The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-07
TEN YEARS OF ALABAMA
Mo- 53-The First Collision of State Parties
1865---1874

1 honor and nothing could be lost by calling
 one of these to the high office.
 Hon. Thomas H. Watts demanded that
 Daniel Pratt a noble exemplar of every 1 civic virtue, a, man of success and cour-
 age. should be nominated Admiral Raphael Semmes called for the honor to
 fall upon young man not an active caf- ddate, a one arm hero of many battles. {, William c. Oates of Henry The names
 of George Goldthwaite of Montgomery. w. B. Modawile of Perry, w. H. Barnes | of Lee and other deserving citizens were brought before the convention Finally, i Gen. D. A. O'Neal mounted a window
 sill and high above all heads he put in
 nomination Robert B. Lindsay his neigh
 bor and friend of Lauderdale. The gal | lant old soldier, in his familiar thrilling
 and fiery words, called on the comrades
 who had followed him to scale the heights at Gettysburg to stand firmly by him now in this hour of dread import. 1 Lindsay received the nomination by acclamation on the third ballot. Never | had a wilder demonstration been wit messed by a convention than that which honored the name of this somewhat lphlegmatic scot. The soul moving speech of General O'Neal had wrought the delegates, nearly all of whom were soldiers personally known to one an-
 other. to the highest pitch of enthusi- asm. Add to this inspiration the proud
 realization that for the first time the
 white men now challenged the radical
 conglomerate to an open field and fair 1 fight and we have the key to the hearts
 of the jubilant host
 | Dr. F. H. Moren of Bibb received the
 nomination for lieutenant governor. l. iJ. Parker for secretary of state, L. F.
 Mccoy for state treasurer, and John w
 A. Sanford for attorney general. Me-
 Coy was withdrawn later and J. F.
 Grant put In his place by the execu- 1 tive committee.
 General Clanton was reelected chair
 man of the executive committee. X central committee" was selected. all
 the members of which should reside at
 the capital This body was to do tho Ipractical work of the campaign and to
 be composed of gentlemen of the high
 est personal character and qualification
 for managing party enterprises in a
 most critical juncture. The names were James IT. Clanton. chairman. Thomas
 H. Watts. George Goldthwaite, Thomas 1 J, Judge and P. J. Sayre.
 | The convention issued powerful ap- peal to the people in their homes, de- scribing the fallen conditions of their state government and arousing them to
 the duty of it's redemption.
 l The bankruptcy of the public treas | lury, the shameless venality of the leg II
 the courts of justice were vividly ex- posed. There were officers invested | Iwith authority oyer estates of widows
 and orphans who were ignorant of their
 plainest duties; important rights of
 minors, trustees, executors of estates
 and guardians were ruthlessly put in 1 jeopardy. Penalties were annexed to
 defaulting tax payers and ingenious
 contrivances of the statute were made 1 to deprive honest tax payers of their | property No decent regard was paid ! by the farmers of the laws or by the expounders thereof to the constitution l they had themselves concocted. For the first time in the history of the state,' declared the convention address
 we have before us the spectacle of 1 judges of high courts active in party
 politics; making incendiary speeches presiding at party meetings; organiz- ling to secure party ends. acting them selves as delegates to party conven- tions some of whom are unfit to hold
 any public office" The address was | signed by Thomas A. Walker of Cal | c. J. Deason, Boiling Hall, John P. Hubbard, James A. Reeves, Francis w | Sykes, Joseph r. Johnston, Thomas H. Watts. Micah J. Bulger and F. A. lONeal.
 | The platform spoke no word on the
 great internal question of railroad | frauds, nor did it refer in any manner
 to national politics. The whole energy
 of the day was consecrated to the one | task of driving fools and knaves from
 public office"
 The nominee for governor was a na-
 tive of Scotland and university man.
 He had been several times member
 of the legislature. He had been of the Douglas bolters in the campaign of had in 1ifani aJ
 the Confederacy and was gentleman
 of unimpeachable personal character His wife was of the Alabama branch
 of the Winston stock.
 1 The nominee made his passage back
 to his home in the northern limit of
 the state by way of Mobile. There he
 was received by a great night ratifca-
 tion meeting. Tn course of his speech
 he said: The state constitution was in-
 tended as q symbol of our degredation
 and an emblem of our slavery. The effort made to fasten oppression upon Ia people was never equalled. I am here
 tonight not as the representative of a party but as the advocate of a people resolved to be free. want the people
 of Mobile to say they are with me; that
 they will rally around and support me"
 Governor smith took the stump in his
 own behalf. Two weeks after Mir Lind say spoke at Mobile. he spoke at Ash | land, Clay county. He declared his un- ouenched affection for the union. He had
 been true to the flag in the war time and ever since. The carpetbaggers, he
 did not fear and had foiled They had demanded of him the organization of the militia but he was wiser than they and 1 no organization had been made They had sought to take, upon themselves. in the legislature. the choosing of presidential electors but he had defeated their scheme
 and that valued right still remained with
 the people. He denounced Spencer Nor ris and others by name
 | The whites felt within them a victory
 now. The revolutlonists became desperate | ion Charles Hays. scalawag and w. B. Jones. scalawag senator from Mareneo.
 concerted together to make a disturbance
 at one of their meetings. In October each party held meeting at Eutaw. The | speakers stand on the north side of the square, was for the democrats and that | on the south side for the radicals.
 l Colonel Jolly and Messrs. Smith and Bullock appeared to address the whites | Governor smith. Lewis l.. Parson and l Charles Hays appeared for the crowd at the south side of the square. Brigadier l General Crawford. United States army. | comma nding the post. betook himself to the latter named crowd
 The north side congregation completed | their programme and in curiosity many | stopped to mingle with the blacks and | others around the south side speakers stand Heys was delivering one of his iaccustorned exciting harangues when pis- toi shots rang out The orator sprang
 from the stand and disappeared Firing