The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-05-25
EIGHT GOVERNORS OF ALABAMA
No. 30-Administratio of Governor Houston
Revolution in White Supremacy
1901

The second period of reconstruction,
1S7i-190l, in Alabama now was well ad-
vanced and secure in it's career. 1t left
behind it forever the carpeibagger the
scalawag and the cotton field negro ten
ants of the offices, great and small, state
| and federal.
Reconstruction, in this second period of
| 26 years, destroyed, probably forever, the
republican party in the state and loade l
| it's memory with a most just obloquy.
There were not half dozen counties
where candidate for office would dare
! to stake his chances on the reputation
of that party.
! But practical state government was
teenth article of amendment of the fed
eral constitution. The patent intent of
the article was to reduce the southern
states to negro rule for the assumed Sc
curity of the republican party in the ma
tional government.
| The inevitable result of the article was,
! the historic "solid south" IN Alabama
we gained white supremacy, but lost that
essential of free elective government, the
power to divide the white vote by party
| questions. The health of free govern
ment is naturally dependent upon the
conflict of political ideas and policies and
: the necessary. conflict must be MAIN
! tained by political parties, in rivalry for
possession of the government.
The second period of reconstruction.
| lS14-l9Ol, was terminated by the remark
| able achievement of self-redemption, re-
| corded in the constitution of 1901.
| The in oil ir,, Of +l,,a
| moval of the republican party was, of
| course, the new constitution of 1876. This
was tedious process, indicative OF the
earnestness of the statesmen. Did the
| masses desire a new constitution? The
polls were opened and the answer came.
deep and true. in the affirmative The
best men were selected to make the in
| strument Was the result of their labor
acceptable to the masses? The polls were
again opened and the answer in the af-
frmative was overwhelming.
| The new constitution wen. into effect
December 6, 1875. The second session of
the legislature of 1874 assembled by spe-
| cial provision of the law, December 2S
! 1875.
! Before Governor Houston's first term
of two years terminated the state debt
i which in round numbers was $S2, ,Oc0, 600
when he took office. had been reduced to
$1o,Do000 by the labors of the commits
| sion of which he was ex-officio chairman.
| The annual cost of operating the state
| government was decreased by $264,O0O in
| the various items here shown, namely
| in substitution of biennial for annual
sessions of the legislature: in material
reduction OF the amount paid to state of
| fcers in salaries, including the governor;
| in the abolition of the office of commits
sioner of internal revenue; in the aboli-
| tion of the quasi legislative body, on pay,
the board of e5hcation and regents of
! the university; IN the reduction of the
number of Chancellors and circuit Judges.
| Governor Lewis, scalawag, paid sala /.
\ ries of clerks at the capitol, in the last
] year of his administration, ST, ,4S5. Gov
ernor Houston in his first year paid or
| the same account $673S Lewis spent on
the penitentiary, above its income from
| the institution $685.. Governor Houston
made a net income from the same
source. of $4,000 in his first term The
contingent fund expenditure of Lewis
was S22.s9S. the expenditure of Houston
from the same fund was $3.50.
In addition to relief of this chara eter
from the burden of government the car~
petDagger statute. encouraging counties
and towns to tax themselves for internal
improvements such railroads and i'm
provement of navisable streams, was re-
pealed. BY provision of the new consti-
tuition the state could no longer leu1 It's
credit to private enterprise and could
issue no new bonds, outside those con
templated In the debt settlement
In May, 1876, Attorney General Sanford
brought suit for the state against the
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