The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-16
EIGHT GOVERNORS OF ALABAMA
1374-1901
1874-1901
No. S-The Campaign of 1874
(CnnnIr1dndA
(Concluded)

IN the Advertiser appeared this notice
me members of the Clanton Democratic
ana conservation club will meet at the
| theatre on Monday, September 81 10
receive a banner, the gift of Mrs. james
| II. Clanton,' widow of the leaderN
Al Athens, Limestone county, on Au-
| gust Il, a barbecue was given. A epe-
cial invitation WAS sent to every demo-
cratic edltor in the state. Mr.. Houston
and several eminent leaders spoke.
At Blount Springs 10 days later. n MEM
orahle barbecue was given The men Of
the mountains for many miles gathered
! Special railroad rates were offered and
| citizens from Montgomery Selma and
| Intervening points came Morgan. Brooks
Herndon, and other famous speakers
addressed the crowd.
There was a great meeting In jefferson
county, attended by all parties. Many
republicans had sprung up there even
from the ranks of the Confederate Vet
Grams. When the orators explained SEN
ator Morton's avowal that the civil
rights bill was the principle of the re-
| publican party" and when the news
spread that Justices Saffold and Peters
had committed the state to miscegena-
tion, Jefferson county turned democratic
without delay
democratic conservative party to be voted
at the November election was: For the
supreme court, R. c. Brickell, T. j. Judge
and A. r. Manning; for representatives in
| Congress for the state at large B. B.
Lewis and General w. II. Forney. There
were six Congressional districts The
| democrats won four. namely, Jere N.
, Williams of Barbour, for the Second
John II. Caldwell of Calhoun, for the
Fifth Taul Bradford of Talladega. for
the Third and Goldsmith W. Hewett of
Jefferson, for the Sixth. Jere Haralson.
negro of Selma, won the Mobile district
and Charles Hays. scalawag, defeated the
accomplished gentleman and scholar
James Taylor Jones, in the Fourth or
| Tuscaloosa district.
| Joseph H. Sloss had been twice elected
| to Congress by the democrats over the
l radicals. In this most extraordinary
4 emergency he ran as an Independent
against the democratic nominee. Govern
or Lewis spoke on the stump for him and
| he received the radical vote In his last
term of office he voted for what was
| Familiarity known as the salary grab y
that is a raise of salary from 5000 to $500
| The bill became law. Public opinion SO
demonstrated that some of the benefi-
Charles restored the increase, but Sloss
kept his and the fact was against him at
home
Bragg directed the campaign generally
| regardless of the line between federal of.
| fice-seekers or state or county.
| A few weeks before the election Mr.
| Houston went to Marion, Perry county
| to speak. On the train out from Selma
he remarked casually to a sympathetic
| listener, 'I really believe I will be elect
| ed" The remark was uttered in the ton,
of a recent discovery. He was by M
means perfectly confident until while
| waiting for news from the polls at :
private residence in Montgomery he wa,
assured late at night that Tallapoosa
white county, had given him majority
Houston led the ticket, receiving 107 III
| votes to 93,92S for Lewis. His vote in tn,
white counties was often more thar
double that OF his competitor. jefferson
gave him 222S TO $50 for Lewis. Franklil
SS4 to $40 for Lewis. Etowah 1904 to 3l5
In the black belt Lewis ran far ahead
Dallas gave him 6S19 to 1853 for Houston
Greene s139 to s64, Hale 34S9 to 1886, .tht
dark and bloody ground" Sumter CAV,
| Lewis 1906 and Houston 1880.
| II is interesting to observe with wha
spontaneous ardor the former non-slav,
holding counties, or counties where com
paratively few slaves were found rallle,
TO the cry of white supremacy" We dis
cover the feeling dominant by comparinl
the vote cast for the democratic nomi
| nee, Herndon, in 1872 and the vote cas-
in the same counties two years later foi
| Houston, when the issue was more plain
ly drawn Cherokee gave Herndon 126
votes and Houston 1909: DeKalb CAV,
Herndon 745 to 14o4 for Houston: Jackson
es1 to 2S15 Marshall 62s to 1864; Bloun
SIS to 1893; Jefferson 1915 to 222S
The negro vote in the old plantation
counties was consistent in 1874, with tn,
support 1t brought to Lewis in his frs
campaign of two years before. The pres
ence of troops known to have been sent
by President Grant in their interest very
naturally had the desired effect. 1t has
been written in praise of the negro slaves
of their fidelity in the wartime. The freed
men in reconstruction time deserve ever
more praise in that they refused to &c