The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1913-12-28

The President OF the United States, the
most exalted of elected officers among
nations, now recommends a radical
change in the processes of party elections
of candidates to be passed upon at the
ballot box. The incident of this advice
70 the country may be properly referred
to the important experiences of political
parties in the past.
In Alabama we have been, with notable
examples. prolific in such experience. In
deed in the party state conventions of
this state events Initiated that stand ia
American history in sublime Immortality.
The state nominating convention of the
| democratic and conservative party of
1890 was the arbiter of the destiny of
the party itself
In our last number we left the con-
vention called to order under temporary
| Chairman w. II. benson, by whom a
committee on credentials had been ap-
sional districts, with E. L. Russell of
Mobile, chairman. Johnston partisan.
| Six of the 16 members were partlsans of
one OF the five candidates for the nomi-
nations for governor. Commissioner Kolb.
Before entering into the narrative of
further proceedings of the convention, 1t
becomes entirely necessary to just I'M
| Outstanding of the situation, Kolb against
| the field, to bring into the story certain
connections of the Farmers Alliance. Six
| years before, In the Presidential CAM
paign of 1884, the National Farmers Al
lance in conjunction with the labor or
| ga nj Of ha hol a.l
General B. f. Butler of Massachusetts,,
for President. This candidate we of the
south knew as Spoons Butler Beast"
| Butler, the Butler whom for fragrant
| cause the President of the Southern Con-
federacy had outlawed by formal proc
amation Later that is six months be-
fore the convention met at Montgomery,
| the National Farmers Alliance had
! merged with the Knights of Labor, then
| the principal labor organization, by ac-
| ton of Joint convention at st. Louis under
the name and style of the National Farm
ers' Alliance and Industrial Union.
The st. Louis amalgam published a
political platform. Rev. S. NJ. Adams,
president of the Alabama state alliance
and a delegate to the st. Louis conven-
| ton, was on the committee that reported
the platform and signed and approved it.
| The platform stood in direct antagonism
| to the ancient democratic faith and in
direct sympathy with the republican
party primaries.
There were about $1,000 republicans in
Alabama in 1890, and all the leaders were
| IN openly avowed sympathy with the ef-
| fort of the alliance to control the sitting
| state convention of the democratic and
| conservative party. One well known re-
publican ]. A. Logan, appeared as dele
| gate to the convention on one of the two
| fAntagfitaU a
as a Kolb partisan.
Shortly before the convention met while
| the public mind was exercised with the
| duty of selecting delegates, an ably edited
| newspaper of Birmingham, the Sentinel,
declared: "Colored alliance and assem-
| blies are composed of the very best ele-
ment of their race in the state and the
Sentinel believes they will be of immense
service in helping the cause of reform"
Without the state ominous forewarn-
| inss appeared. At the very time the
convention sat the Lodge bill was be-
| fore Congress. This was a bill offered
F py "A 3 stenator from Massachusetts. in
| recovery of selfgovernment and white
| supremacy in the southern states The
bill provided among other things, that
whenever 500 voters in a congressional
| district might make the necessary petit
| ton. the state machinery for electing rep
aside, and United States marshals and
United States commissioners take pos
session of the polls and conclude the cleo
| ton. There was a moral certainty of
! the petitions. The state of Alabama was
yet under the ban of negro suffrage
Three times 500 negro voters could be
found to sign petitions in every district
1t could not enter the situation that no
negro held civil office in this state In
| 1890. 1t could avail nothing to the cause
of the alliance before the convention that
Captain Kob had been leader of prime
Importance In the rescue of the state
from negro rule. Outside the state boun-
daries there was powerful, virile SYM
pathy with negro influence within The
Farmers Alliance had become intimately
associated with that exterior sympathy by
the st. Louis amalgam.
Political conditions outside the state ac-
tually separated the Farmers Alliance
OF Alabama from control of the state gov
eminent. Political conditions outside the