest r of his age. He had made q speech
 that day to thousands of Georgianas | warning them of the danger 70 Whlch | their frenzy was carrying them;
 His counsel was swept away. 6y tns
 fiery Bob Toomsb, Ben H. Hill, Howell 1 Cobb and Herschel V. Johnson. The 1. demagogue had kindled q fire he coulc not put out" And then Mir. Dale gets of a lot of fIapdoodle about farmer setting his barn on fire to burn up
 wasp nest, and continues: The nea,
 con lights were lit upon every nil top and mountain top in this south
 land" Unquestionably the dema'
 gogues referred to here is meant te
 Include such men as Bob Toomos' B
 H. Hill, Johnson. Davis, William L . Yancey and other leaders of the seces sion movement; men as true to primer , l pie as the needle to the pole ana a' l courageous and brave as ever the SUI