The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-09-08

for cancellation he misplaced one repre-
senting a debt of the state that had
heen settled to an amount of perhaps
$loO0. Dfligent search failed to find the
missing bond. After recovery of the
property seemed improbable, the secre
tary paid into the state treasury its
full face value. Years later the missing
paper being still undiscovered. the leg
islature restored his moneys Burke re
ceived the nomination on the tifth bal
lot
For attorney general four names were
placed before the convention. w. S.
Thorington and e. z. Morrisette of
Montgomery. Thomas n. Mcclellan of
Limestone and George Moore. McClel
Ian won on the dfth ballot.
Seven earnest men aspired to the
nomination for superintendent of edu-
cation. w. G. Clark of Mobile, DIR. j.
H. Shakleford of Morgan, w. G.. Tit
comb of Monroe T. J. Pennington of
Coosa, ~ A. Graham OF Shelby, E. Y.
McMorris of Montgomery and Major
Solomon Palmer of Marshall. Palmer
won on the fourth ballot.
II was the guadrennial for the cleo
tion of a President of the United states.
The convention chose for electors fo-
the state at large +. w. Bowdon of
ITalladega and w. Fl. Barnes of Lee. The
districts each for itself nominated the
remainder of the party electors.
The convention appointed delegates
to the Chicago national democratic con-
vention. Gen. i. P. Walker and Gen. e..
W. Pettus, Capt. Joseph F. Johnston
and Mr. H. C. Tompkns for the state
at large.
An incident of the day deserves men
ton. A young man, stephen Smith.
was a delegate to the state convention
from Sumter. Ten years before in the
han - fI., an o. N n q
of 1S74. Smith, then a youth of is years,
was arrested by a United States mar
shall In his home. He was one of three
arrests made at the same time. The
others were, one the most distin guished
lawyer of the county, w. B. Wetmore,
and the other a negro alleged to be
guilty of the offense of having voted
for Houston.
The notorious scalawag. w. 3. Jones,
lived at Demopolis, some 20 miles from
Livingston and held the office of United
States commissioner before whom these
prisoners were triable. There was d.
rect railroad connection with Mobile via
Meridian. The charges were interfer-
ence with the election OF scalaWag
Charley Hays for Congress.
The three prisoners were placed on
the cars under guard, carried through
Demopolis, where United States Com
missioner Jones lived, on to Selma and
through Montgomery, past the homes
of several United States Commissioners
qualified to hear the complaints. on to
Mobile, the limit of the state boundary.
They were there instantly released and
returned home. The charges were con-
fessed to be without the least founda-
ton in fact.
En- route under arrest, the prisoners
seem to have been turned over to
United States Marshal J. d. Williford
to be lodged and guarded at the Mont
gomery county Jail There the ladies
We'd with each other in tender atten-
tions to them. But by word and by
vile deed Williford greatly offended the
youth, Stephen Smith, his prisoner
there. Ten years later In a recess OF
this political convention, to ' hich he
was a delegate. Smith, powerful
healthy. high spirited young man, ac-
cidentally came face to face with the
now ex-marshal on the street. Quick
as a flash. the aforetime prisoner
planted a blow with his fist in the face
of his former time oppressor, Knock ed
him full length on the side walk, leaped
on the PROSTATE form and stamped to
his hearts content Williford prove
to be armed and at the earliest momen,
of recovery from the ground fired one
ineffective shot at his assailant. Foi
this breach of city ordinance he was
fined by the recorder $50.
JOHN WITHERSPOON DIfBOSG.