The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1899-01-14

1852 10 1890 were eXtrayegant IN APP 4
for the governor has very /
iittio to do with appropriations As /
rule for / do not think they we're eX' |
travagant But | present them TO
show that this prating Of Mr. smith, /
and his paiustaking hgure ior'
nisherh is disengenous,
THE CAPITOL MATTER.
In opening the campaign Mr. smith
devoted considerable attention to tue
capitol bin | suppose that serves as
we'll as any thing else u decoy pphlle
attention from his client, the !
NV. railroad company and viii ac'
comodate him az far an time will allow
for | have extended this address toe
far 10 elaborate that matter. 1t is
more fully elaborated in my veto mes
sage 10 the House journal of 1891
Mr. Smith attempted 10 prejudice
the members Of the legislature 10y DIS,
tortiug What | said at Hazehurst.
never intimated that the legislature
was putting up joh on the state.
have never uttered a word Of reflection
mon the legislature. They thought
and acted and discharged their cOnstl-
tutional duty 10 the way they consid-
cred right. When the bill came TO me
the constitution REQUIRED me to exam
inc il. and IL | could not approve the
bill to point out my objections to II
10 the house Of representatives where II
originated, and did SO. The consti-
tuition then required the house to vote
on il, aud If it was not passed 10y two
thirds il was at an end, The house
voted on the bill after the veto, and
majority Of the house voted against
tho bill. Did Mr. Smith care any
thing about a capitoly
just before the legislature convened
in April. 1897, | was told by mutual
friend, Mr.. Isadore Armer, a worthy
gentleman who has the esteem OF
everyone who knows him, that Senator
/ smith had said that he would not take
/ a. 900 for his seat in the senate, to
| fight the administration. As Mr..
| Smith s statement was made in pub
| lie place, and he at the time openly
expressed it, l wrote Mr.. Armer since
/ the announcement of Mr.. Smith to
/ speak here, to give me the language
and here it is:
jackson, Miss, Dec. Goth, 1898,
/ Governor A, j. McLaurin.
Dear Governor In answering your
letter | wish to say that heard Sena-
| tor Smith, of Warren county, at the
verandah Of the Edwards House, ex
press himself that he intended to
spend his vacation in Memphis, but
| he was delighted to be back for the
called session of the legislature, and
| would not take s., 600 for his seat IN
| the senate to fight Anse McLaurln 8
administration and give him hell. This
| is as near rs | can remember the con
versation now. Yours very truly,
l. ARMER.
Mr.. Smith did fight my admins
tration.
In 1896 the legislature passed 8 reso-
luton appointing Col Power, Gen,
/ Nash and me committee to procure
plans and specifications for capitol
| The word plans is used here in the
plural Just as the word specifications
/ is. as an examination of the resolution
will show Mr.. Smith speaks of our
/ disobeying the resolution. The legis-
| lature had no power by a resolution to
| command US. What we did was IN
courtesy to the Legislature. We may
not have understood what the legisla-
| tnre wanted, but we did our best to
accommodate them by securing what
we thought splendid plans and speclti-
/ cations and what we thought they de-
sired us to do. In token of appreci-
alton the house passed this resolution:
! Resolved, That the thanks of the
/ house be rendered the capitol commit,
! tee for the efficient service rendered
! the state in the discharge OF the duties
| imposed on them, and for the impartial
| manner they have acted toward all
competing architects. See house
| journal, 1897, p. 81.
| never knew Mr. Weathers until
| February, 1896. Mr.. Patton was born
| in the same county in which ] was
! born. The committee was favorable to
! his plans and would, | think, have
! adopted them if he would have agreed
! to make two changes in them which he
! refused.
A fter we had faithfully heard the
architects present their plans most of
them, including Mr.. Gordon, wrote US,
requesting US to recommend only one
TO the legislature for adoption. "
! These letters can be found in the veto
message in house journal of 1897.
The house adopted the Weathers
plan by a large majority. When the
senate amended by inserting the Cor
don plans the house by large ma
iority refused to concur After the
bill as it was finally passed was agreed
upOn in committee conference the sem
ate rejected it, and afterwards recon-
sidered and adopted it, But the SEN
ate once rejected the very bill vetoed.
~ - tn me
the business of the session was finished
except the signing of the bill, if |
should approve it. ! asked Mr.. Cor
don to bring me the specifications
mentioned in the bill, and he brought
specifications and began to run
through them with me. | saw pencil
marks through parts Of the bill, and /
asked him what it meant, to which he
replied that the specifications were
drawn for capitol to be built on the
pententiary site and he made those
changes because the legislature had
the day before changed the place to
the present capitol site. Upon exami-
nation afterwards | found that the
specifications were for court house.
They never mentioned any state office,
nor library or representatives hall, nor
senate chamber, nor any once or place
pertaining to state house But they
specified a district court room, a com
nissioners' court room, grand jury
room and a court house square, and
many other such court house evil
dences. / found that be had struck
out, with these pencil marks, in many
instances, first class material.
A fter discovering these | called Mr..
Gordon's recollection to his state
ments, and pointed out, in the speciii-
cations, the fallacy Of them. lie ad-
mitted that the specifications we're
drawn for a court house, but did not
recollect for what one.
New YORK had at that time, as | was
informed, expended twenty twenty mil