Birmingham state herald., 1896-06-07

that while they had mo jurisdiction so
 far as was concerned, that courted an
 investigation rather than summed it,
 feeling confident that l would be fully
 v1ndicated.
 Whitehead then proceeds to attack my
 administration on the auditors report, as
 he sees it.
 For MT. Whftehead's Benefit.
 "What services could the governors
 private secretary have rendered in this
 transaction that would have entitled him
 to $3,427,45?" There are a great many
 things in this world which Whitehead is
 al loss to understand, and this seems
 to be one of them. The explanation is
 simply this: The item quoted is under the
 head Interest and Cost Effecting Tem-
 porary Loans." Under that head the leg
 islature appropriated $15,000 for me to use
 in "effecting temporary loans" for the
 benefit of the people of the state. After
 had done so and succeeded in paying all
 of the expenses there were s, 42745 of the
 appropriation left on the last day of the
 fiscal year, September 30, 1895. Private
 Secretary Walden drew out that money
 by my direction, and the next day cover
 ed it back Into the treasury so as to leave
 it in shape to be available on this years
 expenditure for a like purpose, if neces-
 sary. The appropriation for such pur--
 pose for the present year is 20,000,. and
 expect to allow that which Walden paid
 back into the treasury to remain there,
 and possibly one-half of the present
 years appropriation for "effecting tenn
 porary loans, etc" So instead, as MT.
 Whitehead supposed, it was paid to Sec
 retary Walden for his use or for mine, as
 is further insinuated In the article, every
 dollar of that money was covered back
 into the treasury, and will remain there
 to be used by the state for other purposes Another Mares Nest.
 The article in the Living Truth says, on page 95: We find the following re-
 markable entries" and then proceeds to
 quote from the auditors report several items to the credit of Hon. J. Craig Smith, the state treasurer, and then
 says: ''Now here we have paid to the
 state treasurer 11,255.S5 for cost in se-
 curing a temporary loan.' That is just what was actually expended for the pur-
 pose named. The appropriation was, as above stated, $15.000, but as it was not all expended Private Secretary Walden drew
 out the $3,427.45 remaining and covered 1t back into the treasury, as above stated. Then the paper insinuates that the item of $100 900 on page 57 of the auditors re- port was a loan secured by the state treasurer which they got from the banks right in Montgomery" and wants to know what special service the treas- urer rendered therein. There was not | dollar of the money borrowed from any bank in Montgomery. Governor Jones borrowed every dollar of it from the New York Security and Trust company and l $400, 900 besides, which Is not carried into 1 the auditors report as loan because no l warrant is obtained from him therefor, and the money paid out by the state treasurer was for interest and transmiSr | sion back and forth of the entire sum, and not a compensation to the treasurer | for what he did in any sense. And Edi- | tor Whitehead's statement of Auditor Purifoys explanation, which he italicised and quoted in his Living Truth, the aud | itor says is not correct. and Is by no means a full report of his explanation. Something He Overlooked.
 As Whitehead was seeking to make po- litical capital by his quotations from the auditors report, he might have gotten another item Oh page 9S, under the head of contingent expenses, where it is reiat- ed that Pfivate Secretary Walden drew out $96O503, as appears there for main-
 taing the public credit. The reason is er- roneous. Subdivision 30 of the appro- priation act reads: For incidental and contingent expenses, to be disbursed on the order of the governor, $6000 for each year, l in all SIP, 000." Thus it will De seen that | had right to have expended the $6o0o | during the year. Instead of doing so, on. | the last day of said year there were | $S6O5 O3 of that fund remaining uneXpend- ed I having used but $2395, little over one-third of the appropriation. The sum thus remaining unexpended on the last
  | tion, drawn out of the treasury by Sec retary Walden, and the next day covered I back into the treasury, so that 1t may be drawn upon to aid the appropriation of 1 the present fiscal year. if found neces- 1 sary No such necessity has been found, and predict that there will be none, and, l in addition thereto, expect to cover back l into the treasury one-half appropriated l for contingent expenses during the pres ent year.
 ..;..x fo1, esty in official and political affairs as he l knows 1t to exist in himself, he proceeds: Tt needs no comment to show that under l the guise of taking this money out of the state treasury as costs for extra services | to these men, the governor has set apart l a snug little sum of about $15,000 to be l used by him at his own sweet will. The most natural supposition is that it is kept as a campaign fund to help perpetuate 1 the power of fraud in Alabama, because we cannot get our consent to believe that Governor Oates could, or would, use this
 money for any purely private or selfish purpose. He seems to belong to tha' I class of men who believe that anything is l fair in politics, and that private and pub | lie virtues are distinct quantities, and 1 may exist, or not exist, in the same per | son without detriment one to the other. 1 Any man with any sense can see from the | facts stated that my administration has l been all the time one of rigid economy, saving every dollar possible 10 the State, | and all legally accounted for.
 That Trip to New York
 | He quotes from the auditor: William 1 c. Oates, expenses to New York via l Washington, trying to arrange bonded | debt (which he did not do) including tel l egrams, reports and acts copyrighted | and newspapers, $500. This amount was
 made up of sundry items, which were not l deemed necessary to specify In fact, 1 the governor is not required to give l specific account of every item of ex- l penditure from the contingent fund. My l expenses to New York and to Washing ton trying to arrange the bonded debt were certainly proper charges against | that fund. I might have mentioned rail l road fare, hotel bills, etc., as we'll as tel l egrams, but did not deem it necessary. 1 I kept memorandum of all that I had l paid out of my private means for tele- 1 grams from the time of inauguration up l to the giving of that voucher, and those | mentioned in that voucher embraced the I whole of them for several months and | only such as were sent or received upon | official business, amounting in the ag-. l gregate to thirty odd dollars. It requir- k1.Ar tV,a