The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-12-15
EIGHT GOVERNORS OF ALABAMA
1s74-I901
No. 09-Preliminary to he Great Convention 1890
Thomas Seay, Governor
1874-1e01

Immediately upon the action of the
Montgomery county (his county, conven-
tion in appointing a delegation to the
forthcoming state convention of the dem
ocratic and conservative party instructed
to vote as a unit for him for the nomina-
tion for governor, Col. Thomas G. Jones
took the stump. Commissioner Kolb con-
tinued, as for many months in the past,
to appear at the legally appointed farm
ers' Institutes, and to make speeches there
In the interest of his own candidacy for
that nomination. Neither Johnston, Crook
nor Richardson, all of whom respectively
had been recommended by county action
to the state convention for the nominal
ton, ever appeared on the stump to sup
port that action.
: A day or two after the formal recon-
mendation of him by his county, Colonel
Jones spoke at Dadeyille, Tallapoosa
county, a hotbed of the alliance and a
Kolb stronghold The audience was full.
II am candidate for your suffrage"
said the orator of the day, but l would
rather have your respect than your
votes" The speech took the st. Louis
amalgam platform for text He was a
railroad lawyer, he said, inasmuch as
among his clients came railroads. A great
railroad was one of his fixed clients, but
he wassconscious of that freedom of mind
becoming to a patriot. Before the Ala
bama railroad commission was created by
the legislature he had advocated the en-
actment of the law in face OF opposition
from some of the foremost citizens of
Alabama, who were railroad promoters.
Capt. W. l.. Bragg was man of SO reso-
lutte mind and unyielding disposition, when
convinced, that many were reluctant, to
see him appointed to the presidency of the
commission, but the orator had exerted
himself to have Bragg appointed and had
nevar regretted his act.
1t was strange, said the orator, that
while all divisions of material interests
had long ago sought to strengthen them
selves by organization, the powerful farm
ing interests had been content to remain
without organization. Now that the step
had been taken, II do not see how any
just man. to say nothing of any sensible
man, can fail to sympathize sincerely
with the declared objects and purposes of
the alliance order of this state
Touching upon the alliance warehouse
project, the orator said: THAT is a
differ The idea involved was to es-
tablish basis of credit for the benefit of
farmers on farm products to enable tue
farm industry to prosper.
Certainly the purpose was comprehen-
sive and the end aimed at noble. But
the method was not new 10 Alabama. The
state had notorious experience In the
application of that same general princi-
pie In the first decade of statehood, Ala
bama had brought into the asests of a
great state bank and It's conveniently To-
Gated branches at various commercial
points, the plantations and slaves of the
people. The state bank and its branches
for awhile supplied the currency that
caused aush times and great prosperity,
but the plan was built ON sand, even If
built on virgin soil of great plantations
that produced enormous crops and on so
valuable a property as negro labor.
The state bank and it's branches
came near bankrupting the whole peo-
pie But for the wonderful skill and
energy of F. s. Lyon, the name of the
state would have been held in dishonor
in every market of the world. As 1t