The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-28

reached largely on the personal charac-
teristics of the successful candidate. He
belonged to distinguished and ancient
family. He was an eloquent orator,
well informed leader and a brave man.
James p Armstrong, independent and
greenbacker, opposed Colonel Herbert,
but as we have seen, met defeat de-
eisively.
The greenbacl< party was not without an
impress ON the public mind in this state.
The money stringeney was universal.
Twenty -eieht lines of railroad had gone
into bankruptcy in the United States and
Ii other lines had been forced into receiv
ership Most distressing labor strikes pre-
vailed in the north. AT Pittsburg miles of
railroad cars We're madly burned BY strik-
ers The tramp possessed the high
ways.
Among evidences of distress in the
state, the capital city Itself presented one
notable Militarism had left the city gov
ernment bankrupt. An investor in its Sc
eurities one Hart Of New York brought
suit in the federal district court, In de-
fault of interest due nim. The district
Judge, John Bruce. carpetbagger, ordered
a special tax levy to meet this default.
The tax was actually levied, but the city
council suspended disbursement of it,
pending certain negotiations and arrange
ments intended to satisfy the creditors
Ol lDt city apart iioit lHt TIN
fund. The Judge took offense. He ordered
Mayor Moses and Couneilmen John w.
DUR. Thomas G. Jones and the others
fined $3.50 each and the fines were collected.
The combination of carpetbagger, scala
wag and negro had passed out of the no
litical equation in Alabama. The federal
court remained under alien control.
George Turner, earpetbagger, a man of
decided capacity. was United States mar
, sba1 Gbnf Mover
plished trickster, was district attorney,
also carpetbagger Meyer especially was
right hand man of Senator Spencer. To-
gether and separated, these three imper-
sonated the degradation of the govern
ment at washington In its contact with
the people Of the state.
Under the manipulation of these three,
a grand jury of the federal district court
was empanneled at Montgomery, closely
following the state and congressional cleo
tions of 1878, that Is, for the December
term. The Montgomery Advertiser de-
scribed the body as "a strange conglom-
Grafton, which offends the eye and dis
tresses decency''-a deliberately selected
list of ignorant negroes and depraved
whites.
Under the direction of the district at
torney, this jury found true bills against
considerable number of the foremost cit
liens who had participated in the late
campaign for Congress in the state. OF
citizens of Montgomery county thus ar
raigned, were Messrs. George Sayre, B. E.
MoGehee w. B. Jones.
While the grand jury was thus employed
unoer Meyer Marshal Turner received at
the jail door from the hands of his depu-
ties 66 farmers from the counties of Ge-
neva and Coffee, charged with public
land depreciation.
The presiding judge, John Bruce, con-
tinued the political cases until the May
term, when he hoped that at least one
OF the justices of the supreme court from
Washington would sit with him.
Walter L. Bragg and Watts & Troy APP
peared for the citizens of Montgomery
county on trial; William M. Brooks and
E. w. Pettus appeared for other de-
PENDANTS.
Watts argued in course of the proceed
ings before the court that even if the de-
PENDANTS We're guilty, they had offended
no federal law. The state courts alone
We're competent TO try such offenses
We shall see presently that Governor
Houston was elected senator to succeed
Spencer on March 4, 1879. He now re-
paired to Washington and in his capacity
as senator he led the Alabama delegation
to wait on Attorney General Devens, to
insist the cases be not called for trial at
the May term. The defendants were far
mers and the sacrifice of their time a
that season would be disastrous to them
Ihe Attorney General did not commit
himself to accede to the request of the
senator and his associates, but the cases
We're never brought to trial
While Judge Bruce heard the most emf
nent counsel of the state in the prelimi-
naries of this case. the courtroom was
thronged by the best people of the town
and vicinity. giving evidence of the in
tensity of the apprehension in the public
mind. lest the federal court should reverse
in effect the redemption of the state
achieved at the polls
JOHN WITHERSPOON DUBOSE.