Birmingham age-herald., 1895-04-14
How l Kept My Eye on the Gov
 ornOr.

It was easy enough. It is always an easy matter to keep one's eye on a man like the governor. In point of fact, when you come to know the governor it IS difficult to keep your eye away from him as 1t is to keep him out of your heart. and that argues very great diff hculty. He is a very fascinating man one possessed of warm and generous im- pulses and great magnetism; withal a loveable man,who is always faithful to his friends and to condolences reposed in him.
 It was surprise to me when I was commissioned by the powers that be" III the Age-Herald office, to proceed to Montgomery and watch and report the struggle for the senatorship. I had thought that another and better man would go to the capital for that purpose, but l was glad of my opportunity. When reached Montgomery on the Sun day night before the assembling of the legislature l at once began to collect ev idence as to the strength of the various candidates, and while I was convinced that MT. Pugh would lead on the first ballot, was also convinced that Gov ernor Seay would lead on the last. To give reasons for these conclusions would require too much space and would inter est no one. The senatorial question is uOW dS OlQ dS yesterday newspaper.
 It was the news side of the struggle that concerned me most. Throughout the whole time, with the exception of the last two days of the fight, I never doubted that Governor Seay had the best chance for winning, and I believed he would win And having these opinions and beliefs it became my duty to report to the Age-Herald accordingly.
 So much for the serious side, and now for the humorous. Some 500.00O of peo- ple-they sometimes appear to me to number 10000, ,000-have been for some weeks ringing thousand changes upon keep your eye on the governor" and the newspapers have had their little ling at the now noted expression. One newspaper just received says that after MT. Pugh's election received Hundreds of telegrams" advising me to keep my eye on the governor" and now that ex- pression is political phrase in Ala bama, signifying over-confidence" An other paper over in Blount county said in effect that as political prognosti- cator' I was unworthy of all confidence. still another journal of which, by the way, was once the unhappy editor, broadly fntimated that I got instruc- tions direct from the Age-Herald office to boom Seay stock, and was advised to have more regard for facts and less for orders from the office favorite story about the Hobbies in Montgomery was that went down there strongly in favor of Pugh, and sent "Pugh- -colored'' dis patches to my paper until the president of the Age-Herald company ran down to the capital and switched me on to the Seay track. Another pretty little story was that every afternoon received tel egraphic instructions from the Age Her. aid as to what course I should pursue for next days paper. These stories are to ludicrous to be denied.
 It apears that my dispatches to the fol olrAxr <,fp various large Western Union offices in this state and read to the crowds that had gathered eager for news from Montgomery. Of course was cursed or blessed, praised or abused, as mems sympathies ran. In a certain large town in one of the northern counties there was an old man. an ardent supporter of Ex- Governor Watts, an another equally old man who was devoted to Mr. Pugh. They were "old-timers from way back" and they went every night to the tele- graph office to hear the news remaining until my goodnight" told my brothers in the Age-Herald editorial rooms that l was off to bed. As night after night held out no hope for Watts and pre- cious little for Pugh the old men grew weary. Finally, one night towards the end of the contest, when my dispatches wound up with strong vindications for Seay, and used the noted expression for the second and last time, the Watts man rose up and with much warmth said, Damn JulienT It caught the ear of the more than weary Pugh man, and he grasped the hand of his neighbor and said: Partner, that's jest how I feel Let's drink!' And those two old men drank damnation to a poor fellow who had tried to do his duty
 It is true that I did receive telegrams, letters and postal cards from various parts of the state, the burden of which was Keep your eye on the governor" Hardly had the echoes of MT. Pugh's speech of acceptance died away in the old capitol when Eufaula,. dear old town beside the winding Chattahoochee, which I once called "home, wired it's loving greetings. After awhile Greenville sweet beloved. sleepy old Greenville, where did once labor and love. and love and labor gently advised me as to what direction I should look. Et tu brute! Selma was not behind hand, and have loved Selma these ten years. Uniontown chimed In, sweet gem of the canebrake; but Birmingham was silent so far as the wires and mails were concerned. Other towns made themselves heard, however, and I wonderad if my efforts had rnada