The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-10

ClaIlOn OF the importance OF the election
of 1874. it is convenient to bring into
view the general state of society and the
attitude of men generally toward the
civil authority.
| Up to the outbreak of the Jay Gould
| financial panic of September. 1873, the
price of the "middling'' class of cotton,
| in New York, had been, in round num-
| bers, 26 cents since the close of the war
| The high price OF this staple product
and practically sole subject of commerce,
bears a remarkable and most happy in
| fiuence upon the period of transition in
! the south from normal political, social
and industrial life to reconstruction. .
The price of cotton determined the peace
between the negro cotton producers in
| jected by the government at Washing
| ton into the politics of the country as
enemies of the white landlords and the
whites. The owner of the land was far
more eager to give home and occupation
to a negro plow hand, who brought with
| him a troop of cotton piclxers in his
wife and children, than he was to con-
troll the vote of the negro. At the time
| VI WillCH we WlilCs lIe lHlHtTdl 1nQuS-
| try had no considerable development.
The mines. mills, building of cities. etc.
that later came to attract so large a
proportion of the negro laborers were
unknown. The Alabama negro was lin
tied in the field of labor to the Alabama
cotton plantation or to emigration to the
cotton plantations of states to the west.
I,, so; -
branches of Congress, ITO inquire into
the condition of affairs in the late insur-
rectionary states, was appointed The
committee membership was large, but
there were subdivisions assigned to diff
ferent states. Senator Pratt, republic
can, was chairman of the subcommittee
sent to Alabama to take testimony and
General Francis P. Blair, then senator,
was the only democrat on it.
Sumter county became the storm CEN
ter of the reconstruction policy in Ala
bama and we shall try that policy before
the tribunal of history by the recital
of some of the testimony brought out
by the subcommittee.
In the sitting at Livingston one OF the
witnesses was a lawyer, later chancellor.
Thomas Cobb, long resident in that town
and personally familiar with the condi-
tions. Mr. Cobb testified: after the
surrender there was a disposition on the
part of the freedmen and their former
owners to live together in peace and
harmony The freedmen themselves
seemed to desire 1t as well as the white
the Friendly Society and they requested
lis to come down and address them al
their meeting, In order to advise them
and give them counsel: and we did it.
I addressed them myself frequently; and
other members of the bar Other citl-
1ens here took particular pains to ad-
dress them. There was then good feel
ing. but there came men here by the
| name of Poice and Hays and from that
time a bad feeling commenced between
the whites and blacks" Price and Hays
were both scalawags.
Mr.. Cobbs continued to testify. He
said the race antagonism then, 1871, was
less acute than 1t was in 1S67-6S when the
political issues were more active. In
the campaign of 1870 he said he can.
yassed the county for the democratic
candidates and large numbers of negroes
attended his meetings always giving his
speech the most respectful attention and
voted In large numbers with u.s. Mr..
Socrates Parker was large slave holder.
On the occasion of one of Cobb's meet
tngs Mr.. Parker came forward to say
to the crowd of negroes present that
there was no disposition on the part of
, the whites to intimidate negro voters;
that they should be protected In their
right to cast their votes for any candi-
date they preferred Thus encouraged
several negroes entered the campaign
as democratic orators In that campaign,
$780, Parsons, Governor Smith, and for
mer Senator Warner went to Livingston
together and spoke there for the repub-
lican ticket. The same night the me-
groes met to deliberate on what the
orators of the day had spoken for their
contemplation. Parsons had said there
should be in conflict of races for the
whites were God made superior. Sid
Porter, negro, arose in the negro meet
| ing to say If Mr.. Parsons had told them
the truth there was but one thing for
him to do and that was to choose the
| best company; he would vote with the
white men.
| Race relations that existed in Sumter
| county, after Appomattox and until the
/ state government was overthrown two
/, years later and correctly described by the
witness Cobbs were general in Alabama,
Those relations were disrupted in Sum-
! ter and elsewhere by Congress and Presi-
dent Grant. The method of interference
everywhere may be understood by the
things done against the rights and dig
nifty of Sumter. For example the pro-
bate judge legislated into office by Con-
gress after defeat at the general election
! of February, 1868, was Tobias Lane. Who
was Lane? A carpetbagger from Ohio, ut
| terly unknown in the county and pos
| sessed of no qualifications Captain
Gordy of the army of invasion, unknown
! in Sumter was at the same time legs-
lated into the office of state senator from
| that county. Two negroes and one white
man were seated in the same way in the
| house. The white man was criminal
| In jail Just prior to his election. He was
| low barkeeper In Livingston. Two
| brothers Cecil came down from Ohio.
| One WAS made sheriff of the county and
| the other treasurer by the same general
act of Congress. The tax collector put
| in office by that act was one Benjamin
Rolfe, a carpetbagger, seldom sober.
mostly known as the member of the con-
stitutionaI convention called by General
| Pope in 1867. who left two shirts at the
| hotel in Selma on his way to Montgomery
| to pay his board bill.
| The tyne of civil authority set up all
| over the state was that shown to prevail
| in Sumter county. One more example
will suffice The circuit of which Sum-
| ter was a component. was given judge
-bv act of Congress. Luther r. Smith, a
| captain of the volunteer army of inva-
| sion. a young man, say 20 years of age,
who had never practiced law. The cir
| cult included Mobile
| 1t is a lamentable error to look upon
| the history of the times here recited as
| mirage, phantasm to be forgotten amidst
| the marvellous recovery of the south from
n