Excepting those who have resided in the South, few people outside have any true conception whatever, of what means a contest against the fixed ideas and established policies of the ruling element in this section. Not until recently have the searching currents of thought inundated, to a great and perceptible extent, the foundations of bitter prejudice that have been the main basis of the monster political structure which has towered in its glory in the South since the days of reconstruction. For a long time, few there were who would dare to revolt against its darkened walls, lest they might forever be driven from the shadow of its wings. It is no idle charge that is embodied in the frequent statement that the "par" prejudiced Democratic politicians in Alabama will adopt any method, foul or fair, _especially foul_, that may perpetuate the control of that party, in this state. And it has been the dire dread of becoming a victim of just such venomous partisans as these that has awed aspiring men of this state into party line and once made it seriously doubtful whether any able man would jeopardize his political prospects by being so bold as to stand out in opposition to the "Democracy (?) of Alabama," and its shadowy practices, which Southern young men have been taught by gray-haired parents to believe justifiable. When, for once, the prejudice of the leaders and the animosity of the rabble of the Democratic party is fully aroused and incited against any person who would ally himself with the opposition, then the subject of this ardent persecution may expect that never will he, nor his seed, go forgotten by an unrelenting foe, until such prejudice-bearing life is extinguished. The time has been when Alabama Democrats would not concede it a right for a Southern voter to be anything else than a "booster" for the "machine bosses." The privilege to oppose the Democratic party--considering the treatment accorded those who lately antagonized that party in the South--is generally supposed by "Bourbons" not to exist, even now. During the heat of political campaigns,--and especially was it the case in Alabama last year,--every imaginable pressure is brought to bear upon those who do not see fit to support the Democratic ticket. Ostracism is practised in both social and business life. Merchants withhold supplies from farmers, wealthy landlords threaten the discharge of their tenants, and mortgage-holders talk wildly of foreclosures, to those who express a desire to exercise the right of franchise according to their own belief and as free men of a so-called free republic. In no other section of the country are such political forces as these exerted to so radical a degree, or is the "party lash" wielded with so tremendous a flourish. The "party lash" cracker must be devised so as to "drive them into line;" it makes no difference what the nature of the material may be, if its popping is fitting for the time and purpose. CHAPTER III.