The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-26

Alabama and other states by the frag- ment of Congress were by no means the only evidences of the revolutionary
 character of that body or of the tur- bulent, disordered condition of the en- l tire federal government at Washing 1 ton.
 Two or three years before the war, the ''Pennsylvania Fiscal Agency was organized to assist industrial enter
 prises. In 1887 when the country was distracted by the great issues of which we here get glimpse, the company | was reorganized as the Credit Mobil- eer," to build the Pacific railroad, an enterprise then quite parallel in mag nitude to the Isthmian canal of today
 The Credit Mobileer soon entered Con- gress. Public scandal followed. The vice-president, the speaker senators and representatives became involved
 One senator was expelled by resolu- ton, that was allowed to lapse, two representatives were shown to be plainly guilty. Many contemporary circumstances tended to show that the persecution of the southern states was with purpose to limit the membership of Congress in order that corrupt
 schemes against the management of
 the public debt might be made less lia-
 ble to Interruption.
 The Senate humbled itself to make gross interference with the effort of the President to remove Secretary of War Stanton, In favor of the secre- tary. The ranking general of the army, and the secretary of war were in col fusion to evade the constitutional au- thority of the commander-in the
 President The President published net. to prove that General Grant in- vited to a cabinet meeting, had ac- tually said things in the meeting that the general had denied in the news
 papers as his words or meaning.
 The government was extreme, vim dictive. uncertain and weak in every part
 On Friday December 8. the constitu- tional convention that had been assem- bled on November 5, 1867, by order of the major general commanding, ad-
  the President of the body or by the or der of the major general commanding
 The enabling act of Congress re- qujred the new constitution to be sub mitted to the polls and the state and county offices. created by its provisos to be elected at the same time and places.
 General Pope from district headquar- ters ordered the election for February I ha oRfh of that month. the President relieved him and placed the hero of Gettysburg, Major General Gorge G. Meade. in his place. Early in January. General Grant re- moved Swayne and put Brigadier Hay den in his place, as commander or the b-district of Alabama. He had de- feated Pope and driven him from the field, after desperate fighting. Meade had successfully resisted Lee at Get tysburg. For some reason, not clear. the people of the state were pleased with the change, from Pope to Meade Meade, in the "old army" like Grant, chose his associates among southern officers. He was specially the personal friend of General Hardee. Generai Meade continued Pope's order Tor the general election on February 4. but en- larged the voting period from one day. as Pope had 1t, to four days
 The foreign element dominating the constitutional convention grew anxious as they saw ahead. So they met In caucus on the spot The caucus selected half of the delegates holding seats Tn the convention for state and county offices to be filled by the Feoruary elections Not only did the caucus se- lect the state and county officers. but they designated who should be voted into Congress at the same election
 The campaign opened. Only the
 month of January was time left for
 the canvass Saffold declared for the
 constitution" and the office of justice
 of the supreme court. Whelan de-
 clared for the constitution, and Tor
 the office of circuit judge. Henry Sem
 pie 'had enough. He took the stump
 against the constitution and the whole programme.
 w. T. Blackford of New York. pro-
 bate judge of Hale, who was one Of
 the two carpet baggers seen in the convention to wear a clean shirt Fleming resigned his office and took the stump against the constitution,
 Francis w. Sykes of Lawrence, who
 had been temporary chairman of the
 republican union party. organized m the capitol June 4, 1867 and G. w. Graves of Perry, a delegate to the constitutional convention took the stump against the constitution.
 Clubs of whites were formed every
 where. The spontaneous instinct of race inspired all the hallucination of many in teligent men. outside the sphere of the southern influence. that slave holders and
 non-slave holders were at enmity among themselves, by reason of difference in wealth never had foundation. Practical ly every southern man in public life in the slave era was put in office by the suffrage Of non-slave holders. and the public man who did not own slaves could hardly he found. It was enough now for the hill people of the state to know the compost tion of the late constitutional convention,
 that many negroes had joined in making it. They resented the insult to their race and joined with ardor in the unification of the whites to defeat the instrument at the pending election.
 Human society has never in it's experi- ences made voluntary organization of in dividuals so compact. so intelligent, so regardless of personal risk, so responsive to authority within itself, as the organ ization of the white men of Alabama in 1868 to save the state from the awe inspiring doom threatened.
 County meetings were everywhere. fo,,