The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-07-21
EIGHT GOVERNORS OF ALABAMA
 lS74-19O1
No. 130-The Conduct of Political Parties
 William c. Oates, Governor

seven days after the meeting of the or sanized democracy n state convention at
 the capitol the popu1ists met in state convention at McDonald's opera house, Montgomery. that is on April B, 1896.
 By previous understanding the repub- liean party selected that date also for the meeting of it's state convention
 As usual with this latter named party. Il was at discord within itself There vas the R. A. Moseey faction. or lilly whites" and the black and tans.~ led by Bill Stevens, negro Both of these faction submitted each it's application to Governor Oates for the use of the hall of the lower branch of the legislature. News of the already prevailing bitterness of l feeling between the rivals having reached the governor he declined the petition of beth.
 f1fty-eight of 66 counties sent delegates to tie populist convention. 25O in all Few politicians of long experience wer found Tn the body. Congressman M. ". Howard osptaln kolb' Capt. A. T. Goodwin, the heV' S M. Adams, Dr. Grafton B. Grove, A. S Hobson, however. well known lead CTS, were there. The body of the meeting was composed of farmers who nedeed no public patronage and were there solely for sake of public duty.
 A question of party policy at once pre- sented itself Should the populists and republicans fuse for sake of numerical strength against common foe the or sanized democracy, or should the com NeIuon nominate d straight ponulist tlcket throw down the "barss and re- ceive all the help that proffered itself?
 After hot debate Frank Baltzell Whllome, the brilliant editor of the AL lance Herald LOW fusionist. was made ci airman of the convention and this seemed to be a certain sign that the fusion faction had the upper hand
 A Iull state ticket was put in the field A T. GoodWyn (against his protesD for governor; J. A. Bingham, for state treas uier, w. $. Forman, for state auditor: W. M' Wood, for superintendent of edu- eaton, and J. II. Harris for commits sloner of agriculture. News came that republican factions had reconciled their ulilerences and that the reunited party deslred to cooperate with the populists on certain terms. Accordingly. the popu list convention names James A. GWin | nett Tor secretary of state, and w H. l smith, Jr., son of the ex-governor. for attorney general, both free silver re- publicans.
 Ihe convention reaffirmed the party platform of 1894, which was substan- l ually the platform of the democratic | convention that had so recently nomi- 1 mated Johnston for governor
 IL had already become evident that the majority of the democrats of the state were distributed between Johnston and | Goodwynl that the minority of demo- | erats would bolt the national party | ticket; and that the republican party | was disntegrated and of no force in affairs.
 The sound money men were on the ! republican side of the issue before the | public that determined all others. save | life depended still on the energy and | resolution of the white people to over | master the policy of the republican | party that consistently strove to subdue | them to negro rule.
 The whole world had increased in | population and products of industry be- , yond the prorata increase of gold and | silver mines, whence the standard me- dirm of exchange could alone be ob- | tained
 The states of the union had surrendered | their original right to "coin" money to | the United States. The United States | had thrown out business by prohibitory | tax, the private and state banks that | supplied supplemental currency The | United States had discontinued the is sue of the greenback currency in in- | terest of the national bank currency that | Was corporation money. The national ! banks were in collision so to regulate | and limit the supply of their bills that currency would be high and labor and | commodities cheap.